The Sun

Journal

• How does an animal get energy from the Sun?

*Hint*We talked about this last week!

Our sun is a star located in our Solar System. It is a huge, spinning ball of hot gas that lights up the Earthand provides us with heat. It providesenergy that supports life on Earth!

The sun plays important roles, or does important things for us here on Earth.Some examples include:

It is a major source of energy.

It creates winds.

It heats Earth.

It helps plants to grow.

It is part of the water cycle.

Energy from the sun is called solar energy. Solar energy is the solar radiation that reaches the earth.

The sun has produced energy since the beginning of time. This type of energy from the sun can be changed into other forms such as, heat and electricity.

Once it is changed, the energy can heat water, buildings, and make electricity.

We must remember, not all the light, heat, and energy comes to us. Most goes back to space and some scatters around earth.

Creation of WindsBelieve it or not, the sun also creates winds. It is caused by the uneven heating of Earth. Earth’s surface is heated and warms the air above it. Some areas of Earth are heated more than others, so the air above these areas are warmed more. The warmer air rises and cooler air moves in to take its place. This movement of air is wind!

One interesting fact is that some people use solar cells or solar panels to collect the sun’s light, heat, and energy to warm their homes, swimming pools, and/or water. Even now cars are running by solar energy.

• Energy from the Sun heats Earth’s water and land at different rates.

• Water warms more slowly than sand and soil do. This means that oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water warm more slowly than the land near them. Bodies of water also cool more slowly than the land near them.

Did you know that the Sun is Earth’s Heater?

Helping

Plants

to

Grow

The sun helps keep plants warm. It also helps them to carry out photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process in which plants change sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into food, oxygen, water, and energy.

The Sun and WaterHeat from the sun cause fresh water to evaporate from the oceans leaving salt behind. The constant recycling of water is called the water cycle. It is never ending.

The Water Cycle• Energy from the sun

keeps water moving through the water cycle.

• When the Sun heats water on Earth’s surface, some of the water evaporates.

• Clouds form when water vapor in air cools and condenses into tiny drops. When the drops of water are large enough, they fall to Earth as rain.

Is the Sun a star?

• Yes, It’s a star!• Like all stars, the

sun makes its own light.

• Is the Moon a star?

• No, it’s not!• Moonlight is really

light from the Sun that bounces off the Moon’s surface.

The Sun & Solar System• The sun is the center of the

solar system. • It is made up of the Sun, 8

planets (Pluto is now a dwarf planet), and other smaller bodies that orbit the sun.

• A planet is a large body made of rock or gas that moves around a star (the Sun). As it travels around the Sun, it follows a path which is called its orbit. A moon is a body that moves in an orbit around a planet.

What goes up must come down!

• What pulls you back down to the ground?– Gravity! This is

the force that pulls bodies or objects toward other bodies or objects.

– It also keeps the planets orbiting the Sun.

• The Sun, the planets, and the Moon all have gravity, but they all pull with different amounts of force. The amount of gravity that a body has depends on its mass, or how much matter it contains.

Let’s Review

What are the major roles the sun plays for us here on Earth?

What is energy from the sun is called?

What is the process by which plants make food?

What is the constant recycling of the Earth’s water?

Does the moon produce light?

What is the path called as a planet travels around the sun?