Greenhouse Gases - IR Spectra
http://kcvs.ca/details.html?key=irWindows
http://kcvs.ca/details.html?key=irWindows
Amanda Thompson, Katrina Genuis, P. Mahaffy, King's Center for Visualization in Science
Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»
See how this Visualization supports the Next Generation Science Standards»
Grade Level
Climate Literacy
This Visualization builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.
Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.
Energy Literacy
This Visualization builds on the following concepts of Energy Literacy.
Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.
Notes From Our Reviewers
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Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy |
Technical Details
Teaching Tips
- Helpful to read the "Getting Started", "Helpful Hints", and "Assumptions" tabs under the Help menu before using the simulation. Provide some starting points for exploring the relationships displayed in the simulation.
- Educators might need to review Earth's energy balance and note that the energy that is emitted from Earth is longwave radiation.
About the Content
- Great visualization of 8 different greenhouse gas IR spectra (H2O, C3F8, O3, CFCl3, CO2, CH4, CF2Cl2, N2O) showing their relative intensity v. wavelength.
- Well-designed animation that allows students to view the molecular structure of greenhouse gases and their absorption spectrum.
- Animation provides background information to understand the significance of infrared absorption.
- Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
About the Pedagogy
- The information provided under the Help menu could be used as a start to guided questions or further exploration; however, outside research and basic understanding of the topic might be necessary to use the simulation to its full potential.
- Animation facilitates understanding about absorption of infrared radiation.
- No framing questions provided with this animation, but they can easily be designed.
- Lesson for which this applet was designed can be seen at http://www.explainingclimatechange.ca/Climate%20Change/Lessons/Lesson%206/lesson6.html#, also found in the CLEAN collection.
