A special partnership between theGeorgia Department of Education and the

Educational Technology Training Centers in support of the 8th Grade Physical Science Frameworks.

Module 2

Energy in our Lives

Powering Powering Our Our

WorldWorld

STANDARDSContent and Characteristics

S8P2. Students will be familiar with the forms and transformations of energy. a. Explain energy transformation in terms of the law of Conservation of Energy. b. Explain the relationship between potential and kinetic energy. c. Compare and contrast the different forms of mechanical, heat, electrical and magnetic energy and their characteristics.

S8P5. Students will recognize characteristics of gravity, electricity, and magnetism as major kinds of forces acting in nature. d. Investigate and explain that electric currents and magnets can exert force on each other.

S8CS1. Students will explore the importance of curiosity, honesty, openness, and skepticism in science and will exhibit these traits in their own efforts to understand how the world works.

a. Understand the importance of—and keep—honest, clear, and accurate records in science. b. Understand that hypotheses can be valuable even if they turn out not to be completely accurate.

S8CS2. Students will use standard safety practices for all classroom laboratory and field investigations. a. Follow correct procedures for use of scientific apparatus. b. Demonstrate appropriate techniques in all laboratory situations. c. Follow correct protocol for identifying and reporting safety problems and violations.

S8CS5. Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring scientific and technological matters. a. Observe and explain how parts can be related to other parts in a system such as the role of simple machines in complex machines. b. Understand that different models (such as physical replicas, pictures, and analogies) can be used to represent the same thing.

S8CS7. Students will question scientific claims and arguments effectively. b. Identify the flaws of reasoning in arguments that are based on poorly designed research (e.g., facts intermingled with opinions, conclusions based on insufficient

evidence). d. Recognize that there may be more than one way to interpret a given set of findings.

S8CS8. Students will be familiar with the characteristics of scientific knowledge and how it is achieved. Students will apply the following to scientific concepts:

a. When similar investigations give different results, the scientific challenge is to judge whether the differences are trivial or significant, which often requires further study. Even with similar results, scientists may wait until an investigation has been repeated many times before accepting the results as meaningful.

S8CS9. Students will understand the features of the process of scientific inquiry. Students will apply the following to inquiry learning practices:

• Investigations are conducted for different reasons, which include exploring new phenomena, confirming previous results, testing how well a theory predicts, and comparing different theories.

The question is…

How is energy transferred to my house?

K W LWhat I KNOW

What I WANT to Know

What I LEARNED

Ex: How does electricity get to

MY house?

Ex: Lots of things in my house use

electricity.

How is electricity created?

• Draw a sketch of how YOU think electricity is made and how it gets to your house. Label as many things as you can. Write a short paragraph explaining the sketch.

Did you know?Did you know?

Electricity is the #1 form of

energy consumption!

It’s the LAW!

• The Law of Conservation of Energy states that

• we cannot destroy energy,

• but we can change it.

Change is Good

Electric power plants change mechanical energy into electrical energy.

Power to the People!

• The electrical energy is transmitted great

distances to our homes by wires. We convert the electrical energy back

into mechanical energy by way of motors in order to

do work for us.

What do you use motors for at home?

Different energy sourcesPeople use different energy sources

to make electricity. One source is fossil

fuel. How many other types of energy sources

can you think of?

Let’s look at the energy sources we use to generate electricity.

Each had its advantages anddisadvantages. People use whatever is available and

economical.

NextNext

Energy Sources

fossil fuel

wind

solar

nuclear

hydroelectric

geothermal

tidal wave

biomass

fossil fuel wind solar hydroelectric

In a minute, we will break up into groups and create presentations

explaining how these are transformed to electrical energy in

a power plant.

nuclear geothermal tidal biomass wave

Your presentation should include:

1.An explanation of how the energy source is transformed into electricity.

A couple of good websites on energy:

Energy SourcesThe Secret Lives of Energy-Energy Generation

Your presentation should include:

2.Advantages and disadvantages

of using the energy source.

Your presentation should include:

3. A flow chart of the energy transformations that take place in the production of electricity.

Websites that might help:FreemindMindomo

Mindmeister

Your presentation should include:

4. A labeled diagram of a generator.

Your presentation should include:

5. A picture of the type of power plant used with your

energy source.

Your presentation should include:

6. A brief explanation of how the electricity is sent to your

house from the plant.

Your presentation should include:

7. An explanation of the percentage of the world’s

energy currently met by your energy source.

Your presentation should include:

8. A description of the political, economic, and

environmental implications of your energy source.

My energy source is _____________

List the advantages and disadvantages of using this energy source to create electricity.

Advantages Disadvantages

Example of a flow chart

Solar ElectricalChemical

solar

Electrical Generator

Parts of a GeneratorParts of a Generator

RotorRotor

StatorStator

RotorConduct

or

RotorConduct

or

StatorConduct

or

StatorConduct

or

Bringing it Home• Now we will break into

groups by the neighborhoods we live in. Each group will research

and create a visual diagram of how electricity

is made and transferred to • the homes in your

• neighborhood.

K W LWhat I KNOW

What I WANT to Know

What I LEARNED

Ex: How does electricity get to

MY house?

Ex: Lots of things in my house use

electricity.

Now finish your KWL, adding what you learned.

Now finish your KWL, adding what you learned.

Now you know…

…how energy is transferred to your house.