Lab 3 Walkthrough and Helpful Tips

Important: Please work from the file provided on Blackboard. Do not work from the file on
Connect!

Step 1
Download the file called ‘Radiation Lab_Table 1 Fall 2020’ from Blackboard

In that file, you’ll see several different surfaces. Because we are not meeting in person, we are
not able to use the tools to measure solar radiation and IR temperatures. The next column
contains sample temperatures for those surfaces as well as incoming/outgoing solar radiation.

The empty column is where you are going to calculate the albedo of the different surfaces. To
do that, use the formula below:

to fill in the empty column for each surface. Do not put a percentage sign in your calculations
(example: If the answer is 76, use ‘76’ instead of ‘76%’)

Step 2
For now, we will ignore parts 1 and 2 of the Connect Lab. Open Connect and skip to Part 3 of
the Radiation, Reflection, and Temperature Lab. The directions are provided there for this
part, but I did include some of the most important points below.

This section wants you to make a scatterplot in Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers. Excel is
easiest to use, but feel free to use the software you are most comfortable with.

Your x – axis will contain your calculated albedo values. Your y axis will contain your IR
temperatures (given in the file you downloaded). Once you are done, put a line of best fit
(also called a trendline) on your plot.
 Here is a link that demonstrates how to add a trendline in Excel:
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-a-trend-or-moving-average-line-to-a-
chart-fa59f86c-5852-4b68-a6d4-901a745842ad
 Here is a link that demonstrates how to add a trendline in Google Sheets:
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/6075154?co=GENIE.Platform
%3DDesktop&hl=en
 Here is a link that demonstrates how to add a trendline in Apple numbers (under the tab
‘show or remove trendline’): https://support.apple.com/guide/numbers/add-chart-
labels-tan7b4b0c56/mac
Example on how to create a scatterplot
Let’s try this together! Below is a different set of sample data that we will use to make a
scatterplot in Excel.

Surface IRTe mp (°F) SW incoming (w/ m2 ) SW re fle cted (w/ m2 ) Albe do (%)
Wall of classroom 71 25 19 76
Lights in classroom 74 25 15 60
Soil (dark and wet) 107 198 42 21.21212121
Soil (light and dry) 106 198 51 25.75757576
Sand 76 198 101 51.01010101
Grass long 89 198 72 36.36363636
Grass short 87 198 76 38.38383838
Forest (deciduous) 98 198 55 27.77777778
Forest (conifer) 92 198 61 30.80808081
Snow (if any old) 65 198 162 81.81818182
Snow (if any fresh) 64 198 174 87.87878788
Asphalt (old) 113 198 34 17.17171717
Asphalt (new) 116 198 28 14.14141414
Concrete (old) 73 198 141 71.21212121
Concrete (new) 71 198 161 81.31313131
Water 100 198 43 21.71717172

As you can see, I have already calculated the albedo for all my surfaces. Now we can make a
scatterplot with our albedo on the x-axis and our IR temperatures on the y-axis.

In this case, it is helpful to isolate the columns you need, like so:
Surface Albe do (%) IRTe mp (°F)
Wall of classroom 76 71
Lights in classroom 60 74
Soil (dark and wet) 21.21212121 107
Soil (light and dry) 25.75757576 106
Sand 51.01010101 76
Grass long 36.36363636 89
Grass short 38.38383838 87
Forest (deciduous) 27.77777778 98
Forest (conifer) 30.80808081 92
Snow (if any old) 81.81818182 65
Snow (if any fresh) 87.87878788 64
Asphalt (old) 17.17171717 113
Asphalt (new) 14.14141414 116
Concrete (old) 71.21212121 73
Concrete (new) 81.31313131 71
Water 21.71717172 100
But wait! Notice how in this case, I switched the position of Albedo and IR Temp compared to
the original table? This is an easy way to tell excel which variables you want on which axis.

Now that we have that sorted out, let’s make our table.

Steps:

1. Highlight only the albedo and IR temp column

2. In the option ribbon, click ‘Insert’

4. Provided you did everything correctly, a scatterplot should show up next to your data.
 5. As it stands, the graph is not finished. Now you must add the appropriate elements.

You’ll want to change your title by double clicking where it says ‘IR Temp (°F)’ and renaming it
to something more appropriate. What is your graph describing?

6. Next we need to add axis labels. This is so you can identify which axis is which. Click on
an empty space on your graph (You’ll know it is empty if a little pop-up box says “Chart
Area”.
a. Once you do that, you’ll notice the option ribbon has changed to reflect that you
are working on a chart. In the left corner you should see something that says
“Add Chart Element”. A drop-down menu will open.

7. In the drop-down menu, you will see an option to add axis titles. You’ll need to add both
a primary horizontal and primary vertical axis title.
8. You can now name your axis as they should be (remember which variable should be x,
and which should be y!). Make sure you include the proper units.
Example Scatterplot
140 Make sure to
120
rename your graph
something more
100
appropriate than
IR Temp (°F)

80
“Example
60
Scatterplot”.
40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Albedo (%)

9. Almost finished! Lastly, you’ll want to add a line of best fit (trendline) to your graph.
You’ll once again want to click on an empty space in your graph. If the “Add Chart
Element” ribbon is not showing up, it is located under the option “Chart Design”
a. Towards the bottom of the “Add Chart Element” drop-down list is an option for a
trendline. In this case, we want a linear trendline.
A trendline should appear on your graph. Feel free to play around with the options given in
Excel to make your graph look how you want it to. For instance, I changed my trendline to a
solid red line. You can make alterations to it by double clicking on the trendline and using the
Format Chart Area menu on the right.

Example Scatterplot
140

120

100
IR Temp (°F)

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Albedo (%)

Make sure to include all of the necessary elements of a scatterplot (title

Put this plot beneath your data table.

______________________________________________________________________________

Now you have a completed scatterplot. Save the excel document (including your scatterplot) as:
‘YourLastName_Lab3’

You are going to want to upload this document to Part 1, 2, and 3. You will get a
single grade for all three parts because you are working off the same document.
Step 3
Answer the two questions in Part 4 of the lab on Connect.

What characteristic of electromagnetic radiation are the IR thermometers and solar radiation sensors
measuring?
 This question has the same answer for both IR thermometers and solar radiation
sensors, but please answer in a complete sentence. This answer can be found in the
PowerPoint slides for this week.

Are the variables albedo and temperature positively or negatively related? Or neither? Is there
correlation between them? Causation? Explain.
 This question is basically asking what your plot is saying. Take a look at your trendline.
What relationship can be inferred overall from albedo and temperature? Think about
surfaces with high albedos vs. surfaces with low albedos. Does temperature differ? If so,
what could possibly be the cause of this?