Greenhouse gases - sense making by observing photons A gold star indicates high-quality, inquiry-based activities that follow the PhET design guidelines.



Title Greenhouse gases - sense making by observing photons
Description Learning Goals: Students will be able to Compare and contrast “light photons” and “infrared photons”. Identify what happens to light photons when they get to Earth and why the temperature of the earth and its atmosphere changes. Design experiments to observe how clouds change the photons behavior. Design experiments to observe how greenhouse gases change the photons behavior. Compare and contrast cloud behavior and greenhouse gas behavior. Use the Photon Absorption tab to identify if molecules are Greenhouse Gases and give the microscopic evidence that supports your ideas. Explain why inside a building or car sometimes is a different temperature than outside. Extension: Discover when the “Ice Age” was and what was has changed about the composition of the greenhouse gases.
Subject Chemistry, Earth Science, Physics
Level High School, Undergrad - Intro
Type Homework, Lab
Duration 30 minutes
Answers Included No
Language English
Keywords atom, emission, inquiry, light, model, molecule, phet, photon, photon, rotation, vibration
Simulation(s) The Greenhouse Effect

Author(s) Trish Loeblein
Contact Email patricia.loeblein@colorado.edu
School / Organization PhET
Date submitted 12/10/12
Date updated 12/10/12