Alberta Science 10Teaching resource · Alberta POS aligned

Units / Unit D

Energy Flow in Global Systems

Social and Environmental ContextsTeachable

Solar energy sustains life and drives the global climate systems on Earth. Without solar energy there would be no heat or precipitation and, therefore, no life on Earth. Students will gain an understanding that the absorption and transfer of thermal energy at and near Earth's surface results in a variety of climate zones with characteristic weather patterns and biomes.

Focusing questions

  • Are there relationships between solar energy, global energy transfer processes, climate and biomes?
  • What evidence suggests our climate may be changing more rapidly than living species can adapt?
  • Is human activity causing climate change?
  • How can we reduce our impact on the biosphere and on global climate, while still meeting human needs?

Key concepts (POS)

  • social and environmental contexts for investigating climate change
  • solar radiation budget
  • climate zones, transfer of thermal energy by the hydrosphere and the atmosphere
  • hydrologic cycle and phase change
  • relationship between biomes, solar energy and climate
  • human activity and climate change

Lessons

  1. Lesson 1

    Sun, Climate, and Life on Earth

    Climate impacts on species; Sun as energy source (D-GO1-SO1, D-GO1-SO2).

    D-GO1

    75 min · 8 slides

  2. Lesson 2

    Net Radiation Budget

    Solar input, terrestrial output, net radiant energy (D-GO1-SO3).

    D-GO1

    75 min · 8 slides

  3. Lesson 3

    Earth Systems and the Greenhouse Effect

    Atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, biosphere; greenhouse gases (D-GO1-SO4, D-GO1-SO5).

    D-GO1

    75 min · 8 slides

  4. Lesson 4

    Global Energy Transfer and Climate Zones

    Atmosphere and hydrosphere transfer; climate zones (D-GO2-SO1, D-GO2-SO3).

    D-GO2

    75 min · 8 slides

  5. Lesson 5

    Factors Affecting Solar Input at the Surface

    Season, angle, daylight, albedo, aerosols (D-GO2-SO2).

    D-GO2

    75 min · 8 slides

  6. Lesson 6

    Uneven Heating and Phase Changes

    Thermal properties and phase-change energy (D-GO2-SO4, D-GO2-SO5).

    D-GO2

    75 min · 8 slides

  7. Lesson 7

    Hydrologic Cycle and Climate

    Link phase changes to hydrologic cycle and climate (D-GO2-SO6).

    D-GO2

    75 min · 8 slides

  8. Lesson 8

    Biomes as Open Systems

    Compare cells and biomes as open systems (D-GO3-SO1).

    D-GO3

    75 min · 8 slides

  9. Lesson 9

    Climatographs and Biome Comparison

    Biome characteristics and climatographs (D-GO3-SO2, D-GO3-SO3).

    D-GO3

    75 min · 8 slides

  10. Lesson 10

    Human Actions and Climate Evidence

    Human drivers of climate change and paleoclimate evidence (D-GO4-SO1, D-GO4-SO2).

    D-GO4

    75 min · 8 slides

  11. Lesson 11

    Climate Science, Decisions, and Perspectives

    International climate programs, limits of models, and evaluating human choices (D-GO3-SO4, D-GO4-SO3–SO6).

    D-GO3D-GO4

    85 min · 10 slides