7

LESSON

The Sun as an Energy Source

INTRODUCTION
In Lesson 6, you investigated solar and lunar
eclipses. You saw that the Sun’s light can be
temporarily blocked by a particular alignment
of the Sun, Earth, and Moon. But what if the
Sun’s light were not available to us on a daily
basis? How much do our lives depend on the
Sun’s energy? In this lesson, you will learn about
the Sun as an energy source. To begin, you will
conduct an investigation to determine how the
distance from a light source to an “energy detec-
tor” affects the amount of energy received. You
then will design an investigation to test how other
variables, such as the angle of light, affect the
amount of energy received from the light source.
You then will compare your results to what you
NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA)/NOAA CENTRAL LIBRARY

know about the Sun. This lesson prepares you for

Lesson 8, in which you will track sunspots and
analyze how changes in the Sun’s energy output
affect Earth.

OBJECTIVES FOR THIS LESSON

Investigate the effects of distance on

the amount of energy received from a
light source.

Design an investigation to observe

Sun, water, and the air we breathe the effects of different variables on
are ingredients for life on Earth. the amount of energy received from a
light source.

Use a radiometer to observe the

effects of solar energy.

Read to learn more about the Sun.

88 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 MATERIALS FOR 1 set of fine-point
Getting Started LESSON 7 transparency
markers

1. Read “Using Eclipses To Study Solar

Wind.” What do you know about solar
For you
2 copies of Planning
1 clamp lamp with
reflector
energy? Discuss your ideas with the class. Sheet 1 50-W lightbulb
1 copy of Student 1 100-W lightbulb

2. Review the Safety Tips with your teacher.

Then carefully unwrap the radiometer.
Sheet 7.1:
Collecting Radiant
1 150-W lightbulb
2 bookends
Energy Data 1 radiometer

3. The radiometer is an “energy detector.”

Test how it works, first under your class-
1 sheet of graph
paper
1 removable dot
1 student timer (or
room lights and then with your clamp other timepiece)
lamp. Observe the lamp and radiometer For your group 1 protractor
when they are set up at different dis- 1 transparency copy 1 pair of heat-
tances. Discuss your observations with of Student Sheet resistant KEVLAR®
your group by answering questions such 7.1: Collecting gloves
as the following: Radiant Energy 1 metric measuring
Data tape or 1⁄2-meter
How does the light affect the radiometer? 1 transparency stick
1 transparency copy Access to electrical
What causes the radiometer to behave as of graph paper outlet
it does?

Why are the panels inside the radiometer

black and white? SAFETY TIPS
The radiometer will
Discuss the following question as a class:
4. How does the distance from the clamp
shatter on impact.
Keep it away from
lamp to the radiometer affect the length the table’s edge.
of time the radiometer vane spins? You
will investigate this question further in Avoid touching the
Inquiry 7.1. metal reflector or
lightbulb on the
clamp lamp while it
is on or cooling.

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 89
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

Inquiry 7.1 5. What will you look for? What you will
measure? Record these on your planning
Investigating the Effects sheet.
of Radiant Energy
PROCEDURE
6. Use the removable dot to mark a spot in
your workspace away from any edges. Keep
the radiometer on that dot at all times.

1. Record the question you will try to

answer in this investigation on your plan-
This may help prevent your radiometer
from being knocked to the floor.
ning sheet. Consider what you are testing
(the distance from the clamp lamp to the
radiometer) and its effect (the length of
7. Read the directions on Student Sheet 7.1.
Record the power (in watts) of the light-
time the radiometer vane spins). bulb your group will use. (Remember not
to change the lightbulb once you start.

2. What do you think will happen if you

change the distance between the lamp and
Change only the distance.) Record the
number of seconds you will keep the
the radiometer? Record your prediction clamp lamp on during each trial. Examine
on your planning sheet. Table 1 on the student sheet. On Table 1,
list the three different distances you will

3. On your planning sheet, list the materials

you will use and the procedures you will
test. You will conduct three trials for each
distance and then average your results.
follow.

4. How will you control your experiment?

Record what you will change. Record what
you will keep the same.

90 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

8. Set up your equipment as outlined on

your planning sheet (see Figure 7.1.)
A. Do you see a general pattern in your
data? What is the pattern?
(Use either a metric measuring tape or a
1
⁄2-meterstick). B. What do the patterns in the data tell
you?

9. Conduct your investigation. Complete

Table 1 on the student sheet as you work. C. Why might different groups get different
results?

10. Graph your data on Student Sheet 7.1.

Use your data to determine the scale of D. If the conditions on all planets were the
your x- and y-axes. Record your indepen- same, except for their distance from the
dent variable (distance) on the x-axis. Sun, how would distance affect the amount
Record your dependent variable (average of energy a planet receives from the Sun?
time the radiometer vane spins after shut-
ting off the clamp lamp) on the y-axis. E. Why do you think distance from the Sun
affects how much energy a planet receives?

