Student Exploration Energy Conversions

Name: Date: Student Exploration: Energy Conversions Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and prompts in the orange boxes. Vocabulary: chemical energy, electrical current, energy, fossil fuel, global warming, gravitational potential energy, hydroelectricity, kinetic energy, light, nonrenewable resource, nuclear energy, renewable resource, sound, thermal energy Prior Knowledge Questions 1. What are sources of electricity? List as many as you can. Some sources of electricity include fossil fuels (petroleum, natural gas, coal), nuclear power, renewable resources like hydroelectric or solar power, or steam or wind turbines. 2. Where do people and other animals get energy to move around? People and animals get energy to move around from the food they eat. 3. Where do plants get energy to live and grow? Plants get energy to live and grow from the sun. In the Energy Conversions Gizmo, be sure Information mode is selected. Click on each of the different items in the scene and read about each one. 1. Which object converts sunlight into sugars? Corn 2. Which object converts wind power to electricity? Wind turbine 3. Which object converts light to electricity? Solar panels 4. Which object converts electricity to light? Light bulbs Activity A: ● Select the Path mode. Energy Paths Question: Where do we get energy to run, climb, play, and do all the other things we do? 1. Form Hypothesis: Where do you think we humans get energy? I think that humans get energy from the food that we eat. 2. Create a path. You will now form an energy path to see where our energy comes from. A. Click on the person and read. Where do people get energy? Food B. Now click on the chicken. Where does the chicken get energy? Food C. Click on the corn. Where does the corn get energy? The sun via photosynthesis D. Click on the Sun. How does the Sun get energy? Nuclear reactions in it core that convert hydrogen gas to helium gas E. Fill in the energy path below starting with the Sun. Sun ฀ Corn ฀ Chicken ฀ Person 1. Apply: Click Reset and then click on the toaster. Using the Gizmo, create four energy paths to explain how the toaster could get its energy. (One path will only have three objects.) A. Sun ฀ Solar panels ฀ Toaster ฀ B. Sun ฀ Air ฀ Wind turbine ฀ Toaster C. Sun ฀ Air ฀ Ethanol plant ฀ Toaster D. Sun ฀ Water ฀ Dam ฀ Toaster 2. Analyze: Where does each path begin? Each path begins at the sun with solar power. 3. Draw conclusions: What would life on Earth be like without the Sun? Without the sun, there would be no solar energy and thus no life on Earth. The sun provides the plants with energy, which then provide oxygen for the atmosphere and are the primary producers of energy and the beginning of the food chain. Activity B: Energy Conversions ● Click Reset. ● Check that Path mode is still selected. Question: How is energy changed from one form to another? 1. Classify: Energy is the ability to exert force and cause change. Energy has many forms: ● ● ● ● ● ● Kinetic energy is energy of motion. All moving things have kinetic energy. o Sound is energy of vibrating materials or air molecules. o Thermal energy is the energy of tiny moving particles. As an object heats up, particles move faster and thermal energy increases. Gravitational potential energy is stored energy that exists based on the position of an object. The higher an object is, the greater its gravitational potential energy. Electrical current is energy that comes from moving charged particles. Light is electromagnetic waves that are visible to the eye. Chemical energy is energy that is stored in the bonds holding atoms together. Nuclear energy is energy released when atoms split apart or join together. 2. Create path: Create an energy path in the Gizmo, starting at the Sun. For each step of the path, describe the energy conversion that takes place. The first one is done for you. Discuss your answers with your classmates and teacher. Energy Path Energy conversion Sun ⇩ Nuclear energy is converted to light and thermal energy. ⇩ ⇩ Corn absorbs the sunlight to produce sugars and oxygen. Corn is fermented to produce ethanol and give off an electrical current. The speaker absorbs the electrical current and produces sound. 3. On your own: Create at least two more paths on the Gizmo. List the energy conversions that happen along each path. Energy Path Energy conversion Sun Nuclear energy from the sun is converted into light and thermal energy Solar panels Sunlight removes electrons from silicon crystals, which then flow through wires as an electrical current Toaster Electrical currents flow through the wire which cause them to heat up Energy Path Energy conversion Sun Nuclear energy from the sun is converted into light and thermal energy Air Energy from the sun warms the air, which creates wind as warm air rises and cooler air rushes in to replace it Wind turbines Light bulb As wind is created, the wind turbine blades turn, which produces an electrical current The light bulb picks up the electrical current flow that is being produced through a wire 4. Apply: Where in the Gizmo (and in real life) do the following energy conversions occur? Chemical to thermal to electrical current? sun to ethanol to the toaster Gravitational potential to kinetic to electrical current: air to wind turbine to light Extension: Renewable Energy Get the Gizmo ready: ● Click Reset. ● Select the Information mode. Introduction: Over 80% of our energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal. Fossil fuels are fairly cheap and plentiful, but there are several problems: ● Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources. That means there is a limited supply. Once the world runs out, there is no way to get more. ● Burning fossil fuels adds carbon dioxide to the air. Most scientists agree that this causes the gradual warming of Earth’s climate, or global warming. Question: What types of energy do not harm our environment? 1. Describe: Four examples of renewable resources are featured in the Energy Conversions Gizmo. These resources are produced all the time, so they will not run out. Read about each energy source, and then explain how each is produced in your own words. A. Wind power: as wind produced from the air makes the wind turbines move, wind power is generated B. Water power (also called hydroelectricity): as water turns the turbine blades, a generator produces an electrical current C. Solar power: solar panels remove electrons from the sun in order to generate an electrical current D. Ethanol: corn/other organisms produce ethanol, and the burning of ethanol yields an electrical current 2. On your own: Learn more about one of these renewable resources using the internet or by reading library books. Explain its advantages and disadvantages to your teacher and class. A popular renewable resource is wind turbines (though their popularity in the US is more limited than in other places). Wind turbine blades spin as a result of wind and these turbines are connected to a generator which produces electrical currents. One of the advantages of wind turbine usage is their clean, renewable nature as an energy source and the way in which they do not rely on any external resource or condition other than wind, and they are a very cheap resource. However, some disadvantages include their extremely loud nature and lack of aesthetic appeal, as well as some places are not suited to have wind turbines, or if some regions naturally do not experience a lot of wind, they would not yield a lot of energy.