{"id":577,"date":"2017-11-28T21:37:32","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T02:37:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/edt431-531\/?p=577"},"modified":"2017-11-29T20:40:50","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T01:40:50","slug":"solar-smores-yes-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2017\/11\/solar-smores-yes-please\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar S’mores? Yes, Please!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

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Everyone appreciates a beautiful sunset or sunset.<\/strong> It’s hard not to love the picture-perfect colors, and\u00a0 with social media being so prominent, it’s hard not to document it in it’s full beauty.<\/p>\n

But any scientist knows that there is much more to the sun beyond its gorgeous rise and set.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/sunobservatory\/status\/934704719926321152<\/a><\/p>\n

Without the sun, there would be no life on Earth<\/strong>. The sun provides plants the energy to make sugar for growth, and consumers take advantage of this sugar to use for energy. By high school, students are familiar with the process of photosynthesis: Plants take\u00a0CO2 <\/sub>\u00a0and water and use energy from the sun to make glucose and Oxygen.<\/p>\n

6CO2\u00a0<\/sub>+ 6H2<\/sub>O ——> C6<\/sub>H12<\/sub>O6\u00a0<\/sub>+ 6O2<\/sub><\/p>\n

So that’s how plants use energy from the sun… can\u00a0we<\/em> use energy from the sun?<\/strong><\/p>\n

YES. The sun does so much more than provide energy for plants, but in biology, we tend to get caught up on that awesome thing called photosynthesis, and we don’t talk about much else. The sun can warm our houses on a\u00a0 spring day. The sun can boost our serotonin levels, making us feel happier. It can dry our clothes and heat our water. It gives us vitamin D, which helps to reduce our risk of some cancers. We can use solar cells to convert the sun’s energy to electricity. And now, in your class, students can use energy from the sun to build an oven.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Energy on Earth: It Starts with the Sun<\/span><\/h2>\n

Engage: 3-2-1 Bridge
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  • Ask students to write 3 words, 2 questions, and 1 metaphor that come to mind when they hear the word “Sun.”<\/li>\n
  • Present the video “The importance of the sun to life on earth” to students. The whole video doesn’t have to be played, but it does have some interesting facts about the sun scattered through the video.
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