De La Salle University College of Education Science Education Department PHY 583M Earth and Environmental Science

Experiment # 6 INSOLATION AND THE SEASONS

Members:

Bayot, Joysol Lim, Perlita Uy, Roxanne

Prof:

Dr. Cecil Galvez

Class Period: Sat, 8:00 am 11:00 am Date performed: Date submitted: 4/6/13 4/13/13

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INTRODUCTION A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION/THEORY AND CONCEPTS Insolation refers to the radiation from the sun or the solar energy that is received by the Earth. The angle at which solar radiation strikes a surface dramatically influence the amount of energy received by the surface of the Earth, that is why we have different climate zones, seasonal temperature changes and daily temperature changes. Each time the Earth rotate, the angle that is striking the surface changes. These changes in solar radiation contribute to recurrent changes in weather.

In terms of Earths surface distance from the sun, the greater the distance that light travels through the atmosphere, the more its energy is reduced by absorption and reflection by particles in the air. More significantly, when the Sun is directly overhead, the solar rays are most concentrated and great change in the temperature is observed.

B. OBJECTIVES This activity aims to determine the relationship between the angle of incoming light and the rate of change of temperature of the surface that absorbs the light. C. HYPOTHESIS If the surface is leaning perpendicular to the incoming light (90o), then the rate of change of the temperature is higher.

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METHOD START

SECURE MATERIALS

PREPARE SET-UP: GLUE PIECE OF BLACK CONSTRUCTION PAPER TO THE TOP OF THE 15X15 CARD BOARD TAPE PROTRACTOR TO THE CENTER OF ONE EDGE ATTACH TEMPERATURE SENSOR ATTACH FINGER CLAMP TO THE ROD STAND PLACE LAMP 30 CM AWAY FROM THE CARD BOARD

USE XPLORER GLX

POSITION CARBOARDS AT 90, 60 AND 30 DEGREES

START DATA RECORDING

RECORD TEMPERATURE CHANGE FOR 15 MINUTES

IS THE DATA COMPLETE AND ACCURATE? Y

FIX SET UP

END

III.

Materials Used and experimental set-up

Small Tripod Base and Rod Finger Clamp Protractor PASPORT Temperature Sensor Cardboard with Black Construction Paper

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DATA a. OBSERVATIONS in a DATA TABLE or CHART Angle 90 o 60 o 30 o Initial Temp,oC 25.5 Final Temp, oC Change in Temp, Co 42.8

68.3

25.2

59.4

34.2

24.9

48.4

23.5

Table 1.Temperature measurements at different angles of light

b. GRAPHS

Figure 1.Rate of heating at different angles

Figure 2.Linear fit of each curve

c. CALCULATION: Change in temperature = Final temperature Initial temperature

V.

ANALYSIS

What is the relationship between the rate of warming of a surface and the angle at which radiation such as sunlight strikes the surface.? The rate of warming a surface is higher as the sunlight is directly above the surface (900).

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CONCLUSION When the Sun is directly overhead, that is at 90, the solar rays are concentrated and therefore at its maximum. The maximum insolation yields a great temperature change on a surface. If the sunlight reaches the surface at a lower angle than 90, the solar radiation is more diffuse. At an angle of 30, the insolation is only 50% as much as the maximum.

VII.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Analysis questions: 1. Which angle exposed the cardboard to the MOST solar radiation? Cardboard at 90o is the most exposed to solar radiation. 2. What angle exposed the cardboard to the LEAST solar radiation? Cardboard at 30o is the least exposed to solar radiation. Synthesis questions: 1. During which season of the year is the sunlight more direct for the Northern Hemisphere? In June 21, the Northern Hemisphere is leaning at 23.5 toward the Sun called the summer solstice. On that day, the Northern Hemisphere experiences direct rays of sunlight hence, the 24-hour period is mostly daylight hours and the season is summer. 2. What relationship is there between the angle of insolation and the temperature change? When the Sun is directly overhead, that is at 90, the solar rays are concentrated and therefore at its maximum. The maximum insolation yields a great temperature change on a surface. If the sunlight reaches the surface at a lower angle than 90, the solar radiation is more diffuse. At an angle of 30, the insolation is only 50% as much as the maximum. 3. Do your results support your prediction? Yes.

4. What other factors affect the weather for a particular location on Earth? Other factors that affect the weather on Earth are the Earths rotation, Latitude, Earths distance from the sun, angle of the axis of Earths rotation and the energy through the atmosphere.

VIII. REFERENCES 1. Williams, Trinklein, Metcalfe. Modern Physics, 1st edition.1984 2. Cordero-Navaza and Valdes. Physics, 2nd edition. 2001 3. Hewitt. Conceptual Physics. 2005