REFLECTING ON WHAT YOU’VE DONE

3. Read “Distance and Light.” Review your
answers to Questions D and E. Is there

1. Share your results with the class. You

may want to show your data table and
anything you want to change or add to
your answers on the basis of this new
graph to the class. information?

2. Answer the following questions in your

science notebooks, and then discuss them
with your class:

Figure 7.1 One suggestion for setting up the investigation. Between trials, what variables
would you change in this investigation? What variables would you keep the same?

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 91
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

DISTANCE AND LIGHT as Earth, that light is spread out over an area
Light spreads out spherically from a source. four times larger than Earth’s distance from the
As light gets farther from its source, it covers Sun. By the time the Sun’s light reaches Saturn,
an ever-widening area. The size of the surface which is 10 Earth-distances from the Sun, the
area of light is related to its distance. If you Sun’s light is spread out over an area 100 times
double the distance from the light source, the larger than one Earth-distance. The fact that
light spreads out more than four times the energy decreases with increasing distance from
area (2 x 2 = 4). The surface area of light is the source is sometimes called the inverse
“squared” (22 = 4). (See the illustration.) If square law. “Inverse” means that the relation-
you make the distance three times as great, ship is reversed. You might think that if you
the light spreads out more than nine times the increase one factor, another factor related to it
area (3 x 3 = 32 = 9). We can describe this also would increase. (For example, increase the
relationship by saying: The larger the area over food you feed your dog and his weight also may
which light is spread, the smaller the amount increase.) But the relationship between light and
of energy that passes through any unit area of energy is inverse—or reversed. Energy decreases
that sphere. Less light means less energy. This as the distance from the light source increases.
is why the farther you are from the clamp The inverse square law explains why the
lamp, the more the light spreads and the less inner planets closer to the Sun are hotter than
energy the radiometer receives. the outer planets farther away from the Sun.
How does this apply to our solar system? Of course, other factors—such as the tilt of a
When light from the Sun reaches Earth, it is planet on its axis, surface composition, and
spread over a sphere that is equal to the atmosphere—also affect the temperature of a
radius of one Earth-distance to the Sun. planet. But overall, the farther a planet is from
When light from the Sun has gone twice as far the Sun, the less solar energy it receives.

Point
Source
of Light

Sunlight spreads out spherically. The farther a planet is from the Sun, the larger the area over which the sunlight
spreads and the smaller the amount of energy the planet receives.

92 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

Inquiry 7.2 3. Discuss with your group how to record

your results. Set up a data table in your
Designing an Energy notebook similar to the one you used
Investigation during Inquiry 7.1.

PROCEDURE
4. Review the Safety Tips that relate to
your investigation. Then complete your

1. What other questions would you like to

explore using this equipment? Discuss
investigation.

possible ideas with your group. Then

decide with your group which question
5. Graph your results. You may be asked to
graph your results on a transparency as
you will test. Complete your group’s well so that you can share your data with
planning sheet. the class.

2. Review
teacher.
your group’s plan with your

SAFETY TIPS
Turn off your
clamp lamp and
unplug it before
changing lightbulbs.

Use heat-resistant
KEVLAR gloves
when changing hot
lightbulbs.

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 93
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

REFLECTING ON WHAT YOU’VE DONE

3. You might be able to take your radiome-
ter outside, or work near a sunlit window,

1. Share your results with the class. to see how it responds to the Sun’s light.
If so, how do your observations compare

2. Answer the following in your notebook,

and then discuss them as a class:
to your predictions? What explanation
can you give for your observations?

A. Do you see a general pattern in your

data? If so, what is it?
4. How many radiometers do you think the
Sun could “power” compared to a clamp
lamp? Discuss your ideas with the class.
B. How are your data like those of other If possible, test your ideas in the lab.
groups?

C. Why do you think different groups that

5. With your class, return to the Question E
folder (from Lesson 1) with its accompa-
tested the same thing may have gotten nying photo card. Review the self-stick
different results? responses from Lesson 1 about the points
of light in the night sky. As a class, work
D. Draw some conclusions from your together to remove any postings that may
investigation. For example, how does now prove incorrect. Add any new ideas
changing the wattage of the lightbulb you may have to the folder.
affect the amount of energy received by
the radiometer?

E. Make a prediction: How do you think

the Sun will affect the radiometer?

F. What characteristics of the Sun will

affect how the radiometer spins?

G. What characteristics of Earth will

affect how much solar energy the
radiometer receives?

