Learning Module: THE SUN AND OUR WEATHER

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #1: What is Temperature?

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Large Group

DESCRIPTION: Students will learn the definition of temperature.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER: Temperature is the measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in a substance. (Kinetic energy is the energy of motion.) The more kinetic energy a molecule has, the faster it is moving. Hot molecules move faster than cold ones.

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENT

1. Have students move their desks out of the center of the room so they have large open space to work in. 1. Move desks out of the way creating a large work area in the room.

2. Have students stand as close to each other as they can without touching each other. 2. Stand close together, but without touching, in the space you've created in the room.

3. Explain to the students they are behaving like the low energy molecules in a cold substance. 3. Notice how close together you are and how little movement is occurring. This is how the molecules in a cold substance behave.

4. Have students increase their level of kinetic energy. 4. Imagine you've been given more kinetic energy. Increase your movement still being careful to avoid touching other students.

5. As students continue to increase their kinetic energy you should notice them spreading out and taking up more space on the floor. 5. Continue increasing your kinetic energy (event o the point of walking) until your teacher tells you to stop.

6. Have the students stop moving and observe their placement. Help them discover that as substances heat up and their molecules speed up the molecules spread apart causing the substance to expand just as hey have. The expansion makes the substance less dense which is why hot air rises. (Note: In reality the molecules do bounce off of each other while moving around. We have asked the student to abstain from that both to make the activity a little safer and to encourage the students to spread out.) 6. Look around you and notice what effects this increase in "temperature" has had on both you and the group. Are you standing in the same spot you started in? Is the group as tightly packed together as it was?

Concept: Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a substance.

Skills: making observations, making comparisons, communicating findings, making inferences, controlling variables, drawing conclusions, making generalizations.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #2: How to Read a Thermometer

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Individual

MATERIALS NEEDED PER STUDENT: thermometer

DESCRIPTION: Students will learn to read a liquid-in-glass thermometer.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHER: Thermometers work on the principle that when a substance is heated it expands. This expansion forces the liquid to rise up the tube in the thermometer. The thermometers included in this kit contain alcohol that has been dyed red. Mercury is another liquid commonly used in thermometers.

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. Hand out the thermometers to the students

2. Point out the two temperature scales to the students. Make sure they understand each mark
represents two degrees. 2. Notice the two temperature scales on your thermometer. The scale on the left is in degrees
Fahrenheit and the one on the right is degrees Celsius. Both scales are divided in two degree
increments.

3. Help the students read their thermometers. 3. To read the temperature the thermometer should be vertical and your eyes should be level with the top of the liquid.

4. Avoid handling the thermometer as much as possible when taking readings. The heat from your
hands will be transferred to the glass causing its temperature to rise.

CONCEPT OF THE ACTIVITY: Temperature is measured using a thermometer.

SKILLS LEARNED: Making observations, making measurements, using numbers.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #3: Does the Sun Influence Temperature?

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Small Group

MATERIALS NEEDED PER STUDENT: Sunshine, Thermometers

DESCRIPTION: Students will explore the sun's role in heating the earth.

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. Give each group of students a thermometer and take the students outside.

2. Help your students choose appropriate locations for making their measurements. 2. Place your thermometer in a shady location. Wait a few minutes while it registers the temperature.

3. Read your thermometer and make a note of the temperature.

4. Move your thermometer to a sunny location. Adjust it so the sun is not shining directly onto the glass. Wait again for it to register the temperature.

5. Read the thermometer again. Compare this reading with the first one. What happened?

6. Explain to the students that their thermometers registered higher temperatures in the sunlight because the sun's energy was entering into the thermometer and heating up the alcohol to a temperature greater than that of the surrounding air. For this reason meteorologists are always careful to place their thermometers in the shade. 6. Keeping your thermometer in the same place, move it so the sun is shining on the glass. Read the temperature it registers now.

CONCEPT OF ACTIVITY #3: The sun's energy heats the earth

SKILLS LEARNED: making observations, making comparisons, making measurements, recording data, making interpretations of data, using numbers, making decisions, drawing conclusions, forming generalizations.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #4: Heat Transfer

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Individual

MATERIALS NEEDED PER STUDENT: sunlight (or suitable strong light source), warm surface, candle, scissors, paper, tape, string, matches, worksheet #1

DESCRIPTION: Student will observe the three methods of heat transfer; radiation, conduction, and convection.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER: Our weather is a result of heat transfer in our atmosphere. In order to understand how this transfer influences the weather we must first understand the heat transfer itself. Heat is transferred by three methods; radiation, conduction, and convection. Radiation is the method by which the sun's energy reaches the earth. This energy travels in the form of waves which will pass most easily through a vacuum. Conduction is the direct transfer of energy from one molecule to another by collision. The faster the molecules are moving, the hotter the substance is. Convection is the organized motion of large groups of molecules based on their relative densities or temperatures. (warm air rises, cold air sinks.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. RADIATION: Have the students stand in a shady location. Then have them move to a sunny location. Ask them if they can feel the sun's energy being absorbed by their bodies. 1. RADIATION: Stand in a shady location. Now move to a sunny location. Can you feel the sun's energy warming you up?

2. CONDUCTION: Have students touch the palms of their hands to their cheeks and make a mental note of the temperature of their hands. 2. RADIATION: Touch the palms of your hands to your cheeks and notes how warm or cool they feel.

3. CONDUCTION: Next have students place the palms of their hands against a warm surface such as a sunny wall. 3. RADIATION: Now place the palms of your hands against a warm surface.

4. CONDUCTION: After their hands have had a chance to warm up have them touch their cheeks again. 4. RADIATION: Put your hands back on your cheeks. How does their temperature now compare to what it was before? What happened?

5. CONVECTION: Give each student a worksheet, scissors, a piece of string, and tape.

6. CONVECTION: Have student cut their circles into spirals. 6. CONVECTION: Using the scissors, cut your circle into a spiral.

7. CONVECTION: Have the students attach string to the center of the spiral with tape. 7. CONVECTION: Attach the string to the center of the spiral with tape.

8. CONVECTION: Have students hold their spirals above candles or other heat source begin careful not to burn the paper. 8. CONVECTION: Hold your spiral over a candle or other heat source. Be careful not to set the paper on fire.

9. CONVECTION: Help the students discover that hot air produced by the heat source is rising and pushing against the bottom side of the spiral causing it to spin. 9. CONVECTION: After a moment your spiral should begin to spin. Observe its direction movement. What do you suppose is happening?

10. CONVECTION: If conditions are right, you may even be able to locate regions of cold sinking air nearby.

CONCEPT OF ACTIVITY #4: Heat is transferred by three methods/ radiation, conduction, and convection

SKILLS LEARNED: making observations, making comparisons, communicating finding, making inferences.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #5: Convection in the atmosphere

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Small group

MATERIALS NEEDED PER GROUP: large glass jar, small jar with lid, plastic drinking straw, dark food coloring, hot water, cold water, hammer and large nail, scissors

DESCRIPTION: Students will observe convection in water as a model for how the atmosphere convects.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER: Weather can be simply defined as "wet air going up." One cause of rising air is convection. Convection is the upward motion of a warm fluid through a cooler one. This happens because the warm fluid is less dense than the cold. This upward motion is easily seen in the growth of cumulus clouds. As the moist air rises and cools, the water vapor condenses to form clouds. This upward motion is balanced by sinking motion in other areas. Areas of sinking motion are easily identified by the cloudless skied in those regions.

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. Divide the class into groups and distribute the equipment.

2. Make sure students are careful as they punch their holes. ( You may wish to do this step yourself ahead of time.) 2. Using a hammer and a large nail, carefully punch 2 holes in the lid of the small jar. These holes should be just large enough to hold the straw.

3. Observe students to make sure they cut their straws the right length. 3. Cut 2 lengths from your straw each about 2 inches long.

4. Check placement of the straws to make sure they are correct. 4. Place one piece of straw in each hold so that one extends about half an inch above the lid and the other half an inch below.

