Energy, Temperature & Heat

Energy is defined as the capacity to do work (the amount of work one system is doing on another). There are two kinds of energy that are of interest here: Internal energy is defined as the energy associated with the random, disordered motion of molecules; it refers to the invisible microscopic energy on the atomic […]

Absorption & Reflection of Energy

Now, let’s think about absorption and reflection in relationship to Earth’s systems and the energy budget. The components of Earth’s systems (air, water, land, and living things) reflect and absorb solar radiation in ways that moderate the global energy budget. A simple activity that you may have done with your students is to place different […]