94 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

Using Eclipses
To Study Solar Wind
Physicist Shadia Habbal does not have an easy “Not only are total solar eclipses rare and
job. At the Smithsonian Astrophysical Obser- short-lived, but if one occurs during cloudy
vatory, she studies the solar wind. The best time weather—well, it can be frustrating,” says Dr.
to observe the solar wind is during total solar Habbal. An additional difficulty is that each total
eclipses—which occur only once every year or solar eclipse can be seen only along a narrow
two and last only for a few minutes. stretch of Earth—and that narrow stretch may
occur on the other side of the planet.
HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR ASTROPHYSICS

Dr. Shadia Habbal working at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 95
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

Solar eclipses occur when the Moon, aligned out from other regions of the Sun move at a
perfectly between Earth and the Sun, blocks the slower rate—about 300 kilometers per second.
bright solar disk. For just a few minutes, the But even at this slower speed, solar wind could
Sun’s outer layer, or corona, becomes visible— travel around the Earth’s equator in less than
and so does the path of solar wind. “It shows 21⁄2 minutes! Some winds can even travel
up as bright streaks in the Sun’s corona,” says beyond Pluto!
Dr. Habbal. Is solar wind really a wind? “Not one you
will ever feel,” explains Dr. Habbal. “The flow
What Is Solar Wind? of particles is much less dense than in wind on
Solar wind is a flow of particles out of the Sun’s Earth, so you wouldn’t even feel it if you stood
corona. The particles may be few and far in its way.” Not that you could. Earth’s magnetic
between, but they are speedy! Some particles field shields the planet from solar wind as it
that escape from the Sun’s poles travel as fast as moves throughout the solar system.
800 kilometers per second. Particles that blow
NATIONAL CENTER FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH/UNIVERSITY CORPORATION
FOR ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH/NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

During “totality,” when the bright solar disk is covered, the Sun’s outer layer—the corona—becomes visible.

96 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

COURTESY OF STEELE HILL AND SOHO. SOHO IS A PROJECT OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION BETWEEN
ESA (EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY) AND NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

This NASA illustration shows Earth’s magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar winds.

What Exactly Is Blowing? easier to see solar winds, flares, and other
As it turns out, the Sun sheds—that is, it gives flamelike eruptions. In her 20-year career, Dr.
off particles. The particles making up solar wind Habbal has traveled to many continents to wit-
are mainly electrons and protons coming from ness solar eclipses. “The beauty of the total
the Sun itself. These particles are electrically eclipse is that it offers terrific resolution and
charged, and according to Dr. Habbal, they are details of the corona all the way to the solar
super-hot, measuring more than a million surface,” she says. A coronagraph is a tool that
degrees! The hotter something is, the more attaches to a telescope and blocks out most of
energy it has. Solar wind particles have so the Sun and creates an artificial eclipse. But
much energy that the Sun’s gravity cannot hold according to Dr. Habbal, it doesn’t give the
them back. “It’s this heat that enables these same sharp, complete picture as a total solar
particles to escape solar gravity and flow out to eclipse. And partial eclipses, says Dr. Habbal,
space,” she explains. “do not block the solar disk enough to be able
to study the corona.”
Why Study Solar Winds During an Eclipse? Find out when the next total solar eclipse
A total solar eclipse is a perfect opportunity for will occur and where. You can bet that Dr.
scientists like Dr. Habbal to study the Sun. The Habbal and other solar scientists will have a
eclipse blocks the Sun’s bright light, making it front-row seat. 

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 97
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

OUR SUN’S ENERGY

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

The Sun is a star—a huge nuclear reactor.

The Sun may be only one star among billions of approximately 300,000 times greater than
other stars in the universe, but it’s the one that Earth’s. The more mass an object has, the
makes our life on Earth possible. How? The Sun greater the pressure at its center due to the force
provides us with energy that gives us solar power, of gravity. And when gas is squeezed, or com-
fossil fuels, waves, and surface wind. Without pressed, it becomes hot. Most of the Sun’s mass
heat and light from the Sun, Earth would be just is composed of hydrogen gas atoms. Physicists
another dark, cold planet in space where life as came up with the hypothesis that the Sun’s
we know it could not exist. tremendous mass squeezed the hydrogen atoms
Where does the Sun get all its energy? It all until they fused and released the heat and light
starts with its size. The Sun’s mass is enormous— energy that reaches Earth.

98 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

Range of most
solar radiation

Transmitter Radio Television Radar Microwaves Infrared Visible light Ultraviolet X rays Gamma rays

Radio Waves

104 103 102 101 10 10-1 10-2 10-3 10-4 10-5 10-6 10-7 10-8 10-9 10-10 10-11 10-12 10-13 10-14 10-15
Wavelengths in Meters

Solar energy travels through space in the form of electromagnetic waves. Along the electromagnetic spectrum, solar
energy is mostly visible energy, infrared energy, and ultraviolet energy.

