Solarize Your World: Teacher’s Guide

Chapter 1: Science Concepts

As a renewable source, solar energy is important to the sustainability of our society. The solar energy
that hits the Earth's surface in just one hour is enough to power the whole world for an entire year. Yet,
only less than 2% of the total electricity generated in the United States in 2018 came from the Sun. To
protect our environment, we must increase the use of solar energy. The Solarize Your World project
leverages this important context to create rich, authentic project-based learning opportunities to
engage students in learning and practicing science and engineering as envisioned in the Next
Generation Science Standards for K-12 schools.

In the Solarize Your World project, your students will take on the role of a solar energy engineer to
devise creative renewable energy solutions for their own world. But before students can accomplish
their mission, you need to make sure that they understand fundamental science concepts related to
solar energy. Without a solid understanding of those concepts, student work may not be guided by
scientific laws, resulting in designs that do not make scientific sense. The integration of science and
engineering in the Solarize Your World project aims to deepen science learning through engineering
practices and, in the meantime, rationalizes engineering design with deeper conceptual understanding
in science.

This chapter provides a series of interactive activities based on Energy3D for students to learn basic
science concepts essential to designing effective solar energy solutions. Students will explore how the
Sun moves in the sky as the Earth orbits the Sun and rotates around its own axis, how its path changes
from season to season, and how the length of the day varies. Students will also investigate how the
Sun’s position relative to a surface affects the intensity of sunlight that shines on it, why the intensity
depends on the time of the day and the weather, and how solar energy reaches an object on the ground
through different pathways. At the end of this chapter, students will apply the knowledge that they
have learned to solve a simple practical problem.

1. The Sun Path

The Sun path refers to the daily and seasonal arc-like path in
which the Sun appears to move from the perspective of an
observer on the ground of the Earth (Figure 1). The Sun path
affects the length of daytime and amount of sunlight
received at a certain latitude in a given season.

The relative position of the Sun is a major factor in the heat

gain of buildings and in the performance of solar energy
systems. Accurate location-specific knowledge of the Sun
path and the climatic conditions is a prerequisite to solar
energy engineering. Figure 1. Solargraphy captures the Sun path
across the sky throughout the year of 2014 in
Budapest. Credit: Elekes Andor

Solarize Your World: Teacher’s Guide 1

1.1 Daily Change of Solar Angles

The Sun moves across the sky from sunrise to sunset (Figure 1). The direction of the Sun relative to a
horizontal surface on the Earth at a given time dictates how much solar energy it receives at that
moment (which partly drives the temperature variations throughout a day). The direction can be
represented by three angles: zenith angle, elevation angle, and azimuth angle. The zenith angle is the
angle between sunlight and the vertical direction. The elevation angle is the angle between sunlight
and the horizontal direction (complementary to the zenith angle). And the azimuth angle is the angle
between sunlight and the north direction. These angles change all the time as the Sun moves along its
path during a day.

Energ3D activity: To observe the changes of the angles, open Tutorials > Solar Science Basics > Sun
Path in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 1. To acquire some quantitative sense about the
Sun’s angles at different times of the day, students are required to collect data and answer questions in
a worksheet, which is provided separately.

1.2 Seasonal Change of Solar Angles

The seasonal change on the Earth occurs due to the tilt

of its axis of rotation relative to the ecliptic—the plane
of its orbit around the Sun.1 There are four special
points on the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, which
correspond to four special days of the year—the
equinoxes and solstices, as shown in Figure 2.

Energy3D activity: To observe the seasonal changes of

the Sun path, open Tutorials > Solar Science Basics >
Sun Path in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Figure 2. Solstices and equinoxes. Credit: National
Weather Service
Sheet 2. Students are required to collect data and
answer questions in a worksheet, which is provided
separately. To simplify the data collection, only the
zenith angle at noon needs to be recorded.