5. Help students with the food coloring (remember that it stains!) and water. 5. Put a few drops of food coloring in the small jar. Add hot water and screw on the lid.

6. Either make sure students don't overfill the large jar or be prepared to mop up spilled water. 6. Fill the large jar about 3/4 full of cold water. Make sure you've left enough room to add the small jar without making a mess.

7. Have students carefully drop the small jar into the large one. Make sure the cold water is deep enough to cover both of the straws. 7. Carefully drop the small jar into the big jar. Make sure the cold water covers the top of the higher straw.

8. As the students observe the convective process help them connect the colored water with growing cumulus clouds and the clear water with the surrounding atmosphere. 8. Where is the colored water going? Where is the clear water going? What happens to the colored water when it reaches the top?

9. Try this with the same temperature of water in both jars. With the cold water in the little jar.

CONCEPT OF ACTIVITY #8: Warm air rises above cold air by convection.

SKILLS LEARNED: making observations, making comparisons, communicating findings, making inferences, controlling variables, drawing conclusions, forming generalizations.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #6: Tilt and the Seasons

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Large Group

MATERIALS NEEDED: glove, drafting tape, bright lamp ( no shade or cover)

DESCRIPTION: Students will explore how the changing lengths of days create our seasons.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER: The angle at which the Sun's rays fall on the Earth's surface changes during the year and causes the seasons. The reason is that the Earth's equator is inclined at an angle of 23.5 degrees to the path of the ecliptic (the plane in which the Earth revolves around the Sun). During the northern hemisphere winter the Earth is closer to the Sun than it is in the summer. It is the direction, or slant, of the sun's rays, the distance from the sun, which determines how much heat is received. If the Earth's equator were exactly lined up on the ecliptic and the Earth's orbit was a circle the seasons would never change because the Sun's rays would always strike the earth's surface at the same angle throughout the year. Darkness is longer in winter and shorter in summer. The term "equinox" comes from the fact that on the first day of spring and the first day of autumn the lengths of day and night are equal. This activity will work best in a room without windows or a room where light can be blocked from entering the windows.

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. On the globe find the latitude line closest to your own latitude. Mark each longitude line with small pieces of drafting tape along your latitude. There should be 24 pieces; one for each hour of the day.

2. Arrange the classroom to make a large clear area. 2. Help your teacher arrange the classroom and sit in a large circle with your class.

3. In this area, have the students sit in a large circle with a lamp in the center.

4. Turn on the lamp and darken the room. Point out to the class the night side and the day side of the globe. Explain to them what the pieces of tape represent.

5. Assign the north wall of the classroom as the direction the north pole should always point. Holding the globe in its tilted position have students pass it around the circle. 5. Take the globe as it is handed to you. Make sure you have the north pole pointed in the proper direction.

6. Take the globe to the four directional points (north, west, south and east) of the circle. 6. If your teacher steps in front of you, count the number of pieces of tape in the "daytime" on the globe. Remember your number.

7. Why were the numbers different at different positions around the room?

8. Assign seasons to each of the four points.

9. Experiment and imagine what kind of seasons different angles of tilt would cause.

CONCEPT OF ACTIVITY #6: Students will learn that the season are caused by the Sun's rays striking the Earth at different angles due to the Earth's tilt and orbit.

SKILLS LEARNED: making observations, making comparisons, making inferences, predicting outcomes, drawing conclusions, communication, predicting outcomes, controlling variables.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather.

ACTIVITY #7: Tilt and the Seasons Revisited.

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Large Group

MATERIALS NEEDED: globe, flashlight, white paper, drafting tape, pencil or pen

DESCRIPTION: Students will explore how the tilt of the Earth changes the amount of Sun's energy striking a given point on the Earth's surface.

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. Cover a portion of the globe from pole to pole with white paper. Use the drafting tape to hold it in place.

2. Turn the globe so that the paper is on the upper side. 2. Hold the flashlight in a horizontal position. Keep it at this angle throughout the activity.

