Bill Nye the Science Guy: The Sun Video Questions
Watch the video at http://www.schooltube.com/video/278e6db1825c406f8588/Bill%20Nye%20Sun which is also: https://goo.gl/cQOSA1
Please answer the following questions.
1. What is the closest star to our planet? ______
2. What is the overall surface temperature of the sun? ______oC or ______oF
3. How many earths do you need to equal the size of the sun? ______
4. How many earths do you need to equal the diameter of the sun? ______
5. The core temp of the sun is ______oC or ______oF
6. Later: How long does it take for a photon of light to migrate from the inner portions of the sun to the outer surface? ______How long does it take that same photon to reach earth once it leaves the sun? ______.
7. A ______can be used to cook food. They put extra cardboard in the space between their 2 boxes and a plastic lid on the whole thing to act as ______, keeping in any ______from the rays of the sun.
8. Photovoltaic cells are also known as ______, and like glass and quartz, they contain SiO2, which is also known as silicon ______. Note – government support and the reduced cost of solar panels made it so that solar energy and other renewable energy forms are now 10% of the US energy mix. Until the last 4 years or so, it was predicted that it would take until 2030 or 2035 to reach that level of renewable energy use.
9. A road flare is how hot? ______. A solar flare is how hot? ______.
10. Later: Why is a solar flare so much hotter than a road flare? (hint – think about its source of energy). Short explanation to read and add detail to your answer: (https://goo.gl/zj0yyS ) https://nuclearawareness.wordpress.com/chemical-reactions-vs-nuclear-reactions/
11. Later: 8A. Look up solar flares, define them, and explain why they tend to make loops as they blow up.
8B. What makes the path most solar flares travel along?
8C. How far out does the average solar flare travel as they move along and return to the surface? (note, some don’t return and they can come toward us as coronal mass ejections (CME’s))
8D. Why are solar flares that cause CME’s a problem for the way we currently live our lives here on earth?
12. What does SPF stand for? ______
13. ______is a pigment based on an amino acid and it gives us protection from the sun’s UV rays.
14. During a solar eclipse, the ______casts a shadow on the Earth.
15. Draw and label a pinhole viewer below, and remember that you can make one and use it to safely observe the partial solar eclipse that you may be in a position to see on Aug ______this year.
16. A. Approximately what is the average number of watts of power (watts are not energy, they are joules of energy per second, which is called power – Bill Nye made a mistake in his terminology here) from the sun make it to every square meter of the earth? ______. Note, joules/second can also be translated into calories per second, which may make more sense to you.
16B. Approximately how many watts of power come off of the sun in all directions at all times?
16C. In 16A, you wrote that it is 1400 watts per m2 on average for the sun’s energy hitting the earth. How many W/m2 is it here in Michigan today? (Use my meter to check this. Also, what is the UV index today? ______on a scale of 1-11, which is how dangerous? ______
17. Choose one: The sun gets its energy from continuous chemical/nuclear explosions. ______
18. Sunspots occur in ______year cycles, and one peak activity year was in 2005, so the next peak should be in ______, and the following one would be in ______.
19. Sunspots are areas on the sun that are ______than the rest of the sun (but would still be very bright if viewed alone, since they are still 3527oC or 6380oF. Some sunspots are larger than the earth’s diameter. They are areas of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic field flux that inhibit convection currents in/on the photosphere. Sunspots usually appear in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity. How can you personally see a sunspot?
More interesting sunspot info: https://goo.gl/H3Rl6
20. True/False: Lighter colors absorb more heat from the sun. ______
Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the best answer (based on watching the entire video)
______18. Which of the following use energy either directly or indirectly from the sun?
A. Plants C. Human muscles
B. Fuel D. All of the above
______19. Which of the following statements regarding the sun is true?
A. Most of the energy from the sun hits the Earth.
B. The sun gives off a lot of energy.
C. All the energy from the sun hits the Earth.
D. The sun does not provide enough energy to support all life on Earth.
______20. Which of the following statements regarding sun spots are true?
A. Sun spots are dark, cool areas on the sun’s surface.
B. Sun spots have high magnetic fields.
C. The size of a sun spot can be as large as the Earth.
D. All of the above
DIAGRAM
Use the next page to draw a diagram of the sun. In your picture, include the following terms, with their relative thicknesses and how they are related to layers of the sun/what they are defined as: corona, photosphere, core, radiative zone, convective zone, chromosphere, solar flare and sunspot (you already defined those two)
Done? Try this infuriating fusion game from Joey: https://goo.gl/gSSjuk