4 minute read
Materials List
Energy Roundup
ACTIVITY
Candy Collector
Today In Energy
Student Energy Audits
Measuring Electricity Use Greenhouse in a Beaker
Climate Web
MATERIALS NEEDED FROM KIT
Digital thermometers Hygrometer Light meter Kill a Watt® meter Kill a Watt® meter Vinyl tubing Digital thermometers Erlenmeyer flask Rubber stopper with hole Alka-Seltzer® tablets
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS NEEDED
Colored cardstock or paper Scissors Tape Staws Empty cups, bowls, or containers Stopwatch or timer M&Ms candies or similar Jellybeans or similar Cardstock Scissors Tape (optional) Clipboards
Stopwatch or timer 600 mL beakers or similar cups Light fixtures Light bulbs Masking Tape Rulers Safety glasses Water String or yarn Cardstock Holepunch Scissors
Teacher Guide
Unit Preparation
Preview the unit and decide which days you will conduct the activities. Consult the materials list and gather any supplies you will need for the unit. Review the web resources on page 48 to familiarize yourself with energy in Rhode Island and efforts to curb climate and health impacts.
Lesson 1 – Energy Sources and Electricity Generation; Carbon Dioxide Emissions
Background
This lesson focuses on the energy sources we use and the transformations that take place when we use them. The lesson focuses on all of the sources that provide our total energy and generate electricity, as well as the consequences to the environment that go along with fossil fuel use.
Objectives
Students will be able to explain the difference between potential and kinetic energy. Students will be able to name the various forms of potential and kinetic energy and provide an example. Students will be able to list the ten energy sources we use . Students will be able to explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Students will be able to explain the environmental consequences of using fossil fuels for energy.
Time
1-2 class periods
Materials
Energy Roundup Posters and Cards (See Energy Roundup instructions, pages 13-15) Candies for Candy Collector Straws (one per student) Bowls (three per student or group) Stopwatch or timer Masters, pages 9-12 Student Guide, pages 2-12; 23-27
Preparation
Prepare Energy Roundup Posters and Energy Source Cards. Hang Energy Roundup Posters on the day you will conduct the activity. Prepare masters for projection. Gather materials for Candy Collector.
Procedure
1. Introduce the lesson by asking students how they use energy. Lead them to identify energy that has been stored and energy in or of moving things. 2. Define potential and kinetic energy. Project the Forms of Energy master, and explain each energy form.
Grade Level
Elementary, grades 3-5
Additional Resources
NEED has several guides and activities that can support and enhance the content covered in this unit. Visit shop.NEED.org for free downloads of the titles below and many more! Secondary Energy Infobook Intermediate Energy Infobook Understanding Climate Science Exploring Climate Science
Web Resources
For a list of helpful resources, see page 48.
3. Demonstrate some simple energy transformations, like a burning candle, a bouncing superball, or the heat generated from rubbing hands together rapidly. Explain that in each example, one form of energy is changed, or transformed into another, but no energy is ever lost in the process. 4. Define renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Refer to the student text section, “Sources of Energy”. List the ten energy sources we use today, providing examples and uses of each.
Ask students to list which energy sources they used in the last 24 hours. 5. Project the U.S. Energy Consumption by Source, 2018 master. Have students add the amount of energy provided by renewable and nonrenewable resources. Ask them to think about why some sources are used more than others. Have students turn and talk to their neighbors to discuss their thoughts. 6. Shift the focus to fossil fuels. List and define them and explain how they were formed by projecting the Fossil Fuel Formation master. Ask students to study the top and bottom of the master and identify any similarities and differences. Steer students’ observations toward recognizing that all fossil fuels are the remains of ancient plants and animals that were compressed and chemically altered over long periods of time. They are composed of slightly different ingredients but are mostly carbon and hydrogen, with some other elements in much smaller amounts. 7. Explain that when we use fossil fuels for energy sources, we must burn them to release the chemical energy stored inside. 8. Explain that when things burn, oxygen is added. Explain that when fossil fuels like natural gas and coal burn, carbon dioxide is produced. The carbon comes from the fossil fuel and the “dioxide” comes from oxygen. 9. Explain that greenhouse gases are gases in our atmosphere that are very good at trapping thermal energy. Explain that carbon dioxide is the one we tend to focus on the most, because burning fossil fuels for energy has resulted in significant increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
This leads to climate change effects we are seeing today. Describe and explain some of the effects as may be appropriate or relevant to your students. 10. Project the U.S. Electricity Generation by Source, 2018 master. Ask students how much of U.S. electricity is provided by fossil fuels by having them estimate a fraction. Half? More than half? Three-quarters? etc. If it is appropriate for the level of your students, calculate the percentage and show them how close their estimates were. 11. Introduce Energy Roundup to students and conduct the activity. 12. Have students play Candy Collector.
Extensions
If you would like to go more in-depth about energy sources, download a copy of Energy Expos from shop.NEED.org and have students complete the Energy Source Expo. Extend your students’ knowledge about energy sources by using the curriculum guides pertaining to the energy source(s) that interest or are relevant to you and your students. Guides are available for coal, petroleum and natural gas (combined), uranium, hydropower, solar power, and wind energy at shop.NEED.org.