3. Have one student hold the flashlight while another student draws a circle around the spot of light. (The circle should be centered over the Tropic of Capricorn.) 3. Hold the flashlight so that is casts a Circle of light about 1 1/2" in diameter on the globe. Draw a line (on the paper) around the spot of light.

4. Make sure students are still holding the flashlight horizontally. 4. Lift the flashlight up so that it is now shining in the middle of the northern hemisphere. Draw a line around this spot of light too.

5. Help the students recognize that because the same amount of light energy is now spread out over a larger area, less energy is falling on a given spot. 5. Notice that this spot of light is more spread out than the first one.

6. Which one of the two spots do you think is experiencing warmer weather? Why? What season is it in the Northern Hemisphere?

7. Are there any portions of the globe that the flashlight won't illuminate?

8. Change the seasons by rotating the base of the globe.

9. Experiment to find out what would happen if the Earth's tilt were changed.

CONCEPT OF ACTIVITY #7: The angle between the sun's rays and the Earth's surface affects the amount of energy reaching the ground.

SKILLS LEARNED: Making observation, making comparisons, making measurements, communicating findings, making inferences, making decisions, controlling variables, drawing conclusions, forming generalizations.

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #8: Why Doesn't the Earth Heat Up Evenly? Part 1

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Small Group

MATERIALS NEEDED: 4 identical jars, white paper, black paper, tape, unshaded lamp or sunlight, 4 thermometers, water, worksheet #2

DESCRIPTION: Students will observe the effects of albedo on an object's temperature.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER: The amount of energy absorbed by the earth's surface and that surface's temperature are both dependent upon the substance it's made of and its properties.

The albedo of a surface is a measure of the percentage of radiation striking the surface that is reflected back into space. The lighter the color of the surface, the more light is being reflected, and the higher the albedo number. Objects with low albedo soak up energy faster and generally heat up faster than objects with high albedos. This is why snow cover keeps a region colder that it otherwise would be. It's also why the air above asphalt parking lots is warmer than the air above concrete ones under the same conditions.

The albedos of some common surfaces are:

forest 3-19

dirt 5-20

water 10

grass 10-30

sand 15-45

thin clouds 30-50

thick clouds 60-90

snow 75-95

INSTRUCTIONS:

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. hand out jars, paper, and tape. Have students cover tow jars with white paper and two jars with black. 1. Cover the sides of two of your jars with white paper and two with black.

2. Make sure the students only put water in one black jar and one white one. 2. Fill one black jar and one white one with water. Leave the other two empty.

3. Put a thermometer in each jar. After the thermometers have had a chance to register, record the temperatures.

4. Direct students to the appropriate light source. 4. Place the jars in direct sunlight or directly under a hot lamp. Cover the tops with the same kind of paper as the sides.

5. After five minutes check the temperatures in all four jars. Record your measurements. Be sure to replace the tops each time you check the thermometers.

6. Continue checking the temperatures at five minute intervals for a total of about thirty minutes.

7. Remove the paper and thermometers from your jars and pour out the water.

8. If you are doing this activity outside and it is very cold, you will probably see the temperature drop instead or rise. The black jars should still end warmer than the white ones still showing that the black paper is absorbing more heat than the white paper. 8. Compare the temperatures for the two jars without water. Which one heated up faster? Why?

9. Compare the temperatures for the two jars with water. Are the results consistent with those for the other two jars?

CONCEPT OF THE ACTIVITY: Surface heating is partially dependent on albedo.

SKILLS LEARNED: Making observations, classifying objects, making comparisons, making measurements, recording data, organizing data, making interpretations of data, communicating findings, using numbers, controlling variables, drawing conclusions, forming generalization.

Use Worksheet #2

TOPIC B: The Sun and Our Weather

ACTIVITY #9: Why doesn't the earth heat up evenly? Part 2

TYPE OF ACTIVITY: Small Group

MATERIALS NEEDED PER GROUP: data collected in Activity B-8, 2 jars, black paper, tape, water, 2 thermometers and worksheet #2

DESCRIPTION: Students will observe the effects of specific heat on an object's temperature.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER: Specific heat is the amount of heat (measured in calories) needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance one degree Celsius (cal/gC). Substances with a large specific heat, such as water, will not heat up or cool down as quickly as substances with low specific heat, such as air.

