Description
Discover how the angle of photovoltaic panels relative to the sun affects power output with this innovative science kit. Experiment with basic circuits and learn about important factors in photovoltaic systems. Compare your experimental findings to online sun-angle calculators.
Activities and Concepts
Activities
- Track and document the path of the Sun: Create a solar resource sun track by testing angles and taking sample data throughout the day. Use a graph to develop a sun angle curve for optimal solar panel angle.
- Compare the Sun Angle Science Kit result of your testing to a sun angle website.
- Water pumping time trials: Experiment in teams with how much water can be pumped over a period of time using parallel and series circuitry.
Concepts
- Clean energy; discovering and discussing solar power as an energy source
- Exploring energy transformations; designing, building, and evaluating devices that convert one form of energy into another
- Understanding circuits, electricity, and magnetism
- Developing and using physical models
- Designing controlled experiments
- Optimizing designs
- Analyzing data
- Understanding differences between energy and power
- Learning about weather and climate
