1. Today’s Driving Question
Describe how passive solar energy can be used in our everyday lives and homes.

2. Today’s Objectives
To learn how light is reflected, transmitted, and absorbed on objects
A solar cooker collects and traps the sun’s energy, creating heat.
Solar cookers require 3 parts: glazing, insulation and reflectors.

3. Today’s Objective Continued
Describe how solar can be used in our lives and homes.
Discuss the physics among reflection, transmission, and absorption: solar radiation (I) must equal reflected (R) plus transmitted (T) plus absorbed (A) radiation (I = R + T + A)
Predict transmission, reflection, and absorption values of various materials.
Construct a solar cooker that fully cooks a smore!
Info created from teacherdmain.com

4. Today’s Vocabulary
Passive Solar
Radiation
Absorption
Reflection

5. Radiant Energy
Solar energy is radiation produced by nuclear fusion inside the sun’s core.
It takes millions of years for the energy in the sun’s core to make its way to the solar surface.
It takes 8 minutes to travel 93 million miles to earth. (186,000 miles per second)
The Greenhouse effect traps some of the heat making life on earth possible.

6. A car is a good example of how solar energy can be collected and put to use.
Because solar energy is radiant energy, no heat from the sun travels to the earth.
The radiant energy turns into thermal energy (heat) when it is absorbed by molecules on Earth.
In a car, the insides of the car(sets, floors, walls, etc.) absorb sunlight and change it to heat.
The glass window lets the light in but does not let the heat out.

7. Solar Cooker Solar Cooking
(Warming Up to the Properties of Solar Radiation & Its Uses in Our Homes)
Part 1: Virtual Solar Cooker Wrap-Up
In this section, you need to start by making some notes about what you observed while
investigating the properties of radiant (light) energy using the “Virtual Solar Cooker.” You will
then answer a series of questions as you work through the process of selecting materials and
constructing a solar cooker with your team.

8. Solar Cooker Simulations

10. 1. Transmission: On the basis of your observations, rate each material’s ability to transmit
light as Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, No Ability and record it as the description in the Data
Table.
2. Reflection: On the basis of your observations, rate each material’s ability to reflect light as
Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, No Ability and record it as the description in the Data Table.
1. Absorption: On the basis of your observations, rate each material’s ability to absorb light as
2. For each column, rank each of the materials so that the number 1 represents the material that
is the best transmitter, reflector and absorber.

13. Panel Solar Cooker Example

14. Box Solar Cooker Example

15. Parabolic Solar Cooker Ex.

16. Pizza Box Solar Cooker

17. Part 2

20. Step 4
Make a sketch of your solar cooker below.

21. S’mores Cooker