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Differential Absorption

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Central Question:

Which heats faster?

Make a hypothesis:

Water and land heat and cool at different rates. This difference in heating and cooling influences climate.

Which material you think will heat most quickly? Why?

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Soil Water

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Set up

On a piece of lined paper, set up a data table that looks like this:

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0 min (Tinitial)

5 min

10 min

15 min (Tfinal)

Change in T

(Tfinal - Tinitial)

Soil

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Water

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Collect Data

  1. Set two pans or plates on a flat surface.
  2. Fill one with soil. Fill the other with water.
  3. Take the temperature of both materials.
  4. Position both pans under a bright lamp.
  5. Record the temperatures of both pans every 5 minutes.
  6. Subtract the initial temperature from the final temperature for both samples.

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Flipgrid Questions

  1. Show us your experimental set up and describe what you did. Discuss any challenges with data collection.
  2. Show us your data table and discuss your results.
  3. Do your results support or refute your hypothesis? Why? Use specific numbers to explain your answer.
  4. Imagine visiting the ocean in the summer. Would you expect the climate near the ocean to be warmer or cooler than the climate inland? Why?