Power Project Overview

Name:                                                 Date:                                       Period:            

The year is 2040 and Americans are in trouble. The world's supply of fossil fuels is being rapidly depleted. As a result, drivers are paying $20 per gallon for gasoline, and the cost of heating and cooling homes, businesses, and schools has forced many public buildings to close because of their inability to pay for energy. Families and industry are suffering as well. Goods can't be transported across the country, and many people must endure extreme heat and cold because energy costs are so high. Add to this the ill health of the Earth's environment, ravaged for years by greenhouse gasses and the effects of global warming. The situation is critical. Alternative energy sources must be developed so that Americans can have reliable, efficient, environmentally friendly ways to run their cars, power their manufacturing plants, and heat and cool their businesses, schools, and homes.

You and your partners are scientists who have been instructed to find ways to solve the energy crisis being faced by the U.S. You will be assigned a specific task related to solving this nationwide crisis. It will be up to you and your partners to research, design, and teach others about an alternative form of energy that can be used to safely meet the energy demands of the population without an extremely high price or further damage to the environment.

 

Vocabulary list:

  • Renewable resource: natural resource that is depleted at a rate slower than the rate at which it regenerates (i.e. solar energy)
  • nonrenewable resource: resources for which there are no ways to replenish the supply (i.e. fossil fuels)
  • fossil fuels: also known as mineral fuels, they are hydrocarbon containing natural resources such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas
  • solar energy: harnessing the energy produced by sunlight
  • wind power: using the kinetic energy of the wind or wind turbines to extract the wind's energy
  • hydropower: energy obtained from flowing water
  • geothermal energy: electricity generated by utilizing naturally occurring geological heat sources
  • hydrogen fuel cells: electrochemical cell in which the energy of a reaction between fuel, such as liquid hydrogen, and an oxidant, such as liquid oxygen, is converted into electrical energy
  • nuclear energy: energy released from the nucleus of an atom creating an nuclear reaction
  • LED: light emitting diodes: a semiconductor device that emits light using a variety of inorganic materials
  • greenhouse gasses: gaseous components of the atmosphere including carbon dioxide and ozone, among others. They contribute to the greenhouse effect
  • global warming: an increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans increasing the greenhouse effect

Research Guide

• The first part of your project involves researching as much factual information as you can about your assigned topic. Be sure to collect facts along with charts and graphs that contain relevant data, photographs, diagrams, flowcharts, and any other interesting information you can gather about your topic.

 

• As part of your project and presentation, you will create a PowerPoint presentation and a model, experiment, diagram, or some type display that you will use to teach your classmates about the alternate energy form/renewable resource you have studied.

 

• Projects need to be high quality with attention to detail, accurate spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.  Accuracy counts, so be sure to thoroughly research the facts and practice what you will say in your presentation ahead of time.

 

Research topics

A. Research solar energy and how it can be used to power homes, schools, and businesses. Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how solar energy is collected and used to generate power.

 

B. Research wind power and how it can be used in homes, schools, and businesses.

Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how wind power is used to

generate power.

 

C. Research water power and how it can be used as energy for homes, schools, and businesses.  Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how water power is used to generate power.

 

D. Research hydrogen and fuel cells and how they can be used as an alternate energy form.  Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how hydrogen and fuel cells can be used to generate power.

 

E. Research biomass and how it can be used as an alternate energy form. Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how biomass is collected and used to generate power.

 

F. Research geothermal energy and how it can be used as an alternate energy form. Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how geothermal energy is used to generate power.

 

G. Research nuclear energy and how it can be used to power homes, schools, and businesses. Include a thorough explanation of the science that explains how nuclear energy is created and used to generate power.

 

H. Research Light Emitting Diodes (LED) and how it could be used in every home, business, and school as an alternate form of energy. Be sure to discuss the positive impact this would have on the environment.

 

I. Research Environmentally Friendly Building Design (also known as “green” buildings). Find out what construction and materials/components make these types of buildings environmentally friendly and what forms of alternative energy they implement.

 

J. Other: brainstorm about an appropriate topic and get approval before beginning work.