Energy Absorption and Climate Effects

This lesson explores energy in Earth's system, focusing on how energy affects temperature and ice melting. Students review previous concepts, learn new vocabulary, and use a digital simulation to observe changes in Earth's climate. The lesson emphasizes the connection between energy absorption and global temperature changes.

What trend has been observed on Earth since 1880?

• Decreasing temperatures and increasing ice

• Increasing temperatures and decreasing ice

• Fluctuating temperatures with no clear trend

• Stable temperatures and ice levels

What does the term 'energy' refer to in the context of Earth's climate?

• The process of energy being released into space

• The measure of how hot or cold something is

• The ability to make things move or change

• The layer of gases surrounding the planet

Which color t-shirt absorbs more energy from the Sun?

• Yellow

• Dark

• Light blue

• White

What is the purpose of the digital model (sim) in this lesson?

• To predict future climate changes

• To visualize historical climate data

• To replace real-world experiments

• To safely experiment with Earth's climate system

What do the yellow arrows in the sim represent?

• Wind patterns

• Ice movement

• Energy flow from the Sun

• Ocean currents

How can you track changes in temperature and energy absorption in the sim?

• By observing the color of the Earth

• By measuring the size of ice caps

• By counting the number of arrows

• By using the graph feature

What happens to the global average temperature when the Sun is turned off in the sim?

• It increases

• It decreases

• It remains the same

• It fluctuates randomly

What effect does increasing the amount of gas in the atmosphere have on ice levels in the sim?

• It causes ice to melt

• It has no effect on ice levels

• It causes more ice to form

• It stabilizes ice levels

What is one way to make the ice melt in the sim?

• Increase the amount of gas in the atmosphere

• Increase reflectivity

• Turn off the sim

• Decrease the amount of sunlight

What new key concept was discovered from the sim exploration?

• Energy absorption has no effect on global temperature

• Ice levels are unaffected by energy absorption

• The global average temperature increases when energy absorbed by the surface increases

• The global average temperature decreases when energy absorbed by the surface increases