Earth’s Energy Budget & Greenhouse Gases | Interactive Notes

The Description

Earth’s energy budget can look straightforward in a diagram—sunlight in, energy out—but students can memorize the arrows without understanding why greenhouse gases matter. These interactive notes help students untangle incoming radiation, absorption, reflection, re-emission, and the greenhouse effect.

Use the visual A.L.O.T. notes to slow the thinking down. Students label and sketch what energy is doing at each step, then pull those ideas together in a model showing why an imbalance can change temperature.

What Students Will Do

• Differentiate incoming shortwave solar radiation and outgoing longwave infrared radiation.

• Identify which parts of Earth’s system absorb, reflect, and re-emit energy.

• Explain how greenhouse gases absorb and re-emit infrared energy.

• Create a labeled visual model representing Earth’s changing energy budget.

Why This Resource Is Different

I've seen students draw a tidy sunlight-in/heat-out picture without being able to explain why greenhouse gases alter the energy budget. These A.L.O.T. notes deliberately break that diagram apart: what is absorbed, what is reflected, what is re-emitted, and which kind of radiation is involved?

Students label, sketch, and explain the pieces before combining them into a bigger model. It's designed as the conceptual bridge into the separate five-day Gases & Ground investigation—not a substitute for collecting and arguing from the investigation's evidence.

What's Included?

• Eight-page A.L.O.T. Energy Budget student notes PDF.

• Eight-page corresponding teacher key PDF.

• Editable Word teacher directions document.

The Details

Audience: Middle or high school Earth science. Topic: Earth’s energy budget, greenhouse gases, solar radiation, albedo, and climate. Format: PDF and editable Word file. Intended as a shorter notes/lesson, not the full five-day Gases & Ground investigation.