Look for: The light that doesn’t end up bouncing off th…

4.C Develop and use a model to describe phenomena and unobservable mechanisms that track the transfer of energy from the Sun to the ground and then to the air at the surface.

• The light that doesn’t end up bouncing off the ground is absorbed.
• The ground surfaces that absorb more light tend to be warmer (higher temperature).
• Light transmits through air and reaches the ground, where some of it is absorbed and some is reflected.
• When energy is absorbed, it causes the particles in the ground to vibrate more, increasing their kinetic energy and the temperature of the ground.
• Particles in the ground with more kinetic energy transfer energy to particles in the air through conduction when they collide.

If students struggle to make the connection between the temperature and sunlight data to explain why the ground heats up more and how it transfers energy back to the air, diagram the system and trace the energy. Include bubbles to “zoom in” on different locations to show what the particles are doing as energy from the Sun travels through the air, is absorbed by the ground, and then transfers back to the air.