Think about the hottest oven you can imag- effect it produces when it interacts with an
ine—and then turn up the temperature to about object. Some solar radiation is visible as light
14,000,000 °C (or 1.4 × 107). That’s how hot it (43 percent), but not all solar radiation can be
gets in the center of the Sun. At that tempera- detected by the human eye. Infrared radiation
ture, the hydrogen nuclei—or centers of each (49 percent) cannot been seen at all, but we can
hydrogen atom—are moving so fast that when detect it as heat. Another type of radiation is
they crash into each other, they stick together responsible for the sunburn that can occur after
to form helium. exposure to the Sun (scientists call that ultra-
The result of the crash of hydrogen nuclei is a violet radiation, which makes up 7 percent).
tremendous amount of energy, released mainly Gamma rays, X rays, microwaves, TV waves, and
in the form of heat and light. This reaction is radio waves make up the remaining 1 percent.
called nuclear fusion. Scientists calculate that Solar energy is important to life on Earth. But
there is enough hydrogen in the Sun to contin- surprisingly, most of the Sun’s energy does not
ue the fusion reaction and provide heat and reach Earth at all; it travels out through space
light energy for at least another 5 billion years in all directions. Earth’s land and oceans absorb
or so. about half of the small amount of solar energy
that reaches us. The rest is reflected back into
Solar Energy space or absorbed by the thin blanket of air—
Energy from the Sun is called solar energy. the atmosphere—that surrounds Earth. The
Solar energy is the source of most of the heat interaction of solar energy with air, soil, and
on Earth’s land, in its oceans, and in its atmos- water on Earth creates our weather. The uneven
phere. This energy makes its way through the heating of Earth causes wind, rain, and other
vacuum of space to Earth by a process known elements of weather, and makes our planet
as radiation. Radiation is often identified by the unique and habitable.

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 99
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

Reflected

Atmospheric
Heat particles
and gases

Absorbed

Reflected
Heat
Reflected
Forests, land,
and water Ice and snow

Heat

Absorbed Absorbed

Earth’s atmosphere and surfaces absorb and reflect the Sun’s energy.
Some of the absorbed energy is given off as heat.

Our Atmosphere and Life on Earth atmosphere also helps keep our planet warm at
Earth’s atmosphere protects our planet. How? night. And most meteors and other rocks from
The atmosphere keeps us from receiving too space burn in the atmosphere before they reach
much solar energy. The tilt of Earth on its axis Earth’s surface.
and Earth’s rotation help vary the amount of solar Our planet receives just the right amount of
energy that reaches any one place on our planet solar energy to sustain life. If Earth were just a
at any time. Too much of the Sun’s energy—too little farther away from the Sun, or just a little
much ultraviolet radiation, for example—would closer, life as we know it probably could not
be harmful to life on Earth. Like a blanket, Earth’s exist. 

100 STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E
 LESSON 7 THE SUN AS AN ENERGY SOURCE

NATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE DATA CENTER/GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

Solar Energy on Other Planets
Planets get most of their energy
from sunlight. If all conditions were
the same, the closer a planet is to
the Sun, the warmer that planet
should be. But this is not always the
case. The temperature of each plan-
et depends not only on the amount
of sunlight that strikes it but also on
the way that planet’s surface returns
infrared radiation into space.
The way a particular planet
absorbs the Sun’s radiant energy
depends on its atmosphere. For
example, Earth’s atmosphere reflects
part of the radiation back into space
and distributes heat from the sunlit
regions to the cooler poles and to
the side facing away from the Sun.
Without its atmosphere, which is
made up mostly of nitrogen and oxy- Venus is covered by a hot, cloud-filled atmosphere made up
gen, the temperature of Earth would mostly of carbon dioxide.
be nearer to –260 °C and the oceans
would freeze.
The climate of Venus is very different Mars also has an atmosphere that is made
from Earth’s even though Venus is similar to up of 95 percent carbon dioxide. But because
Earth in size, mass, density, and distance Mars’ temperature is always below freezing, its
from the Sun. Its atmosphere is made up water vapor is frozen in the planet’s polar ice
of 95 percent carbon dioxide and trace caps and soil. Without water in the atmos-
amounts of water vapor. This mixture lets phere, most of the Sun’s energy that reaches
in visible light from the Sun but does not Mars returns to space. In addition, the
release the infrared radiation generated by Martian atmosphere is so thin that it cannot
its hot rocky surface. This “greenhouse block the deadly ultraviolet rays of the Sun,
effect” makes Venus extremely hot, with greatly reducing the greenhouse effect as
surface temperatures that can reach 482 ºC. compared to Earth or Venus.

STC/MS™ E A R T H IN S PA C E 101