Energy Conversions Gizmo Answer Key

Name: Alexa Campos Date: 10-04-2022 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 (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. What are sources of electricity? List as many as you can. Solar Energy, Coal, Wind Energy, Natural Gas 2. Where do people and other animals get energy to move around? Food 3. Where do plants get energy to live and grow? The sun Gizmo Warm-up 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 Panel 4. Which object converts electricity to light? Light (Bulb) Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready: ● 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 believe that water and food provide humans with energy. 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? People obtain their energy from food, which is obtained from each cell in the body through the process of respiration, which is the release of energy from food and oxygen. B. Now click on the chicken. Where does the chicken get energy? Chickens use the similar method of breathing to obtain their energy from food. C. Click on the corn. Where does the corn get energy? Corn uses the process of photosynthesis to obtain its energy from the sun. D. Click on the Sun. How does the Sun get energy? The nuclear reaction that transforms hydrogen into helium provides the sun with its energy. E. Fill in the energy path below starting with the Sun. Sun 🡪 Corn 🡪 Chicken 🡪 Human 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 🡪 Air 🡪 Wind Turbine 🡪 Toaster B. Sun 🡪 Water 🡪 Dam 🡪 Toaster C. Sun 🡪 Corn 🡪 Ethanol Plant 🡪 Toaster D. Sun 🡪 Solar Panels 🡪 Toaster 🡪 2. Analyze: Where does each path begin? Each path begins with the sun. 3. Draw conclusions: What would life on Earth be like without the Sun? Without the Sun, life on Earth would be extinct because the Sun is the source of all energy. Activity B: Energy Conversions Get the Gizmo ready: ● 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 ⇩ Air ⇩ Nuclear energy is converted to light and thermal energy. As sunlight warms the Earth's surface and heat radiates from it, warming the air, light and thermal energy are transformed into kinetic energy. Wind is produced as these pockets of warm air travel and the lingering cold air. Wind Turbine ⇩ After that, as wind drives a turbine's blades, which are coupled to a generator, kinetic energy is converted to mechanical energy. A wire spinning in a magnetic field within the generator causes an electrical current to flow. Stereo As a result of electrical currents flowing through an astereo within a house, mechanical energy is subsequently transformed into electrical energy, which then produces sound by causing a cone made of paper, plastic, or metal to vibrate quickly. 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 to Solar Panelsto Light Bulb Solar panels convert thermal energy into electrical energy, which is then transferred to a light bulb, which uses the same kind of energy (electrical). Sunlight is absorbed inside solar panels to remove electros from silicon crystals. Then, these electrons move via cables as electrical currents. The electrical currents from a solar panel then pass through a filament, which is a small wire that heats to nearly 2500°C inside a light bulb to produce light (produce light) Sun to Corn to Chicken to Human Thermal and light energy are supplied to the corn, which then transforms it into chemical energy that is eventually ingested by a chicken and sent to a human. 4. Apply: Where in the Gizmo (and in real life) do the following energy conversions occur? Chemical to thermal to electrical current? When ethanol is consumed in the ethanol plant, it turns heat in the sun into electrical currents in solar panels. Gravitational potential to kinetic to electrical current: A wind turbine's magnetic field is gravitational potential energy, which as the turbine spins transforms into kinetic energy, which in turn generates electrical currents. 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: Turbine blades spinning to produce electrical currents from wind provide wind power. B. Water power (also called hydroelectricity): Water power is generated when surface water is heated by the sun and then flows to turbine blades in a dam to produce hydroelectricity. C. Solar power: Solar energy is created when solar panels collect sunlight and remove electrons, producing solar power. D. Ethanol: The fermentation of corn and other grains yields ethanol. then ignite the ethanol to generate electrical currents. 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. Although it is expensive to create, ethanol is a fantastic resource because its fuel is economical. It does, however, lead to a jump in food prices and requires a lot of land, which is harmful for the ecology and must be destroyed, even though it does assist to prevent global warming and is widely accessible. The formation of dangerous ground level ozone and smog is facilitated by the increased evaporative emission from field tanks and ground equipment, despite the fact that burning ethanol is cleaner than burning fossil fuels.