Name: Brett R. Strittmatter Contact Info: strittb@cpsboe.k12.oh.

us Date: 7/11/17

Lesson Title : Exploring the Content Unit #: Lesson #: Activity #: Worksheet:

Activity Title: Does Light Angle Matter?
4 1 3 F
Worksheet Title: Gizmo- Heat Absorption Investigation-
Guided Answer Key

Heat Absorption Answer Key

Vocabulary: absorb, greenhouse, radiation, reflect, thermal energy

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

[Note: The purpose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking.
Students are not expected to know the answers to the Prior Knowledge Questions.]

1. Is it usually hotter outside when the Sun is low in the sky, such as early in the morning, or
when the Sun is high in the sky, around noon?

Usually temperatures are much hotter around noon. [This is because sunlight is more direct
and concentrated at noon.]

2. If you want to stay cool on a hot, sunny day, should you wear black or white? Why?

White clothing will keep you cooler on a sunny day. [This is because white materials reflect
more light than black materials.]

Gizmo Warm-up
In the Heat Absorption Gizmo™, a powerful flashlight can
shine on a variety of materials. Make sure that the Light
color is set to White.

1. Drag the Wood under the beam of light. What do you

notice?

Some of the light is reflected off the wood.

2. What is the color of the light that is reflected off the wooden block? Brown, like the wood.

3. Click Play ( ) to start the clock.

A. What happens to the temperature of the wood? The temperature rises.

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 B. The light that is not reflected away is absorbed by the wood. What does the

absorbed light energy do to the wood? The absorbed light energy heats the wood.

Energy that is transmitted through space by light waves is called radiation. The wood gets
hotter because it gains thermal energy from the light waves.

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity A:
 Click Reset ( ).
Angle of light  Check that Light color is still set to White.
 If necessary, drag the Wood under the light.

Question: How does the angle of light affect heating?

1. Observe: Drag the flashlight to several different angles. When is the light beam most
concentrated on the piece of wood?

When the angle is 90°, meaning that the flashlight is directly over the wood.

2. Form hypothesis: How will the angle of light affect how much the piece of wood is heated?

Hypotheses will vary. [Students will find out that the greater the angle, the faster the wood
will heat up.]

3. Predict: Which angle will result in the hottest piece of wood? Predictions will vary.

4. Experiment: For each angle listed below, record the final temperature of the wood after 3
hours of heating with the flashlight.

20° angle 40° angle 60° angle 80° angle 90° angle

Final temperature 25.4 °C 30.1 °C 33.7 °C 35.5 °C 35.8 °C

5. Draw conclusions: Why did increasing the angle of the beam of light cause the wood to heat
up more?

When the angle was low, the light from the flashlight was spread out over a large area, and
a lot of the light did not hit the wood at all. When the angle was close to 90°, all of the light
was concentrated on the wood.

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6. Apply: St. Louis, Missouri, is located near the middle of the United States. On June 21, the
noon Sun rays hit St. Louis at an angle of 75°. On December 21, the noon Sun rays hit at an
angle of 28°. How will this affect the temperature in St. Louis on these dates?

It will be colder on December 21 because the angle of Sun rays is much lower than on June
21. The energy from the Sun will be much more spread out and less concentrated on St.
Louis on December 21 than on June 21. [This is one of the two reasons it is colder in
December than June in the northern hemisphere. The other reason is that days are much
shorter in December than June.]

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity B:
 Click Reset.
Colored materials
 Drag the flashlight so that the Light angle is 75°.

Question: How do colored materials absorb and reflect light?

1. Observe: Drag the red brick under the flashlight beam. Try three different Light colors:
red, blue, and green.

A. What color(s) reflect off a red brick? Red light is reflected from a red brick.

B. What colors of light are absorbed by the brick? Blue and green light are absorbed.

2. Predict: Predict what color(s) of light will heat the red brick the most and the least.

Most heating: Predictions will vary. Least heating: Predictions will vary.

3. Collect data: Heat the red, green, and blue bricks under each color of light. Record results.

Red light Blue light Green light

Red brick final temperature 20.2 °C 27.3 °C 26.8 °C
Green brick final temperature 25.3 °C 27.3 °C 20.3 °C
Blue brick final temperature 25.3 °C 20.3 °C 26.8 °C

4. Analyze: Based on your data, what light colors were absorbed and reflected by each brick?

Red brick reflects red light, absorbs blue and green light.

Green brick reflects green light, absorbs red and blue light.

Blue brick reflects blue light, absorbs red and green light.

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5. Extend your thinking: White light is a combination of red, green, and blue light. Why is it
cooler to wear a white shirt on a sunny day than a black shirt?

A white shirt will reflect all the colors contained in white light. It won’t heat up very much
because most of the energy is reflected away. A black shirt will absorb all the colors
contained in white light. Therefore a black shirt will heat up a lot.

Activity C: Get the Gizmo ready:

Comparing  Click Reset.
materials  Change the Light color to white.

Question: Which materials are easiest to heat up?

1. Predict: In this activity you will compare how metal, wood, water, and brick heat up.

A. Which substance do you think will heat up the most? Predictions will vary.

B. Which substances will heat up the least? Predictions will vary.

2. Experiment: Using white light, heat up each of the following substances for 3 hours.
[Note: These answers assume a light angle of 75°. Any angle will produce similar results.]

Black White
Metal Wood Water
brick brick
Final temperature
22.3 °C 35.2 °C 30.9 °C 39.5 °C 24.1 °C
(no glass cover)

3. Analyze: Based on the results, which substances do you think reflected the most light?

The metal and the white brick reflected the most light. [Because metal is a conductor, the
metal piece also loses a lot of heat to the surface it is on.]

4. Experiment: A greenhouse is a building with a glass roof and walls. Light can get in, but the
heated air inside cannot escape.

Click Add glass cover to simulate conditions in a greenhouse, and heat up each
substance. Record your results below. [Note: These answers assume the light angle is 75°.]

Black White
Metal Wood Water
brick brick
Final temperature
23.5 °C 50.2 °C 36.0 °C 56.5 °C 27.6 °C
(under glass)
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5. Analyze: What effect did the glass cover have? It made each substance heat up faster.

6. Extend your thinking: Why is it dangerous to leave an infant or pet in a car on a sunny day
with the windows rolled up?

It can get very hot inside a car left in the Sun, and the baby or pet could die of heat stroke.
[If the windows are left closed, the heated air inside a car cannot mix with the cooler air
outside. On a hot day temperatures in a closed car can reach 60 °C (140 °F).]