Energy Transfer in Earth's Systems
Virginia SOL ESII.5
Investigate and understand that energy transfer into and out of Earth's systems is affected by the dynamics of the sun-Earth system and human activities.
What students need to be able to do
- Develop and use a model to explain how Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun and solar incidence affect atmospheric and biological systems (seasonal changes, length of day, and circadian rhythm).
- Explain global climate trends over geologic time using Milankovitch cycles and evaluate how current climate change differs in cause, rate, and scale from these natural cycles.
- Make, support, and evaluate a claim about how solar flares and coronal mass ejections affect technology.
- Make, support, and evaluate a claim about the effect of sunspot cycles on global average temperatures and compare their effect to how human activities are changing Earth's climate.