1.3 Seasonal Changes of Daytime

Apparently, the total solar energy that strikes a

surface on the Earth in a given day depends on the
length of the day—the lapse of time from sunrise to
sunset known as daytime. As the Sun’s path changes
from season to season, the daytime varies throughout
the year (Figure 3).

Energy3D activity: To observe the seasonal changes

of daytime, open Tutorials > Solar Science Basics > Sun
Path in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 3. Figure 3. The daytime varies from season to season as the
Sun path changes (viewed in the northern hemisphere).

1
The seasons are not caused by the Earth’s proximity to the Sun. In fact, the Earth is slightly closer to the Sun in
the winter than it is in the summer for the northern hemisphere.

Solarize Your World: Teacher’s Guide 2

Students are required to collect data and answer questions in a worksheet, which is provided
separately. Students will record the sunrise and sunset time and calculate the daytime by subtracting
the sunrise time from the sunset time for four seasons.

1.4 The Sun Path in Different Parts of the World

As the Earth spins, different parts of the world

may receive different amounts of solar energy
on the same day. During the March and
September equinoxes, the Sun is directly
overhead at the Equator and the daytime is the
same everywhere on the Earth (the lengths of
day and night are also the same—12 hours
each). But during the June solstice, the Sun is
above the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° north to the
Equator). It never sets at the North Pole and
never rises at the South Pole. On the other
hand, during the December solstice, the Sun is
above the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° south to
the Equator). It never rises at the North Pole and
Figure 4. The Sun’s direction relative to the Equator, the Tropic
never sets at the South Pole. Figure 4 illustrates of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn in different seasons.
the Sun’s direction relative to different parts of Credit: Merriam-Webster, Inc.
the world in different seasons.

Energy3D activity: To observe the Sun path in different parts of the world, open Tutorials > Solar
Science Basics > Sun Path in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 4. Students are required to
collect data and answer questions in a worksheet, which is provided separately. A few different
locations, including one close to the South Pole, are selected in this activity for students to investigate
the degree to which the Sun path varies in vastly different parts of the world both in the summer and in
the winter.

2. The Projection Effect

It is easy to understand that the longer the Sun
daytime is, the more solar energy a surface beam
receives. But the angle of the Sun relative to
the surface also affects the amount of solar
energy it gets. This is known as the projection
effect.
θ
Solar radiation on a surface is the strongest
when it faces the Sun directly. As the angle Surface
between the sunlight beam and the surface
normal (the direction perpendicular to the
surface) increases, the intensity of solar Figure 5. The projection effect on a horizontal surface. The
sizes of the dashed areas represent the amounts of solar
radiation on the surface decreases.
radiation that the surface receives at the two angles.
Mathematically, this is governed by the
following formula:

Solarize Your World: Teacher’s Guide 3

 E=Emax cos θ ¿

where Emax is the maximum solar energy that hits the surface when it faces the Sun directly and θ is the
angle between the sunlight beam and the surface normal. Figure 5 illustrates this effect. 2

Insolation (short for incident solar radiation) is a measure of solar radiation energy shining on a
horizontal surface area and recorded during a given time. The projection effect is the main reason that
insolation is the strongest at noon and in the summer, resulting in higher temperatures under those
conditions than other time of the day and other seasons of the year.

Energy3D activity: To investigate the projection effect on insolation, open Tutorials > Solar Science
Basics > Projection Effect in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 1. In Sheet 2, students can
change to a different location and compare the results. They are required to collect data and answer
questions in a worksheet, which is provided separately. Students will compare the projection effect in a
northern location and in a southern location.

