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ENERGY. Why do we need energy? What is the best source of alternative energy?. What is energy?.
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ENERGY Why do we need energy? What is the best source of alternative energy?
What is energy? We can think of energy as anything that can carry out an action or maintain a process. Without energy, everything comes to a halt. Though energy is not as tangible as mass, distance or force, its effects are just as real.
What are different types of energy? • The “Big Three” of engines - gasoline, diesel, and steam turbine have carried economies from the industrial revolution to the modern era. All three are heat engines - they transform heat, or thermal energy to mechanical energy. • In the other direction, mechanical energy can be dissipated or degraded to heat, as with brakes on an automobile. All forms of energy - even light, sound, and the biochemical energy in food - are ultimately dissipated as heat.
Where do we get energy from? • We get most of our energy from nonrenewable energy sources, which include the fossil fuels - oil, natural gas, and coal. They're called fossil fuels because they were formed over millions and millions of years by the action of heat from the Earth's core and pressure from rock and soil on the remains (or "fossils") of dead plants and animals. Another nonrenewable energy source is the element uranium, whose atoms we split (through a process called nuclear fission) to create heat and ultimately electricity.
What are the different sources of energy? Click on each to learn more Click on each source to learn more. • Oil 2. Coal 3. Electricity 4. Natural Gas 5. Uranium (Nuclear) After you read about each source click here!
Uranium (Nuclear) • Nuclear power plants generate electricityMost power plants burn fuel to produce electricity, but not nuclear power plants. Instead, nuclear plants use the heat given off during fission as fuel. Fission takes place inside the reactor of a nuclear power plant. At the center of the reactor is the core, which contains the uranium fuel. • The uranium fuel is formed into ceramic pellets. The pellets are about the size of your fingertip, but each one produces the same amount of energy as 150 gallons of oil. These energy-rich pellets are stacked end-to-end in 12-foot metal fuel rods. A bundle of fuel rods is called a fuel assembly. • Fission generates heat in a reactor just as coal generates heat in a boiler. The heat is used to boil water into steam. The steam turns huge turbine blades. As they turn, they drive generators that make electricity. Afterward, the steam is changed back into water and cooled in a separate structure at the power plant called a cooling tower. The water can be used again and again. BACK
Natural Gas • How we get Natural Gas? The search for natural gas begins with geologists (people who study the structure of the earth) locating the types of rock that are usually found near gas and oil deposits. Today their tools include seismic surveys that are used to find the right places to drill wells. Seismic surveys use echoes from a vibration source at the earth's surface (usually a vibrating pad under a truck built for this purpose) to collect information about the rocks beneath. Sometimes it is necessary to use small amounts of dynamite to provide the vibration that is needed. • Scientists and engineers explore a chosen area by studying rock samples from the earth and taking measurements. If the site seems promising, drilling begins. Some of these areas are on land but many are offshore, deep in the ocean. Once the gas is found, it flows up through the well to the surface of the ground and into large pipelines. Some of the gases that are produced along with methane, such as butane and propane (also known as 'by-products'), are separated and cleaned at a gas processing plant. The by-products, once removed, are used in a number of ways. For example, propane can be used for cooking on gas grills. BACK
Electricity • Electricity is the flow of electrical power or charge. It is a secondary energy source which means that we get it from the conversion of other sources of energy, like coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power and other natural sources, which are called primary sources. The energy sources we use to make electricity can be renewable or non-renewable, but electricity itself is neither renewable or non-renewable. BACK
Oil • Oil was formed from the remains of animals and plants that lived millions of years ago in a marine (water) environment before the dinosaurs. Over the years, the remains were covered by layers of mud. Heat and pressure from these layers helped the remains turn into what we today call crude oil. The word "petroleum" means "rock oil" or "oil from the earth. BACK
Coal • Coal is a nonrenewable energy source because it takes millions of years to create. The energy in coal comes from the energy stored by plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago, when the earth was partly covered with swampy forests. For millions of years, a layer of dead plants at the bottom of the swamps was covered by layers of water and dirt, trapping the energy of the dead plants. The heat and pressure from the top layers helped the plant remains turn into what we today call coal. BACK
Do we need alternative energy? • We have traditionally used fossil fuels to provide most of our energy needs. These fossil fuels, like gasoline and coal, have some significant disadvantages. First, the world's supply of these nonrenewable resources is diminishing. Second, the prices continue to skyrocket, making it unaffordable for many people. Third, fossil fuels are damaging to the environment. Because of these three reasons, we are beginning to look at alternative energy sources. We really need to look carefully at these sources. Fossil fuels will not be around forever, and we are currently using them as if we have an unlimited supply. This supply, if we continue as we are today, will be gone. Fortunately, there are other options out there, and many of them do not have the same concerns that fossil fuels have, as these alternative sources are environmentally friendly, renewable, and more affordable in some cases.
