Solar Energy and Life on Earth
Environmental Science
Name: _______________________________________ Period: ____ Date: ________
Essential Question: How does sunlight or solar energy make life possible on Earth?
Description
The sun is large enough to fit more than a million Earths inside of it. The sun is powered by continuous
nuclear fusion turning hydrogen into helium. The result of nuclear fusion is enormous amounts of
energy that we see in form of light and feel in the form of heat. The sun is so large that it creates enough
gravity to hold every planet in this solar system .
Function
The sun keeps everything in place. The sun keeps the planets, including Earth, in orbit. This includes
comets and meteors as well. Humans view the functions of the sun on a much smaller level. Our concern
is how the sun sustains life on our planet. The sun's energy provides warmth for our planet. Life on this
planet would not be possible without the warmth given off by the sun. At 93 million miles away, Earth is
positioned just close enough to the sun to sustain life. The sun also provides light for our planet.
However, humans depend on energy for much more than just light. The light energy given off by the
sun travels a little over eight minutes before reaching Earth. This energy is a major function in the lifesustaining process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the conversion of light energy into chemical
energy. Almost all living organisms on this planet depend on the photosynthesis process to survive.
Benefits
The sun's most important benefit is that it provides energy that is needed to sustain life. This benefit
can be viewed from several different aspects. The sun's energy is absorbed by plants and used in the
photosynthesis process to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and produce food. The oxygen is then
released from plants into the atmosphere. Oxygen is absorbed by animals and humans to respire or to
breath. Humans use the energy from the sun to produce vitamin D and help in the process to build
bones. Food produced in the process of photosynthesis enters the food chain
http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/photosynth/overview.html
Harmful Effects
While the sun has many benefits, it also has some harmful effects. Too much energy from the sun can
be dangerous. Most of the energy from the sun is filtered in space. The energy that makes it into the
atmosphere must be absorbed in limited amounts. For plants, too much energy from the sun can
disrupt the photosynthesis process and cause the plant to die. For animals, too much energy from the
sun can cause the body to dehydrate and cause death. For humans, too much energy from the sun can
cause dehydration. It also raises radiation levels, which can cause skin cancer.
Fun Facts
Most people believe that the sun is yellow. That is inaccurate. The sun has a surface temperature of
about 5,510 degrees Celsius, causing it to burn white. We view the sun as yellow because of
atmospheric scattering of light. The sun is so massive that it contains 99.85 percent of the mass in the
solar system. One hundred billion tons of dynamite detonated each second is equal to the energy that is
produced by the sun. The sun's energy is created from hydrogen being converted into helium ( nuclear
fusion). One day, all of the hydrogen from the sun will burn out completely and helium will be the
energy source of the sun.
Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_5454679_suns-energy.html#ixzz2cnaQzPdI
Clarifying Questions:
1. What is nuclear fusion?
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2. What energy powers the life sustaining process called photosynthesis?
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3. What is photosynthesis?
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4. What are the materials needed in the process of photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates and
oxygen? ( Look the arrows pointing to the leaf)
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5. How do we benefit from photosynthesis?
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6. What is a food chain?
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7. How would we be affected if the sun stopped shining? Think!
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8. What are the harmful effects of the sun?
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9. How massive is the Sun?
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