LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Star power! Discovering the power of sunlight

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?DocID=419

A lesson plan for Grades 9–12 Earth/Environmental Science and Advanced Placement Earth and Environmental Science

Provider: American Association for the Advancement of Science

About this resource

Appropriate grades
9–12
Subjects
science (environmental science), thinking skills (higher order thinking, information literacy, research skills, visual literacy)
Provider
American Association for the Advancement of Science

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In this lesson, students estimate the energy output of the sun and how much power sunlight provides to the earth. This lesson was created by the Challenger Center as part of NASA's MESSENGER Mission. In this lesson, students will discover that sunlight and the electromagnetic spectrum are the main tools with which we study objects in the solar system. They will also learn that the sun is the main source of energy on earth. As part of an experiment, they will build a simple device to measure the amount of solar radiation the earth receives from the sun. They will be able to do this by measuring the temperature change in a bottle of water as it is exposed to sunlight. Then, using this data and other parameters of the experiment, they will calculate the solar constant, which is the amount of energy the earth receives from the sun per square meter per second. They will also be able to describe the difference in the amount of solar radiation emitted at Mercury as compared with the Earth. Upon completion of the pre-assessment and warm-up, students follow instructions in order to build and test the measuring device. When all of the data has been collected and recorded, students will need to calculate class averages. Then, students develop reasons why there are deviations in the values of the solar constant between groups, and calculate the planetary temperatures using the student handouts. Science Net Links provides necessary handouts, teacher resources, links to helpful websites, and detailed instructions for completing the lesson.

North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

Science (2005)

Grades 9–12 — Advanced Placement Earth and Environmental Science

  • Goal 4: The learner will build an understanding of the distribution, ownership, use and degradation of renewable and nonrenewable resources.
    • Objective 4.05: Analyze and compare conventional and alternative energy sources.
      • Coal.
      • Natural gas.
      • Oil.
      • Nuclear power.
      • Solar energy.
      • Biomass.
      • Energy from the Earth's forces: Wind, Water, Geothermal, Tidal.
      • Energy conservation.
      • Identify facility parts (Coal, Nuclear).
      • Monthly/annual costs.
  • Goal 8: The learner will build an understanding of Earth in the Solar System and its position in the universe.

Grades 9–12 — Earth/Environmental Science

  • Goal 6: The learner will acquire an understanding of the earth in the solar system and its position in the universe.
    • Objective 6.03: Examine the sources of stellar energies.
      • Life cycle of stars.
      • Hertzsprung – Russell Diagram.
    • Objective 6.04: Assess the spectra generated by stars and our sun as indicators of motion and composition (the Doppler effect).