Here are specific heats of some common substances:

water 1.00 cal/gC

mud 0.60

dry air 0.24

sand 0.19

INSTRUCTIONS:

.

TEACHER

STUDENTS

1. If you have your data from Activity #B-8 skip to step #9

2. Hand out jars, paper, and tape. Have students cover both jars with black paper. 2. Cover the sides of both jars with black paper.

3. Make sure the students only put water in one jar. 3. Fill one jar with water, leave the other one empty.

4. Put a thermometer in each jar. After the thermometers have a chance to register, record the temperatures.

5. Direct students to the appropriate light source 5. Place the jars in direct sunlight or directly under a hot lamp. Cover the tops with more black paper.

6. After five minutes, check the temperatures in both jars. Record your measurements. Be sure to replace the tops each time you check the thermometers.

7. Continue checking the temperatures at five minute intervals for a total of about thirty minutes.

8. Remove the paper and thermometers from your jars and pour out the water.

9. If this was done outside on a very cold day the temperatures in the jars may have fallen instead of risen. This cold give results that make it difficult for the students to see the effects of specific heat. If this is the case, do the experiment over again in a warmer environment. Take this opportunity to discuss with the class the importance of establish the proper conditions for performing experiments. 9. Compare the temperatures for the two black jars. Which one heated up faster? Why?

10. If you also did this with white jars, which one of them heated up faster? Why? Is this consistent with what happened in the black jars?

CONCEPT OF THE ACTIVITY: Surface heating is partially dependent on specific heat.

TEACHER	STUDENT
1. Have students move their desks out of the center of the room so they have large open space to work in.	1. Move desks out of the way creating a large work area in the room.
2. Have students stand as close to each other as they can without touching each other.	2. Stand close together, but without touching, in the space you've created in the room.
3. Explain to the students they are behaving like the low energy molecules in a cold substance.	3. Notice how close together you are and how little movement is occurring. This is how the molecules in a cold substance behave.
4. Have students increase their level of kinetic energy.	4. Imagine you've been given more kinetic energy. Increase your movement still being careful to avoid touching other students.
5. As students continue to increase their kinetic energy you should notice them spreading out and taking up more space on the floor.	5. Continue increasing your kinetic energy (event o the point of walking) until your teacher tells you to stop.
6. Have the students stop moving and observe their placement. Help them discover that as substances heat up and their molecules speed up the molecules spread apart causing the substance to expand just as hey have. The expansion makes the substance less dense which is why hot air rises. (Note: In reality the molecules do bounce off of each other while moving around. We have asked the student to abstain from that both to make the activity a little safer and to encourage the students to spread out.)	6. Look around you and notice what effects this increase in "temperature" has had on both you and the group. Are you standing in the same spot you started in? Is the group as tightly packed together as it was?

1. Hand out the thermometers to the students
2. Point out the two temperature scales to the students. Make sure they understand each mark represents two degrees.	2. Notice the two temperature scales on your thermometer. The scale on the left is in degrees Fahrenheit and the one on the right is degrees Celsius. Both scales are divided in two degree increments.
3. Help the students read their thermometers.	3. To read the temperature the thermometer should be vertical and your eyes should be level with the top of the liquid.
	4. Avoid handling the thermometer as much as possible when taking readings. The heat from your hands will be transferred to the glass causing its temperature to rise.

TEACHER	STUDENTS
1. Give each group of students a thermometer and take the students outside.
2. Help your students choose appropriate locations for making their measurements.	2. Place your thermometer in a shady location. Wait a few minutes while it registers the temperature.
	3. Read your thermometer and make a note of the temperature.
	4. Move your thermometer to a sunny location. Adjust it so the sun is not shining directly onto the glass. Wait again for it to register the temperature.
	5. Read the thermometer again. Compare this reading with the first one. What happened?
6. Explain to the students that their thermometers registered higher temperatures in the sunlight because the sun's energy was entering into the thermometer and heating up the alcohol to a temperature greater than that of the surrounding air. For this reason meteorologists are always careful to place their thermometers in the shade.	6. Keeping your thermometer in the same place, move it so the sun is shining on the glass. Read the temperature it registers now.

