This mini lesson engages students by watching a NASA video related to seasonal chlorophyll concentration as it relates to net radiation using NASA's Aqua satellite. Students will examine the model and answer the questions.
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Students collect and analyze temperature data to explore what governs how much energy is reflected.
Students identify patterns and describe the relationship between chlorophyll concentration and incoming shortwave radiation.
Students learn how to estimate the "energy efficiency" of photosynthesis, or the amount of energy that plants absorb for any given location on Earth. This is the ratio of the amount of energy stored to the amount of light energy absorbed and is used to evaluate and model photosynthesis efficiency.
Students will analyze a pie chart (circle graph) showing the distribution of different parts of the Earth system's absorption and reflection of energy.
This lesson walks students through the use of Landsat false-color imagery and identification of different land cover features using these as models.