An interactive tool where students can create a model of a greenhouse and use a light sensor to measure the amount of light it receives from a lamp at various times of the day. Temperature is also measured. Data is plotted on graphs,...

Understand the role of the sun as the source of heat and light for living things on earth.

Learn why things in direct sunlight are warmer than things that are not in as much sunlight.

Students will model and measure energy transfers from light to heat.

This video segment adapted from FRONTLINE introduces the electromagnetic spectrum and explains how the various types of electromagnetic waves are distinguished by the amount of energy each wave carries.

Students test whether the color of a material affects how much heat it absorbs. Students will place an ice cube in a box made of colored paper (one box per color; white, yellow, red and black), which they will place in the sun. The...

We all know that plants need sunlight and water to grow big and tall. But did you know that inside seeds are baby plants, and that the fragile baby plant inside the seed needs to be protected? If you've ever had a sunburn, you also know...

Students learn that fossil fuels release energy when they are burned, and this takes the forms of light, heat, gases, etc. In this lesson they explore combustion with a candle and with sugar. The lesson and accompanying PowerPoint can...

An activity for students to explore how dark-colored materials absorb and emit more energy vs. light-colored material.