ENERGY ECCENTRICITY: ARE CONSUMERS ABUSERS OF THE EARTH? OR CAN
WE COPE (CONSERVE OUR PLANET EARTH)?
Grades 6 - 12
Teenagers seem to possess an inner spirit that motivates them
to listen to loud music, buy all the latest electronic gadgets, spend extra
time primping in the bathroom, and borrow the car to drive to school. Many
are also quite concerned about the future of our planet earth. In this lesson,
students will discover the interconnectedness of their energy demands on
the earth's resources. From energy resources to waste products, consumers
interact with the health of our earth on a global scale. This lesson asks
students to identify their energy demands and to calculate this impact on
a personal and school wide basis. The video segments stage a contrast between
modern vs. ancient needs, and help connect and explain energy utilized and
the greenhouse effect.
Student assessments of their own energy uses help to develop an awareness
of the different types of natural resources affected by consumers. Electricity
and fuel bills are used to document a family's or school's energy consumption
over time. The analysis of this data presents learning opportunities in
the form of graphing, statistics, and experimental design. Optionally, computer
spreadsheet software could be used as an efficient technological tool to
maintain records and analyze trends in energy consumption. Calculations
enable students to expand relationships to show how much they are personally
impacting the earth.
- Planet Under Pressure, #10: Pleasure Planet
- Planet Under Pressure, #5: Winds of Change
Students will be able to:
- diagram an energy/resource web associated with an activity or a product
- use unitary relationships to calculate changes in variables
- analyze the numerical relationships found on electricity or fuel bills
- use graphing to analyze trends in energy use
- design and execute an experiment to reduce energy consumption and
analyze its results
- describe the major effects of fossil fuel consumption on the earth's
For each pair of students:
at least one complete year of electricity and/or other fuel bills for your
Optional: A computer with spreadsheet software and graphing abilities
Ask students to reflect on their morning ritual of waking, preparing
themselves, and getting to school. Prompt students to retrace every little
step they take by asking them, "What time do you wake up? How long
does it take you to get out the door? What did you do with each minute of
that time? How long did it take you to get to school?" Ask students
to briefly write a "play-by-play" of their morning adventure.
Choose one student to retrace her/his steps aloud to the class and map each
step on the board. Ask the class to help highlight which steps are made
easier by technology.
To give students a specific responsibility while viewing, ask them to watch
carefully the characters in the video, and jot down instances where they
see them interacting with the earth. Students should also note differences
in the lifestyles of these two characters. Inform students that they will
be watching the video without sound so they can draw on their own perspectives.
START the Planet Under Pressure, #10: Pleasure Planet video at the
beginning where just the planet is shown. Be sure the TV is muted or turn
the volume all the way down. Play the video for just one minute to show
the caveperson trying to build a weapon to ward off a wolf.
FAST FORWARD the video to the man emerging from the woods with his
dog. Continue to watch the modern man through to the new skyscraper being
built (approximately three minutes). STOP the video.
Insert the Planet Under Pressure, #5: Winds of Change video and FAST
FORWARD to the evolution of the horse. To give students a specific
responsibility while viewing, ask them to note any connections they can
make between their morning ritual and the health of the earth. Ask students
to record all numerical data they see or hear, and note how scientists determine
BEGIN the video.
PAUSE the video at the graph of the average global temperature increase
vs. time Ask students to explain the trends suggested by this graph. Ask
students how old they will be in the year 2040?
RESUME video and play to when the narrator says, "by the time
you're retiring if you're in your teens now." STOP the video.
Ask students to predict a typical morning for the caveman. Ask another student
to record student ideas for their typical morning in another play-by-play
map on the board. Encourage students to reflect on each lifestyle and how
they impact the earth. As students are offering specific differences, the
teacher and the student recorder should write specific connections on the
maps on the board. Significant differences between the ancient and modern
lifestyles should include comfort levels, the availability of energy, and
the use of natural resources.
Compare the impact of the caveman to the student's impact on the earth.
