UV & Me

Lesson 4 - Observations

On Earth, the ozone layer and lower atmosphere help absorb and/or scatter some of the harmful UV rays of the Sun. However, there is still enough radiation to damage our skin and harm our bodies if we are not careful with Sun exposure. One way we can protect our skin from harmful UV radiation is by using sunscreen. Sunscreens work by blocking and/or absorbing some of the UV light.

Different sunscreens provide different levels of protection. The Sun protection factor (SPF) of the sunscreen is given as a number on the bottle. This number, multiplied by 10, gives you an indication of the number of minutes the ‘average’ person can be exposed to the Sun without getting burned. For example, an SPF of 20 provides you with 200 minutes of protection from the Sun’s UV rays. (If we had less ozone, more UV radiation would reach the Earth’s surface, and we would need much more or much stronger sunscreen to protect ourselves from damaging UV rays.)

Let's do some Observations

Can you...

• explain the connection between UV rays from the Sun and sunburn

• explain how our skin can be protected through the use of sunscreen

• explain the Sun protection factor (SPF) and how it relates to different levels of protection

Lesson 1 - Mystery Parcel

Create something from your mystery parcel.

What does it look like, feel like? Discuss with a buddy your wonderings?

What happened when we went outside? In your cooperative groups create a 'Poster' recording all your wonderings.