The next lesson was a simulation session. The task was for pupils to apply knowledge
from previous sessions when reasoning about the greenhouse effect in the simulation-
based modelling activity. We used a translated version of the greenhouse effect
simulation from the University of Colorado PhET (http://phet.colorado.edu) collection
(Figure 1). The National Research Council´s (2011) report classified these simulations
as being ‘targeted’, meaning that being focused on some main process they
offer somewhat limited choices of control for the user. The greenhouse effect simulation
makes it possible to compare the effects of selecting an era (the ice age, the
pre-industrial age and the present) differentiating between them and observing the
proportions of greenhouse gases. It allows the addition of clouds and then to track
the consequences in terms of changes in the temperature. The simulation attempts
to introduce the mechanism of how radiation from the sun is turned into heat (infrared
radiation) and the effect of gas particles and clouds in keeping infrared radiation in
the atmosphere. The PhET-greenhouse simulation targets inquiry about the behaviour
of different types of radiation, representing photons with yellow balls for sunlight