Think about our labs this week.  How could you use what you have learned to anticipate ways to reduce human impact on our environment and make what we build more closely resemble natural heating and cooling of earth's surfaces?

Check out the following ideas you should be learning from your readings and our labs this week:

Lesson 3 Study Guide


Vocabulary:

Electromagnetic spectrum

Visible Light

Radiation

Convection

Conduction

Specific heat

Greenhouse Effect

Lab Skills:

Identify and use correct types of graphs for data

Graph data accurately, including titles for graph and x and y axis, bars, or other component of graph

Interpret graph data properly

Identifying constants necessary to create a fair trial

Recognizing possible reasons for quirky or unexpected results

Concepts:

Characteristics of objects affect their ability to absorb and radiate energy: color, texture, moisture levels, consistency

Water heats and cools more slowly than soil

White warms most slowly and with least amount of change (reflects most radiant energy of colors tested). How did the other colors fit?

Black warms most quickly and with greatest change (absorbs most radiant energy of colors tested)

What role could human buildings/structures/roads and choices of colors and materials play in the balance of heating and cooling of the earth?

Radiation from sun is absorbed by atmosphere, land and water and changed to thermal energy:

20% absorbed by clouds, ozone, atmospheric gases. 25% scattered and reflected by clouds and air. 50% absorbed by earth’s surfaces. 5% reflected by earth’s surfaces.

Absorbed radiation (in part , from visible light) warms the planet. Energy absorbed is eventually reradiated into atmosphere and space as thermal energy.

To remain livable, amount of energy in and amount out must be roughly equal—radiation balance

Global warming is a theory that the earth’s radiation balance has caused global temperatures to rise unnaturally.