Assignment Step One The class will be assigned into four different groups. Each group will be assigned a different alternative energy. There will be five people in each group. Each person will have a special task that they must complete.
Step Two:Alternative Energy GROUP 1: Wind Power GROUP 2: Solar Power GROUP 3: Geothermal Power GROUP 4: Biofuels Click on your group to learn a little more about the energy.
Back to Step Two Group Four Step Three Biofuels • Biofuel is the modern alternative source of energy, which was invented to substitute gasoline, used in all the cars, trucks, and motorcycles around the globe. Gasoline is bad for the air because when it is burned in the car engine, a lot of harmful substances are released into the air. • Biofuel is not that harmful and can be produced from certain plants, grown specifically for that purpose. The fuel, which is produced from plants, is called ethanol and it is suitable for most of the vehicles on the roads. Some biofuel can even be produced from vegetable oil, after it has been used in the kitchen for preparing meals, like potato chips. Such fuel is called biodiesel.
Back To Step Two Group Three Step Three Geothermal Power • Our planet Earth is very hot and contains a lot of hot water and steam deep down beneath its surface. Volcanoes are best examples of how hot our planet is in its center. People have already learned how to use geothermal energy (“geo” means Earth and “thermal” mean high temperature). • In places, where hot water is close to the Earth surface, people drill special wells and use that hot water for warming their houses. After that water is sent back into the Earth, so that no water is wasted in vain. • Geothermal Power is free and a renewable source of energy.
Back To Step Two Group One Step Three Wind Power • Special wind machines are built in the areas, where strong wind blows (usually it is at the coastline). • When many wind machines are built near one another, it is called wind farm. A wind machine consists of a tower with the blades and a generator on top of it. When the wind blows, it rotates the blades. When blades spin around, electricity is produced in the device, called generator. • In order to catch a lot of wind, the towers are built very high. As with solar energy, wind energy is renewable, because wind will always blow on the Earth. It is used to produce electricity.
Back To Step Two Group Two Step Three Solar Power • Solar energy comes from the sun. When the sun shines, it can warm water, heat the house, and it can even produce electricity to run different electric house appliances. In order to use the energy of sun, people put special solar panels on top of their houses’ roofs. • The solar panels can produce electricity or heat water. The amazing thing about solar energy is that it is free of charge, and it is renewable (this word means that energy from the sun never ends). People use solar energy in those places, where there is a lot of sunshine all year round. In such sunny places as California people even built large power plants, which gather sunlight and transform it into electricity for people.
Step ThreeClick on members to receive your task • WHOLE GROUP Group Members: • One • Two • Three • Four • Five
Back to Step Three Whole Group Continue Task • The entire group must make a two minute PSA to persuade the audience that their source of energy should be used in the future. Using all of the group members work as evidence. • There should be a slogan and facts based on all of the work done.
Back to Step Three Group Member Continue One • Group member one must complete research on the alternative energy. • “Worksheet Member One” must be completed (Provided by the teacher).
Back to Step Three Group Member Continue Two • Group member two must complete research on the alternative energy. • “Worksheet Member Two” must be completed (Provided by the teacher).
Back to Step Three Group Member Continue Three • Group member three must create a poster about their source of energy and persuasive facts about it. • Add lots of color and be very creative. This will be used in the final presentation. • Collaborate with group members 1 &2 for research facts.
Back to Step Three Group Member Continue Four • Group member four must create a pamphlet that will be handed out during the final presentation. • The pamphlet should be creative but should include the most important facts about why people should use your alternative energy source.
Go Back to Step Three Group MemberContinue Five • Group member five must tie everything to together and create a two page paper. They must include three main arguments for their source of alternative energy.
Final Presentation • Everyone will have a chance to present their work to the class and another guest class. • They will show their PSA and present all of the other evidence they have collected. • The guest class will vote on which group convinced them to switched to their alternative energy. • The winning group will receive a prize.
Conclusion • We need energy but there are other ways that we are able to receive it. We do not need to waste our natural resources in order to use energy. • We need to make changes and use alternative energy to save our environment. • Extension Questions: What are the pros and cons of reusable energy? What are some of the risks of reusable energy?
Teaching Guide • This Web Quest was designed to help enforce the principle of alternative energy. Students will be able to understand why we need energy, what we use energy for and all of the different types of alternative energies. • By the end of the project they should be able to think independently and critically to figure our which type of alternative energy is the best for the environment.
Credits: • http://www.kids.esdb.bg • http://www.benefits-of-recycling.com/alternativeenergyforkids/ • http://tiki.oneworld.net/energy/energy.html
