Solar Power Basics

Sun Research

photo credit: Vijay Bandari - Moved to other account via photo pin cc

Today, we will be asking questions about the Sun. 

Step 1:  Open up your Google Doc about the Sun.   SHARE this document with me and your teammates.

Step 2:  Answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge.  This will require you to SEARCH on Google.  When you get the answer, write it down in ONE to TWO sentences, and then paste the URL in.  IF you use a textbook, write down the page that you found the answer.

• How does the Sun make its heat?
• How does the heat travel to Earth?
• How far is it between the Sun and the Earth?
• Do we depend on the Sun?  Why?
• What is passive solar energy?
• How does a solar cell work?

LAB

Pick a shiny, a dark, and a light object and place on a whiteboard.  Go outside and gather 10 minutes of data for each in full sunlight.  Then, move the objects quickly to full shade and gather 10 minutes of data.   Your temperature data in degrees C  will be gathered with a digital thermometer.

Graph the data for all three objects on a graph paper sheet.  Place your independent variable on the x-axis and your depedent variable on the y-axis.

Answer the following questions:

1. Which trial had the biggest change in temperature in the sunlight?  How do you know?
2. Which cooled the fastest in the shade?  Again, show evidence
3. Which item came closest to its orgiginal temperature by the end of the 20 min?
4. If you want an object to get hot, what color should it be?  Does your data support this?
5. If you have a choice of roofing material (light, dark, or shiny) what keeps the summer heat out?  Why?
6. What is insulation, in your words or in a picture?
7. What is radiant heat cooling in your own words or pictures?
8. What is heat capacity (Google it) and how it is related to this activity?  

=============things to share 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/09/03/218536265/death-ray-ii-london-building-reportedly-roasts-cars

http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/construction/green/10-best-roofing-materials.htm

http://www.iowaenergycenter.org/renewable-energy/solar/

Home Insulation


Insulation in Iowa   (take a look at this website)

Table of Common R-values

To calculate R-values, we make a sandwich of insulation material.  Just because something is thicker doesn't necessarily mean it is better.  Sometimes, though, higher R-value material is more expensive.  It's a trade-off, just like many things in life.

Make the following sandwiches for your table on a piece of paper, big enough for the entire class to see.:

A sandwich with a R-value of 15 or better
A sandwich with a R-value of 50 or better
A sandwich with a maximum thickness of 6 inches
A sandwich with a maximum thickness of 12 inches

Also, when it comes to windows, we have a problem...It is going to be a very thin sandwich, unless we put up drapes (curtains) or some sort of a quilted batting at night.  Even so, that part of the wall will be colder.   The other trade-off is that windows that have bigger R-values have a bigger cost.

Based on this, what type of windows do you think your house should have?




Personal Evaluation (to be filled out in teams of two)




http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-are-passive-and-active-solar-energy-systems.html

Size, shape, and volume

Create a house that is  round and then one that is cubic.  Both should have flat roofs, for the sake of simplicity.

Measure the volume of each of the houses in cubic cm.  

Table 1:  Measurement Data

CUBIC                                     ROUND

Length___cm                     Diameter___cm

Width___cm                      Height___cm

Height___cm

Table 2: Calculated Data

Volume of a Cube:  L xW x H

Volume of a Cylinder  3.14 x (DIAMETER/2) x  (DIAMETER/2) x Height

Part A
Place an overhead light 30 cm above the two houses.
a) place a thermometer instie of each for 5 minutes and record the temperature change.  Record the outside temperature using the digital thermometer.   Your measurements should be in F

Outside Temp Roof (Start):  ___ F

Inside Temp Start: ___ F

Inside Temp End:  ___ F

Outside Temp Roof (End):___F

Organize this information into a Table for Part A.  It should have 8 pieces of Data

==============

Part B
Insulate your house before you proceed further.  Insulation may be up to 2.5 cm thick on the ceiling and 1 cm thick on the sides.

Follow the procedure in Part A

Organize this information into a Table for Part B.  It should have 8 pieces of Data

===============

Part C

USE an OVERHEAD LIGHT 30 cm above the two houses.
a)  place a thermometer inside of each for 5 minutes and record the temperature change.
b) now add a open door and a window opposite the door.  

Follow the procedure in Part A

Organize this information into a Table for Part C.  It should have 8 pieces of Data
==============

Part D

USE a SIDE LIGHT 30 cm from the two houses.

a) close the windows and door with saran wrap or wax paper.   Place a thermometer
inside of each for 5 minutes and record the temperature change.
b) make an awning for the windows.   Place a thermometer
inside of each for 5 minutes and record the temperature change.


Organize this information into a Table for Part D.  It should have 8 pieces of Data
=============

Heat and Weather on the West Delaware Campus.

