How to Navigate in Nature

You are about to analyse the value of the solar constant of the Earth and compare it with the value of the other planets. You will complete the activities in two stages.

Stage 1.

Since the solar constant decreases with increasing distance to the Sun, the solar constant is different for each planet in the solar system. The table below shows the solar constant values for each planet in the Solar system.

Study the information in the table and answer the questions:

1. By what criteria are the planets arranged in the table?
2. Which planet receives the most solar radiation?
3. On the surface of which planet does the least solar radiation fall?
4. The surface of which planet receives more solar radiation than the surface of Earth?
5. The surface of which planet receives about twice as much solar radiation as the surface of Earth?

Stage 2.

The actual amount of heat used by solar radiation depends largely on the specific conditions – time of day, cloud cover, location of the site, etc. Only a small percentage of the incident radiation is used. For example, the roofs of buildings made of copper are also exposed to solar radiation. The effect of the incident radiation on the roof can be simulated/modelled and the temperature of the sheet metal measured.

For example:

A copper sheet measuring 20 cm x 2 m x 2 mm is removed from storage and placed in the open air. When the Sun began to shine on it, it began to heat up. Its temperature change over time is shown in the graph.

Study the data from the graph, answer the questions and solve the problems:

1. How long did the measurement take?
2. What was the temperature of the copper sheet at the beginning of the measurement?
3. What is the temperature of the copper sheet at the end of the measurement?
4. How long since the start of the measurement has the temperature of the copper sheet reached 30° С?
5. In which time interval did the sheet heat up the fastest?
6. Calculate the area and volume of the copper sheet.
7. The density of copper is 8 930 kg/m³. Calculate the density and volume housing the information about the mass in the sheet.
8. Calculate the amount of heat produced by the copper sheet during the entire heating process according to the formula Q = c . m . Δt.