TEACHER	STUDENTS
1. RADIATION: Have the students stand in a shady location. Then have them move to a sunny location. Ask them if they can feel the sun's energy being absorbed by their bodies.	1. RADIATION: Stand in a shady location. Now move to a sunny location. Can you feel the sun's energy warming you up?
2. CONDUCTION: Have students touch the palms of their hands to their cheeks and make a mental note of the temperature of their hands.	2. RADIATION: Touch the palms of your hands to your cheeks and notes how warm or cool they feel.
3. CONDUCTION: Next have students place the palms of their hands against a warm surface such as a sunny wall.	3. RADIATION: Now place the palms of your hands against a warm surface.
4. CONDUCTION: After their hands have had a chance to warm up have them touch their cheeks again.	4. RADIATION: Put your hands back on your cheeks. How does their temperature now compare to what it was before? What happened?
5. CONVECTION: Give each student a worksheet, scissors, a piece of string, and tape.
6. CONVECTION: Have student cut their circles into spirals.	6. CONVECTION: Using the scissors, cut your circle into a spiral.
7. CONVECTION: Have the students attach string to the center of the spiral with tape.	7. CONVECTION: Attach the string to the center of the spiral with tape.
8. CONVECTION: Have students hold their spirals above candles or other heat source begin careful not to burn the paper.	8. CONVECTION: Hold your spiral over a candle or other heat source. Be careful not to set the paper on fire.
9. CONVECTION: Help the students discover that hot air produced by the heat source is rising and pushing against the bottom side of the spiral causing it to spin.	9. CONVECTION: After a moment your spiral should begin to spin. Observe its direction movement. What do you suppose is happening?
10. CONVECTION: If conditions are right, you may even be able to locate regions of cold sinking air nearby.

TEACHER	STUDENTS
1. Divide the class into groups and distribute the equipment.
2. Make sure students are careful as they punch their holes. ( You may wish to do this step yourself ahead of time.)	2. Using a hammer and a large nail, carefully punch 2 holes in the lid of the small jar. These holes should be just large enough to hold the straw.
3. Observe students to make sure they cut their straws the right length.	3. Cut 2 lengths from your straw each about 2 inches long.
4. Check placement of the straws to make sure they are correct.	4. Place one piece of straw in each hold so that one extends about half an inch above the lid and the other half an inch below.
5. Help students with the food coloring (remember that it stains!) and water.	5. Put a few drops of food coloring in the small jar. Add hot water and screw on the lid.
6. Either make sure students don't overfill the large jar or be prepared to mop up spilled water.	6. Fill the large jar about 3/4 full of cold water. Make sure you've left enough room to add the small jar without making a mess.
7. Have students carefully drop the small jar into the large one. Make sure the cold water is deep enough to cover both of the straws.	7. Carefully drop the small jar into the big jar. Make sure the cold water covers the top of the higher straw.
8. As the students observe the convective process help them connect the colored water with growing cumulus clouds and the clear water with the surrounding atmosphere.	8. Where is the colored water going? Where is the clear water going? What happens to the colored water when it reaches the top?
	9. Try this with the same temperature of water in both jars. With the cold water in the little jar.

TEACHER	STUDENTS
1. On the globe find the latitude line closest to your own latitude. Mark each longitude line with small pieces of drafting tape along your latitude. There should be 24 pieces; one for each hour of the day.
2. Arrange the classroom to make a large clear area.	2. Help your teacher arrange the classroom and sit in a large circle with your class.
3. In this area, have the students sit in a large circle with a lamp in the center.
4. Turn on the lamp and darken the room. Point out to the class the night side and the day side of the globe. Explain to them what the pieces of tape represent.
5. Assign the north wall of the classroom as the direction the north pole should always point. Holding the globe in its tilted position have students pass it around the circle.	5. Take the globe as it is handed to you. Make sure you have the north pole pointed in the proper direction.
6. Take the globe to the four directional points (north, west, south and east) of the circle.	6. If your teacher steps in front of you, count the number of pieces of tape in the "daytime" on the globe. Remember your number.
	7. Why were the numbers different at different positions around the room?
	8. Assign seasons to each of the four points.
	9. Experiment and imagine what kind of seasons different angles of tilt would cause.

