Walker Lab 12

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Arapahoe Community College *

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101

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Astronomy

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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6

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Arapahoe Community College Astronomy 1110 Lab 12 A STRONOMY 1110 L AB 12: G REENHOUSE E FFECT Procedure 1. You will be using the PhET Simulation The Greenhouse Effect. This simulation may take a minute or two to open, so please be patient. After it opens, click the play button to start the simulation. Run the Simulation in the Greenhouse Effect Tab, keep all the default settings. Then vary each of the settings to see how this changes the system. Give the simulation time to settle after you make a change. Page 1
Arapahoe Community College Astronomy 1110 Lab 12 A. What do the yellow dots that move downward in the simulation represent? The yellow dots in the simulation represent sunlight photons. B. What do the red dots in the simulation represent? Do all the red dots all move upwards? Why or why not? The red dots represent infrared photons and not all of the red dots move upwards. Some are trapped in by the clouds and some are trapped in by green house gases. Page 2
Arapahoe Community College Astronomy 1110 Lab 12 C. Reset the sim and select “1750” and let the temperature rise to equilibrium (about 2 minutes). How did the temperatures during the 1750’s differ from today? What was different about the atmospheric composition that could cause this? The temperatures during the 1750s were about 5 degrees cooler than the temperatures today. There was a smaller presence methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide than compared to today. D. Reset the sim and select “ice age” and let the temperature rise to equilibrium. How did the temperatures during the Ice Age differ from today? What was different about the atmospheric composition that could cause this? The temperatures during the Ice Age were almost 30 degrees cooler than today. The temperatures were ranging between 30-40 degrees F. The largest changes in the atmosphere is there is about 200 less ppm of carbon dioxide than today. There was 1.5ppm less of methane and .1ppm less nitrous oxide than today. E. Now add a few clouds. What is the role of clouds in the planet’s temperature? Think about clouds in your everyday life as well, both during the day and at night. Clouds block photons of infrared and sunlight. These clouds keep the temperature of the planet cooler. 2. Run the Simulation in the Photon Absorption Tab, keep all the default settings. Then vary each of the settings to see how this changes the system. Give the simulation time to settle after you make a change. A. Do all the photons pass through a methane molecule? Explain. Not all infrared photons pass through a methane molecule. The methane molecule traps and diverts the path of some of the infrared photons. B. When a photon gets absorbed, what happens to the methane molecule next? The methane molecule shakes and creates a new photon. C. When a new photon is emitted from the methane molecule, is it always sent in the same direction? The new photon is typically not sent in the same direction it is sent in a random direction. D. Which molecules absorb visible light? What molecules absorb infrared light? Page 3
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