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Test Your Understanding
Similar to the instructional lab manuals, Solar Lantern Assessments are also available. Elementary, Middle School, and High
School Assessments can be provided by contacting the lantern kit's curriculum developer, Pam Ulicny, at psu@tvdawgs.net.
The full lab manuals and assessments for each educational level are too extensive to include this activity plan. But to get a 'feel'
for the type of material covered, a worksheet I designed called "Testing Your Solar Smarts" is pasted on the following page.
Testing Your "Solar Smarts"
Part 1: Matching: Match the term to its description provided on the right.
______1. Photon A. The ability to convert light into electricity at the atomic level. This
electrophysical property allows for solar panels to work
______2. Conductor B. The positively charged electrode of battery that receives electrons, supplying current.
______3. Semiconductor C A material which permits the flow of electric charges in one or more directions
______4. Insulator D. A material whose internal electric charges do not flow freely,
and therefore does not conduct an electric current.
______5. Anode E. Materials that have properties in-between insulators and conductors,
allowing electrical conductivity in varying degrees
______6. Cathode F. A "packet" of solar energy of a particular wavelength
______7. Photovoltaic Effect G. The negatively charged (electron supplying) electrode of
a device supplying current such as a battery
Part 2: True or False: Write "True" or "False" in the blank provided to the left.
____________ 8. The silicon in a photovoltaic cell is 'doped' with phosphorus and boron in order to
resist the flow of electrons in the semiconductor
____________ 9. The number of electrons in an atom's outer shell (the valence electrons) determine
how the atom make bonds with other substances.
___________ 10. The number of electrons in an atom's outer shell (the valence electrons) determine
whether or not the atom tends to gain or lose electrons.
____________ 11. Silicon that has phosphorus mixed in with it will be electrically more negative.
____________ 12. Silicon that has boron mixed in with it will be electrically more positive.
____________ 13. The top layer in a photovoltaic cell is the positive terminal (cathode) while the
bottom layer of the photovoltaic cell is the more negative layer (anode).
Sunshine in a Jar:
Do-It-Yourself Outdoor Garden Lanterns (continued)
