Energy transformation is a key component to understanding the concept of energy. All physical events involve transferring energy or changing one form of energy to another. In this module, students will gain experience in recognizing and interpreting different energy conversions. One of the goals of this module is students gaining a greater appreciation for our total dependency on using energy in all of the forms in which it is available.
The science portion of the module acquaints students with the various forms in which energy presents itself. These include light, electrical, heat, sound, magnetic, elastic, chemical, and mechanical. Students carry out four investigations in science. The first activity is designed to familiarize students with the fact that energy comes in many different forms and it is possible to convert one energy form into one or more other forms of energy. Students are presented with a variety of energy conversion devices. After examining each device, they are asked to determine the types of energy conversions involved. In the second activity, students construct energy conversion diagrams for devices with which they are familiar. Students gain first-hand experience in converting chemical energy to heat energy in the third activity. They construct a working model of the Benjamin Franklin fireplace and compare its heating ability to more conventional fireplaces of Franklin's time. In the final science activity, students directly observe that chemical changes can produce electricity. This is accomplished by students "reviving" dead batteries.
In social studies students study major energy sources in American history. The progression from wood to coal to oil as major energy sources will be presented. Students will be challenged to write a newspaper that reflects life on an Iowa farm in the early 1800s. Students will be introduced to the age of coal and the age of oil through separate readings. They will be given a group of old advertisements covering the 1850 through 1950 time period. Based on their readings, they will sequence the ads from oldest to newest. Each of the advertisements contains items whose energy source are indicative of the period in which they were popular. Finally, students will prepare a second newspaper, this one indicative of life on an Iowa farm in the year 2050. Again, the focus will be on energy conversions of the times.
The mathematics portion of this unit revolves around the topic of energy conversions in our bodies. Students are introduced to the fact that daily calorie requirements vary with age and gender. Likewise, the calorie requirements of physical activities vary depending of the physical exertion required. Students manipulate numbers to estimate their calorie requirements on a typical day, comparing those estimates to the average requirements for someone of their age and gender. Problem-solving strategies are used to devise approaches for determining the number of calories in single pieces of fruits, candies and cereals. This idea is extended in an activity in which students are challenged to prepare packages of food items whose calorie count totals a predetermined number. This activity necessitates the manipulation of data in determining appropriate proportions of foods for the energy packet. Finally, students combine their knowledge and skills of energy expenditure through physical activity with energy intake by eating. They develop a plan of physical activities designed to burn off calories gained from eating pizza at a school party. This activity requires students to manipulate data, not only in designing an activity plan for burning off the calories ingested, but also to decide what and how much they will eat at the party.
In language arts students learn sequencing and scripting, while gaining experience in oral presentation. All of the readings and presentations students are involved with will have an energy conversions focus. Students will receive jumbled sentences of a Laura Ingalls Wilder story and will be asked to logically sequence the events. Working in cooperative groups, students will be asked to prepare a biographical sketch of a person having a close tie to a major development in our history of energy.
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