The How Much Solar Energy Can We Collect? unit consists of six sessions divided into two parts. Before beginning the unit, students complete the Pre-Unit Questionnaire. Then, in Sessions 1-5, they consider what solar energy is and conduct experiments to identify the best ways to use sunlight to warm the air inside a solar collector. They build tin can solar collectors according to specified criteria and collect data about the temperature change inside the collectors upon exposure to sunlight for a specified amount of time. They consider factors that can influence their measurements, such as time of day and cloud cover, and explore uses of solar energy. Then they send their data to the unit database.

In Session 6, students discover what they can learn from display and analysis of the data in the unit database. They then have the opportunity to present highlights of their studies. At the end of the unit, students complete the Post-Unit Questionnaire.