Yesterday, you used digital thermometers to gather data.  Today we are going to share that data.

• 
  
• 1.  Mark your data points on the map.
• 2.  Mark another person's data points on your map.
• 3.  Make sure that both samples are in the same units.  You can use GOOGLE as a conversion tool by entering CONVERT ___F to C.  Alternatively, you can use the formula (°F - 32) x 5/9 = °C

1. Does your data suggest EVEN or UNEVEN heating on the schools grounds?  Explain, remembering that the greater temperature differences create MORE winds.
2. If the wind was flying in my face when I stood on the curved section of the parking lot with my back facing the school bell at the old entrance, what does that tell me?  Draw this motion as a large area across the page.
3. Heat moves from hotter areas to colder areas.  Use a green pencil and create arrows that represent this.
4. Order the surfaces from coldest to warmest, based on the average temperature you were assigned to find.  All temperatures should be in degrees C.   Make a list from cold to warm of the surface and its respective temperature.
5. When the air is hot, it rises and the cold air sinks.  What phenomena does that cause?

Use your map to answer the board questions.

Claim Evidence Reasoning

You will be using this site to collect information on three different locations.  You will need to use the process above to gather evidence on the winds affecting these areas.  This is complicated.  Winds occur because of uneven heating and cooling, but they also occur because of the fact that air can contain different amounts of moisture (dew point), there are fronts (large areas of high or low pressure) and there are prevailing winds, as shown yesterday.


http://www.uni.edu/storm/wximages/index.htm

Weather and Energy

SO far, we have looked at examples of extreme weather and the idea of a natural disaster.  These are not the same thing.

To go further, we need to look at the concept of energy.


1.  Go to http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=sce304 and take notes.  When you get done, three definitions should be present.

2.  We will be starting with a lab (mirrored from http://www.pcds.org/share/sci8/labs/concurlab.htm):

Materials:

Each group or team will receive one set of materials.

1. One plastic pan to hold water.
2. 4 styrofoam cups to support pan and to contain the warm water.
3. Red and Blue food coloring.
4. Water.
5. Test tubes and droppers.
6. White paper.
7. Data recording sheets.
8. Small rocks or rubber stoppers for the seafloor features.

You will be completing five trials in this experiment, each time you begin a new trial you will
want to get a new pan of water and refresh your heat source if it has cooled.

You will be placing the drop of food coloring in different locations and carefully observing its pattern of movement. You will record your observations in detailed sketches done with colored pencils and including directional arrows.

Be careful not to bump the tables or you will disturb your currents.

Be frugal with the food coloring. Using only a few drops will allow you to see the currents most clearly.

Basic diagram of pan and cups.

Trial A. No heat source

Place the drop of food coloring in the still water with no heat source.
The drop of color should be placed at the center of the pan, right on the bottom.
Draw what happens to the food coloring as you look at it from the side and top views. Be sure to include arrows.
Write a brief description of what you see.

Trial B. Heat in Center /Drop in Center

Place the drop of food coloring in the still water with heat source under the center.
The drop of color should be placed at the center of the pan, right on the bottom.
Draw what happens to the food coloring as you look at it from the side and top views. Be sure to include arrows.
Write a brief description of what you see.

Trial C . Heat in Center /Drop close to side / bottom of pan

Place the drop of food coloring in the still water with heat source under the center.
The drop of color should be placed near the side of the pan, right on the bottom.
Draw what happens to the food coloring as you look at it from the side and top views. Be sure to include arrows.
Write a brief description of what you see.

Trial D . Heat in Center /Drop on top of pan

Place the drop of food coloring in the still water with heat source under the center.
The drop of color should be placed near the top of the pan.
Draw what happens to the food coloring as you look at it from the side and top views. Be sure to include arrows.
Write a brief description of what you see. 

Trial E . Heat on one side / ice on other side

Place two drops of food coloring in the still water with heat source under the side of the pan and a baggie of ice near one edge.
One drop of color should be placed near the side of the pan, right on the bottom over the heat source. The second near the ice bag.

Draw what happens to the food coloring as you look at it from the side and top views. Be sure to include arrows.

Please write your definition for these in your notebook.
even heating
uneven heating
current
trade winds


Read through http://convectioncurrentscienceproject.weebly.com/weather.html  (Click on the different tabs)

Write three things you KNOW are true about energy and weather
Write three things you have QUESTIONS about regarding energy and weather.

8/16 Extreme Weather

Sites to check:


http://www.spc.noaa.gov/

http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/activities/weather-ready-nation/

http://www.noaa.gov/wx.html

http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/activities/climate/

Please write a 3 bullet points in your notes for each link.

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