Energy Balance and Atmosphere Estimated Completion Time: 45 minutes Website: https://learn.concord.org/itsi#middle-school-earth-science © Copyright The Concord Consortium (http://concord.org) Instructions: • Click on the link above. Then scroll down to the Energy Balance and Atmosphere activity and click 'Preview' to enter the lab. • Click the 'Begin Activity' button to begin the lab. • Complete the entire lab by clicking through the website, using the simulators, and answering all of the questions ON THIS DOCUMENT. You do not need to fill out the answers on the website. Answers typed into concord will not be recorded. • You will be prompted ON THIS DOCUMENT to take several computer screenshots along the way. Below you will find instructions on how to properly take a screenshot on your device. You can either paste the screenshots into the appropriate areas below, or you can attach them to the assignment page along with this document. You may ignore instructions in the lab that ask you to take a snapshot, as this will replace it. • To take a screenshot on a PC, use the windows key + prt sc (print screen) • To take a screenshot on a Chromebook press Shift+Ctrl+Show windows, in the menu at the bottom select screenshot • To take a screenshot on a Mac, press shift+ctrl+3 • To take a screenshot on a mobile device, press volume down + the power button • When you are finished with all parts of the activity, submit this document back to us so that we can grade the assignment for you. Questions/Screenshots: Question 1: How do you think the atmosphere might affect incoming solar radiation? Which factors would increase heating of Earth, and which factors would decrease it? Your response: The atmosphere absorbs some of the sunlight and cools down the surface. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels increase the heating of the Earth while recycling and buying energy efficient appliances would help decrease it. Screenshot 1 (Explore and Explain I) Question 2: What did you notice? Your response: I noticed that the more sun rays that come from the atmosphere, the more energy there is in Earth. Also, it seems that about half of the rays bounce off of the surface and back into the atmosphere as yellow arrows while the other half gets absorbed by the Earth and changes to red. Then the energy is released into the atmosphere with red arrows. Some of the rays are interfered by the clouds and bounce back into atmosphere without hitting the surface. Screenshot 2 (Explore and Explain II) Question 3: What effect do clouds have on sunlight? What did you see in the model? Your response: The sunlight has rays that bounce off of the clouds and back into the atmosphere without touching the surface. The more rays there are, the better chance of them bouncing off of the clouds. Question 4: What is the effect of clouds on outgoing infrared radiation? What did you see in the model? Your response: Some of the outgoing radiation gets trapped in the clouds and gets radiated back downwards to the Earth's surface. The model showed some of the radiation that hit the clouds bounce back downwards. Question 5: What is the effect of clouds on the energy stored in the Earth? What did you see in the model? Your response: The energy stored fluctuates, but it seems when clouds are present that the energy stays in the Earth for a longer period of time. There seems to be more energy that is absorbed by the surface when clouds are present. Screenshot 3 (Explore and Explain III) Question 6: What effect do greenhouse gases have on sunlight? What did you see in the model? Your response: The gases seem to trap the outgoing radiation creating the Earth to be warmer. The model showed that the red arrows(outgoing radiation) get trapped in the air. Additionally, the energy in the Earth remains a lot longer when there are greenhouse gases present. Question 7: What is the effect of greenhouse gases on outgoing infrared radiation? What did you see in the model? Your response: The outgoing infrared radiation is getting trapped in the air and not released. The outgoing radiation continues to bounce back down to the Earth, get absorbed as energy in the Earth, and then released again to repeat this process. Question 8: What is the effect of greenhouse gases on the energy stored in the Earth? What did you see in the model? Your response: The greenhouse gases keep energy stored in the Earth and stop them from being released. The more greenhouse gases present, the more energy that is present in Earth's stored energy. The model shows this. Question 9: Based on this model, would increased cloud cover raise or lower the Earth’s new energy gain and its temperature? Explain. Your response: The clouds lower the energy gain and temperature because there is not as much energy stored when the clouds are present. Question 10: Based on this model, would increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere raise or lower the Earth’s temperature? Explain. Your response: The increase of greenhouse gases raise the Earth's temperature because the gases trap the outgoing radiation and bounces it back down to the surface. Question 11: Make a list of the sources of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Note which sources are natural and which are the result of human activities. (Note: you may need to do some outside research to answer this question; please list the website where you got your information and be sure to write the answer in your own words) Your response: Question 12: Make a list of the ways that greenhouse gases are removed from the atmosphere. (Note: you may need to do some outside research to answer this question; please list the website where you got your information and be sure to write the answer in your own words) Your response: Question 13: Make a list of what changes in Earth’s climate might change the amount of cloud cover. Explain how cloud cover would be affected by each change. (Note: you may need to do some outside research to answer this question; please list the website where you got your information and be sure to write the answer in your own words) Your response: Question 14: How does the atmosphere affect Earth’s energy balance and temperature? Your response: Question 15: What tools do climatologists use to monitor changes in climate? (Note: you may need to do some outside research to answer this question; please list the website where you got your information and be sure to write the answer in your own words) Your response: Question 16: Would you want to be a climatologist? Why or why not? Your response: Question 17: Change all the variables to make the hottest possible Earth for a given rate of sunshine. Describe what you did. Your response: To get the hottest possible Earth, you would add more Greenhouse gases and remove the clouds. Screenshot 4 (Further Investigation) Question 18: Change all the variables to make the coldest possible Earth for a given rate of sunshine. Describe what you did. Your response: To make the coldest possible Earth, I added in more clouds and eliminated the greenhouse gases. Screenshot 5 (Further Investigation) YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE LAB! Submit this document as an attachment to be graded.