Pick one item that involves current technology from the morning activity
map on the board, and ask students to help you trace all of its energy and
resources usage. Don't stop your web at the plug in the wall...continue
to trace the energy requirements through the power lines to the generating
station. How does this power station affect the earth? Continue to map out
all connections, including energies needed for manufacturing the item, all
material requirements of natural resources, and the waste products introduced
to our planet. Although we are focusing on just one item, ask students to
imagine what our energy/resource web would look like if we were to analyze
every small step involved in their morning.
Solicit numerical information from the students and record it on the board.
Be sure to include unit descriptions for every number. Re-play the video
if necessary to get the complete information. Ask students: "What is
the significance of a 5 C change in temperature? What connection is there
between your morning lifestyle and the Greenhouse Effect?" Ask students
to reflect on the ride from their home to school:
How many miles (or Km) do you travel? Example: 10 miles. What kind of mileage
(mpg or Km/L) does your car get? Example: 22 mpg. For every kg of gasoline
burned, automobiles emit 3.10 kg of CO2. The density of iso-octane is .7028
g/mL and the density of CO2. under standard conditions is 1.527 g/L. Use
this information to calculate the volume of CO2 emitted by your car as you
drive back and forth to school.
Allow students to work in pairs to solve this question. Record all student
answers on the board. Are they identical? If not, there must be a problem
here...same car, same mileage. Ask students to describe how they arrived
at their answer. There are many routes to the correct answer, but some students
may have forgotten to convert gallons to liters, or mL to liters. The teacher
should then use a 10-mile roundtrip with a school bus's mileage to calculate
the amount of CO2 emitted. Using unit analysis and relationships to determine
your solution will demonstrate accountability in problem solving. For example:
ask students to decide which mode of transportation would be kinder to our
planet and our future? Comfort and privacy has costs, how much are you willing
Pass out individual energy bills to students, and ask them to determine:
The average KW hours used each day of the billing period.
The average cost of each KW hour.
The average cost per day for electricity.
Student work should include unit analysis whenever possible.
Ask students to brainstorm the factors that would affect these energy needs.
Amount of daylight.
Average daily temperature.
Use of special electrical tools or equipment.
Vacation time - more people home or not.
Turning off lights when not in use.
Shades or curtains on windows.
Extra insulation on water pipes or water heater.
Divide the class into energy research groups and ask students to hypothesize
how these items might affect electricity needs. Place the factors identified
onto small pieces of paper, fold, and place them into a container. Ask one
member of each group to pick one factor for a research project. Allow student
groups to research the information necessary to show how these factors relate
to the school's electrical (or other fuel) energy costs. Students may need
to contact the school's business office, or conduct an energy audit of each
classroom in the building.
Students may design specific energy experiments using building materials
such as glass, lexan, metals, or insulation. Encourage students to obtain
as much data as possible for more dependable results. Depending on the availability
of computers in your classroom, student groups may design spreadsheets individually
or the class may combine efforts to produce one spreadsheet that involves
all information. Student groups should prepare their data for presentation
to the class.
Contact your local public utilities company for additional information
on rates, demand, and conservation tips.
Invite fuel specialists or scientists to share cutting-edge technologies
that are being developed.
Ask an electrical engineer or graduate student to help explain electrical
energy units such as amps, watts, volts.
Borrow equipment to conduct energy audits of appliances or lighting devices.
Use these instruments to obtain data for student-designed experiments.
Encourage student groups to actively promote electricity conservation at
home and/or school. Data from previous years can be used for comparison.
Science/Math: Conduct energy audits of students' homes, make
comparisons to energy used, and offer suggestions for conservation.
Art: Design energy conservation posters for your school and community.
Social Studies: Launch an energy conservation month at your school, monitor
changes in use, and report savings to the school and community. Schools
within districts or states may want to compete for energy savings.
Language Arts: Ask students to write about the issues involved in making
"good" consumer decisions.
Science/Social Studies: Conduct a survey of community energy practices and
report on global impacts.
Energy, Economics, and the Environment, Office of School Assistance, Center
Improvement and Performance, Indiana Department of Education, Indiana.
Wilson, David A., "Home Energy Survey." The Science Teacher, November,
Energy Information Packets produced by local public utility companies.
U.S. Department of Energy.
Master Teacher: Barbara A. Hopkins
Oyster River High School, Durham, NH
Lesson Plan Database
Thirteen Ed Online