3. The Effect of Air Mass

When the Sun shines from a lower angle, sunlight must
travel a longer distance in the atmosphere before
reaching the ground (Figure 6). While the light travels
through the atmosphere, it can be absorbed or
scattered by air molecules, causing its intensity to
diminish on the way. This is why the Sun appears to be
weaker at dawn and dusk. In solar energy engineering,
the loss of solar radiation to atmospheric absorption or
scattering is known as air mass.3

Energy3D activity: To study the effect of air mass on

insolation, open Tutorials > Solar Science Basics > Air Figure 6. The attenuation of solar radiation in the
Mass in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 1. atmosphere depends on the travel length.
This activity allows students to turn on and off the
atmospheric attenuation to evaluate the effect of air
mass on solar energy gains. Two virtual sensors are placed on the eastern and top sides of a box to
measure the solar radiation intensity in the morning and at noon, respectively. Without the
atmospheric attenuation, the peak intensities measured by the two sensors would be similar. This
“what-if-there-is-no-air” experiment is something that cannot be done in the real world but can be
carried out in a computer simulation for an educational purpose. Students are required to collect data
and answer questions in a worksheet, which is provided separately.
4. The Effect of Weather

2
Although Figure 5 uses a horizontal surface as an example for clarity, the project effect applies to surfaces in any
direction. When we design a solar energy system, we have to consider not only the Sun path but also the
orientation of the system.
3
Not to be confused with air mass in meteorology, which refers to a volume of air defined by its temperature and
water vapor content that can cover many hundreds or even thousands of miles.

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Insolation is largely determined by the latitude, but it is also affected significantly by the weather
pattern, especially the sky clearness (which is approximately represented in Energy3D as the sunshine
hours). Figure 7 shows an insolation map of the United States, on which red color represents high
insolation and blue color represents low insolation.

Energy3D activity: To examine the weather effect on insolation in different locations, open Tutorials >
Solar Science Basics > Weather Effect in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 1. Four different
locations in the United States that are approximately along the same latitude but in different climates
are selected for students to compare. Students are required to collect data and answer questions in a
worksheet, which is provided separately.

5. Solar Radiation Pathways

A surface on the Earth receives solar radiation through
three different pathways: direct, diffuse, and reflected.
The direct radiation is the solar radiation that travels to
the surface from the Sun without being absorbed or
scattered. The diffuse radiation is the portion of solar
radiation scattered or re-emitted by the atmosphere in
all directions, which can be as little as 15% when the Sun
is high in the sky or as much as 40% when the Sun is low.
The reflected radiation is the radiation bounced off non-
atmospheric objects such as the ground or the objects
on it. The ratio of the reflected radiation from a surface
to the incident solar radiation is known as albedo. The
albedo of land is in the range between 0.1 and 0.4. The
albedo of green grass is about 0.25 whereas that of fresh Figure 8. Direct, diffuse, and reflected radiation
snow can be as high as 0.9. Figure 8 illustrates these onto a vertical surface.
three different pathways with a vertical surface as an
example.

Energy3D activity: To investigate these pathways, open Tutorials > Solar Science Basics > Solar
Radiation Pathways in Energy3D and follow the instruction in Sheet 1 and Sheet 2. As with the air mass
activity, students can turn on and off diffuse radiation and change the reflectance of the ground in a
computer simulation to evaluate their effects. Students are required to collect data and answer
questions in a worksheet, which is provided separately.

Solarize Your World: Teacher’s Guide 5

Test Your Knowledge
Students will have an opportunity to apply what they have
learned to solve a real-world problem described as
follows.

Judd just bought a solar panel. Now he has to figure out

where to install and orient it around his house (Figure 9)
so that it can generate the most electricity for the whole
year. To help him make decision, open Tutorials > Solar
Science Basics > Optimize It in Energy3D to work on a 3D
model of his house and the solar panel. Follow the
instruction in Sheet 1 to search for a “sweet spot” for the
solar panel. Students are required to document the
position, orientation, and output of the solar panel and
answer questions in a worksheet, which is provided Figure 9. Find a position and orientation for a solar
separately. panel around a house that generates most electricity
throughout a year.
This Energy3D activity can be used as an assessment to
measure student learning through Chapter 1. To stimulate student interest in exploring the problem
more thoughtfully and add dynamic interactions in the classroom, you can engage students in a
competition and even incentivize the winners who can find solutions that result in outputs higher than a
set goal.

Solarize Your World: Teacher’s Guide 6