Team Science Activities
TEAM SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
Placing the bottle
A view of the water bottle showing the black plastic lining
the back
side, and the thermometer suspended inside. The bottle is propped on
books perpendicular to the sun's rays.
The water bottle is placed at an angle so that it is perpendicular to the
rays of the sun. One way to get it precise is to look at the shadow of
the bottle cap.... if it's flat the bottle is
perpendicular. If it's curved, adjust the bottle a little, up or down.
The white arrow shows the path of the sun's rays.
At the end of 15 minutes in the sun, Debbie Penrose, Florida School for the
Deaf, works with Dave Snyder to read the thermometer while it's inside
the bottle.
Calculating Collecting Area
To calculate the Collecting Area Dave holds the bottle while
Debbie traces the shadow of the bottle on a flat surface perpendicular to
the sun's rays.
The outline of the bottle's shadow can now be measured to calculate the
actual collecting surface area. Only measure the part covered by the
black plastic - do not include the bottle neck and lid.
Back to the
Energy activity