Build a Solar Oven Rubric: Oven & Data Are Due After Spring Break

Name______Blk:______Date:______

Solar Oven: Harnessing the Sun

Overview and Purpose: Energy from the Sun reaches Earth as electromagnetic (EM) waves. There are three parts of the electromagnetic waves we use from the sun on a daily basis. The three radiated EM waves are infrared, visible and ultraviolet. Ultraviolet rays are just past the visible spectrum on the violet end. The visible part of the EM spectrum is made up of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet light rays. We use visible light to see everything around us. Ultraviolet rays are the rays that cause sunburn when you expose unprotected skin to long. The infrared rays are the part of the sun’s radiated energy you feel as heat. They are located just before the red light on the visible light spectrum. This part of the sun’s EM waves is what you will be trying to capture and use. Using the property of reflection of EM waves you will be trying to reflect these infrared rays into a concentrated area. Then use the infrared radiation to heat a cooking chamber to a usable cooking temperature. Dark-colored surfaces absorb much of the sunlight and become hot, while other surfaces reflect most of the sunlight. You will be using both these properties to reflect and absorb the sun’s EM waves to make your oven functional. Capturing the energy of sunlight and converting it into usable forms is the concept behind solar powered devices. One relatively easy-to-make solar device is an oven.

Problem: What type of device can you build to harness the sun’s EM waves to cook?

Materials: These will depend on your oven design. List of materials will be provided in your design.  You need an oven thermometer.

Procedure Part 1 Research: 1. Web search different designs and reasons for using a solar oven. 2. Once you have selected a model see Mr. Tasker for approval and then continue on to part 2.

Procedure Part 2 Design: 1. Design your oven. a. Use graph paper. b. Your design should show side and top views of your oven. c. You should label all parts of your ovens in each view d. A key of your materials should be on the same paper as your design. You will need an internal thermometer for your oven.

Procedure Part 3 Construction and Testing: 1. After design has been checked and approved build your oven. If you don’t get approval you risk not having an effective design. 2. Test your oven at home and collect data before the due date to bring to school. a. Make sure to leave enough time to make and test your oven. Remember your results are dependant on the weather. b. Data table should have a column for test at home and a column for when you bring your oven to school. Procedure Part 4 Pulling Everything Together: Procedure, Hypothesis, Summary, Conclude and Analyze: 1. Completed procedure of what steps you took to complete the project. (Typed) a. NOT what steps you did to build your oven. 2. Complete a data table and graph of collected data you collected at home. a. Remember that you need to create a column for home testing and school testing. You will add the data collected at school to your graph prior to handing in completed project. b. Graph needs to be hand drawn on graph paper. 3. Answer analyze and conclusion questions. a. Answer questions based on your data you collected at home. 4. Make modifications if needed and bring completed oven to school.

Conclude & Analyze Questions:

(The following should be answered and typed.)

1. Written summary of your experience constructing and testing your oven, 8-10 sentences. (10 points)

2. Explain how your oven utilizes reflection and absorption of the sun’s radiant energy? (6 points)

3. What are the temperatures needed to sterilize water? (2 points)

4. What temperature is needed to begin cooking food? (2 points)

5. Name three different foods that you could cook in your oven. (6 points) a. What temperatures are needed for each? b. How long it would take to cook each.

6. New Jersey is located in the Northern Hemisphere, what solar oven design is best suited for this region? (6 points)

7. In the Northern hemisphere why would summer time be a better time to use your solar oven than other times of year and where is the best geological location for using a solar oven? (3 points)

8. What is the best time of day to use your solar oven and explain why? (6 Points)

9. Explain what the advantages and disadvantages are to using a solar oven? (4 points)

10. What other uses of solar energy have you heard of or learned about besides the solar oven and explain the advantages of this device? (6 points)