TEACHER	STUDENTS
1. Cover a portion of the globe from pole to pole with white paper. Use the drafting tape to hold it in place.
2. Turn the globe so that the paper is on the upper side.	2. Hold the flashlight in a horizontal position. Keep it at this angle throughout the activity.
3. Have one student hold the flashlight while another student draws a circle around the spot of light. (The circle should be centered over the Tropic of Capricorn.)	3. Hold the flashlight so that is casts a Circle of light about 1 1/2" in diameter on the globe. Draw a line (on the paper) around the spot of light.
4. Make sure students are still holding the flashlight horizontally.	4. Lift the flashlight up so that it is now shining in the middle of the northern hemisphere. Draw a line around this spot of light too.
5. Help the students recognize that because the same amount of light energy is now spread out over a larger area, less energy is falling on a given spot.	5. Notice that this spot of light is more spread out than the first one.
	6. Which one of the two spots do you think is experiencing warmer weather? Why? What season is it in the Northern Hemisphere?
	7. Are there any portions of the globe that the flashlight won't illuminate?
	8. Change the seasons by rotating the base of the globe.
	9. Experiment to find out what would happen if the Earth's tilt were changed.

1. hand out jars, paper, and tape. Have students cover tow jars with white paper and two jars with black.	1. Cover the sides of two of your jars with white paper and two with black.
2. Make sure the students only put water in one black jar and one white one.	2. Fill one black jar and one white one with water. Leave the other two empty.
	3. Put a thermometer in each jar. After the thermometers have had a chance to register, record the temperatures.
4. Direct students to the appropriate light source.	4. Place the jars in direct sunlight or directly under a hot lamp. Cover the tops with the same kind of paper as the sides.
	5. After five minutes check the temperatures in all four jars. Record your measurements. Be sure to replace the tops each time you check the thermometers.
	6. Continue checking the temperatures at five minute intervals for a total of about thirty minutes.
	7. Remove the paper and thermometers from your jars and pour out the water.
8. If you are doing this activity outside and it is very cold, you will probably see the temperature drop instead or rise. The black jars should still end warmer than the white ones still showing that the black paper is absorbing more heat than the white paper.	8. Compare the temperatures for the two jars without water. Which one heated up faster? Why?
	9. Compare the temperatures for the two jars with water. Are the results consistent with those for the other two jars?

TEACHER	STUDENTS
1. If you have your data from Activity #B-8 skip to step #9
2. Hand out jars, paper, and tape. Have students cover both jars with black paper.	2. Cover the sides of both jars with black paper.
3. Make sure the students only put water in one jar.	3. Fill one jar with water, leave the other one empty.
	4. Put a thermometer in each jar. After the thermometers have a chance to register, record the temperatures.
5. Direct students to the appropriate light source	5. Place the jars in direct sunlight or directly under a hot lamp. Cover the tops with more black paper.
	6. After five minutes, check the temperatures in both jars. Record your measurements. Be sure to replace the tops each time you check the thermometers.
	7. Continue checking the temperatures at five minute intervals for a total of about thirty minutes.
	8. Remove the paper and thermometers from your jars and pour out the water.
9. If this was done outside on a very cold day the temperatures in the jars may have fallen instead of risen. This cold give results that make it difficult for the students to see the effects of specific heat. If this is the case, do the experiment over again in a warmer environment. Take this opportunity to discuss with the class the importance of establish the proper conditions for performing experiments.	9. Compare the temperatures for the two black jars. Which one heated up faster? Why?
	10. If you also did this with white jars, which one of them heated up faster? Why? Is this consistent with what happened in the black jars?