Answer:
- Independent Variable: Sand, water (variable that changes)
- Dependent Variable: Heat (Sun)
- Control Variables: Environment, container, therometer
Hypothesis: If the sand and water both receive solar radiation, the sand will heat up faster.
Materials:
- 2 thermometers
- 2 plastic boxes (These should be identical)
- Sand
- Water
Procedure:
- Pour sand into one of your plastic boxes to a depth of two inches. Pour water into the other plastic box to a depth of two inches. The sand box will represent land while the water box represents a body of water.
- Place the two boxes in a location that receives direct sunlight and place one therometer in the sand, and the other in the water.
- For a period of 30 minutes, check the temperature of both boxes every 10 minutes. Record the temperatures in a chart/graph
Observations: The temperature of the land (sand) was higher than the water.
Results: Land absorbs much more solar radiation than water, due to the fact that most land surfaces are darker than water, thus attracting heat. Water typically reflects solar radiation that reaches its surface back to the atmosphere. As a result of land absorbing more solar radiation, the land also retains more heat. This validates my hypothesis of the land (sand) heating faster.
Explanation:
