Unit Introduction
Each day of the unit is framed by an essential question that students will need to answer in their unit journal. The answer to these questions will serve as an ongoing formative assessment of student progress. Following the essential question, the day’s strategies are outlined in narrative form. A discussion of the day’s content is provided in the direct instruction section, followed by an explanation of the classwork in the class activity section. Standards used are primarily from the Next Generation Science Standards, however the common core literacy standards are used to inform assignments that require students to engage in research or writing.
Day One: Energy in our Everyday Lives |
Essential Questions: What is the role and importance of energy in our lives? What is the ultimate source of energy on our planet? |
Objectives: To evaluate the role and importance of energy in society. To describe describe the transformations of energy and analyze the role of solar radiation in the various forms of |
Standards: HS-ESS3-1 & HS-ETS1-3 |
Strategies: This class will introduce the concept of energy through a written analysis of the various forms of energy used in our daily lives. Students will describe the role of energy in their lives (and in society), and the major forms of energy they (and their family members) use during a typical day. The goal of the lesson is to engage students in an analysis of the forms and transformations of energy and to then to lead a discussion on the importance of energy in our lives. Direct Instruction: Students should already know that there are two broad categories for energy: kinetic and potential (chemical and gravitational potential energy). They should also be familiar with the various forms of energy (solar, wind, electrical, geothermal, tidal, nuclear, and chemical energy), that help us perform useful work in our lives. While energy can be transformed from one form to another, students should understand that solar radiation is the ultimate source of energy in their lives. I will ask students to determine the “origin” of given forms of energy that they use: the goal of our discussion is to establish solar radiation as the primary source of energy (with the exception of geothermal, tidal, and nuclear energy) on our planet. Classroom Activity: (Written analysis): Use the guided analysis questions to describe the major sources of energy used in your everyday life. Why is energy important in your life? Where does that energy come from? Name the energy resources used to generate the energy. |
Materials: Written activity guided questions (in student resources) and student journals. |
Day Two: Energy Resources and the Environment |
Essential Questions: What are our major energy resources? How does our use of energy affect the planet’s ecosystems? |
Objective: To describe the major energy sources and to evaluate how their use affects the environment. |
Standards: HS-PS3-2 Energy & HS-ESS3-1 & ESS3-5 |
Strategies: The class will engage in a review of the transformations of solar energy into stored potential energy in fossil fuels. We will then explore the reactants and products of the combustion reactions of hydrocarbons and how increased carbon dioxide emissions are implicated in climate change. The class will then view a video on greenhouse gas emissions which will help them evaluate the effect of these emissions on the environment. Direct Instruction: After reviewing the formation of fossil fuels, I will analyze the balanced combustion reactions of coal, methane, and octane and why the emissions are called greenhouse gases. I will introduce the concept of greenhouse gases and how they regulate the earth’s temperature. Classroom Activity: Students will note the components of chemical reactions and describe the products / reactants (greenhouse emissions) of the combustion of hydrocarbons. Students will be shown a graph that shows the relation between increased CO2 emissions and global temperatures. They will then view a short video on the earth’s natural greenhouse effect and analyze how increased carbon emissions affect the environment. They will answer a set of analysis questions on the greenhouse effect and then write a brief summary paragraph on how our increased use of fossil fuels affects the environment. |
Materials: Greenhouse effect video, video analysis questions (in student resources), CO2 emissions vs. temperature graph, and student journals. Access to video in teacher resources. |
Day Three: Ecological Footprint. |
Essential Questions: How does our personal use of energy affect the environment? How can we alter our behavior to limit our effect on the environment? |
Objective: To analyze and evaluate how our personal energy usage affects the environment. To propose ways to conserve energy and reduce our carbon footprint. |
Standards: HS-ESS3-1; & ESS3-4; HS-ETS1-3 |
Strategies: Industrialized societies produce massive amounts of CO2 emissions. Students will then be asked if they know their contribution to global CO2 emissions. The class will challenge them to evaluate their ecological footprint and (more importantly) to begin to analyze how they can reduce their carbon footprint. Direct Instruction: After the opening discussion, I will introduce the concept of ecological footprint (and its component footprints). Classroom Activity: Students will take an online ecological footprint analysis: (the results are broken down into a variety of footprints (carbon, food, energy, and waste). Students will be asked to analyze how focus on those activities that increase CO2 emissions. Students will be asked to write a brief summary paragraph on the activity and to propose at least five ways they can begin to conserve energy and reduce their carbon footprint: (This will be an ongoing activity as we will revisit this analysis several times during the unit. The goal is to lower their overall footprint by at least 50% or more. |
Materials: Computer cart, internet access, and teacher subscription to Global Footprint Network (Instructions are in teacher resources). Student ecological footprint analysis questions in student resources. |
Day Four and Five: Increased CO2 emissions and Climate Change |
Essential Questions: What are projected effects of climate change? How will increased temperatures affect the earth’s various ecosystems? How will increased temperatures affect human societies? |
Objective: To evaluate the effect of increased temperatures on the earth’s ecosystems and human societies. |
Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.9: HS- ETS3 & HS-ESS3-5 |
Strategies: This class begins a discussion that will frame the entire unit. The underlying motivation of this unit is to make students aware of the urgency of climate change and to encourage them to consider how their practices (now and in their future lives) affect the environment. The goal of this class is to have students discover for themselves the impending consequences of climate change. In order to accomplish this, they will engage in a collaborative web quest that explores the evidence for and consequences of climate change. Direct Instruction: The class begins with a recap of carbon emissions and their effect on global temperatures, followed by a viewing of the 2007 AAAS video on climate change. Following the video, I will lead a brief class discussion on the various ways that increasing global temperatures can affect ecosystems, biomes, living organisms, climate, and human societies; (other effects may be suggested by students). The discussion will serve as introduction to the collaborative group research activity on climate change. Classroom Activity: Students will divide into groups of four. Each group will analyze a differing aspect of climate change. Students will first prepare their own set of research questions and then log on to onto the Koshland Science Museum Webquest© site. The webquest covers the following topics: climate vs. weather, the greenhouse effect, causes and effects of climate change, and ways to mitigate the projected effects. Students will need two period to complete and present their findings. A presentation rubric should be developed by the class to assess each group’s work. Each group’s research questions and the unit essential questions can serve as assessment guides for each presentation. Each student’s research findings should be written into their unit journal. |
Materials: Kochland Museum Webquest site (URL in student resources): Computer cart, additional websites on climate change if needed: (URL in teacher resources), and student journals. |
Day Six: Carbon Cycle |
Essential Questions: How does solar energy enter the ecosystem? How is carbon dioxide captured and sequestered in ecosystems? |
Objective: To analyze processes that cycle solar energy and carbon dioxide in natural systems. To evaluate human actions that disrupt the carbon cycle. |
Standards: HS-LS2-3 & HS- LS2-5 |
Strategies: The class will explore the “natural” carbon cycle, focusing on processes that trap / sequester CO2 and those that release it. The discussion will review photosynthesis and combustion reactions (including cellular respiration) as central processes in the carbon cycle. An important component of this analysis will be on the ways that human activities disrupt the cycle and increase atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. Direct Instruction: I will ask students to review their understanding of photosynthesis and respiration (noting how CO2 is captured in carbohydrates and sequestered in fossil fuels and biomass). I will show the class a video that analyzes the processes that cycle carbon in terrestrial / aquatic biomes and in the atmosphere. The focus will be on the processes that maintain the carbon balance and those human activities that disrupt the balance. Classroom Activity: Students will use a set of guided questions to analyze the video of the carbon cycle. Students will need to include the chemical reactions of photosynthesis and respiration in their analysis. Students will be asked to determine where (and how) the cycle is disrupted by human actions: (they will also need to include the combustion reactions of fossil fuels in their analysis). |
Materials: Video of the carbon cycle (URL in teacher resources), video analysis questions and unit journals. |
Day Seven- Eight : Photosynthesis |
Essential Questions: How is light energy transformed into electrical energy? What is the role of the electrons in this process? |
Objective: To analyze how solar radiation is transformed into chemical energy during photosynthesis. |
Standards: HS-LS1-5 & HS- LS1-7 |
Strategies: This class will build on student’s understanding of photosynthesis and focus on the role the electrons in the transformation of light into electrical energy. The class will begin with a review of atomic structure and the charges of the subatomic particles. The class will also need to explore the relationship between light energy, color and wavelength. Understanding this relationship is essential to our analysis of the photosystems in photosynthesis as well as the absorption of light in the dye sensitized cell. Direct Instruction: I will show the class the structure of the atom, and review the charges and location of protons, electrons and neutrons (using the planetary model of the atom). I will then show the class a diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum and discuss the relationship between energy of light, wavelength, and energy. Although students have already learned this material, time may be needed to fully review this content. Once the review is completed, I will show the class the absorption spectrum of the chlorophylls and relate the colors absorbed to the wavelength of the photons absorbed in the two photosystems. We will then look at a diagram of the two photosystems in the thylakoid within plant chloroplasts. I will focus on the processes that excite electrons in each of the two photosystem and how the passage of electrons transforms solar radiation to the electrical potential that drives the chemiosmotic synthesis of NADPH+ and ATP within the thylakoid lumen. I will introduce the concepts of oxidation / reduction as part of the process (chlorophyll a is oxidized to produce the electrons needed, while CO2 is reduced to produce carbohydrate. Classroom Activity: Given the need to review prior knowledge, this day’s work will require two days to complete. Students will complete a set of review questions on atomic structure and the electromagnetic spectrum. Once completed the analysis of the photosystems can begin. To analyze the photosystems, students will complete a set of analysis questions and diagram the processes of the two photosystems. |
Materials: Diagram of the photosystems, and guided analysis questions. |
Day Nine: Light energy, color, and photovoltaic cells. |
Essential Questions: What is the relationship between the color of light and energy? |
Objective: To describe the difference between the processes in natural photosynthesis and those in photovoltaic cells. |
Standards: CCSS.ELA.-Literacy.RST.11-12.3: HS-PS1-1; HS-PS3-3 |
Strategies: This class introduces photovoltaic cells as a technology that transforms light energy into electrical energy. Students will review their understanding of the photosystems in photosynthesis and relate those processes to the excitation of electrons in solar cells. The principal difference being that solar cells use the electrical energy directly. The class will begin with a review of the electromagnetic spectrum and the two photosystems in photosynthesis. Direct Instruction: I will first review the areas of the electromagnetic spectrum and explain the relationship between color, energy, and wavelength. Students will view a diagram of the absorption spectrum of the chlorophylls and relate the colors absorbed to the wavelength of the photons absorbed in the two photosystems in photosynthesis. We will then review how light energy is transformed into electrical energy in the photosystems. I will then show the class a dye sensitized photovoltaic cell and explain that the cell is performs a similar transformation of light energy into electrical energy. The dyes are similar to the chlorophylls as they absorb light of a specific wavelength and energy. I will then show the class the materials used to make a dye sensitized cell. I will explain the properties of semiconducting TiO2 compound that is used in the cells, as well as the conductive properties of the cell plates. This will serve as a review of the differences between conductors, semiconductors and insulators. I will also show the class how to use the multimeters that are used throughout the lab. This will serve as an introduction to our lab on dye sensitized cells. Classroom Activity: Making the DSSC is relatively simple, however the preparation of the TiO2 semiconducting paste is somewhat complicated and time consuming. Thus I will prepare the paste before the class. In this class students will prepare the conducting plates, apply the TiO2 paste and begin the annealing process. |
Materials: Diagram of EMS spectrum, materials for DSSC lab ( in Activities Section), DSSC lab manual (in teacher section), |
Day Ten- Day Twelve: Dye Sensitized Solar Cell |
Essential Questions: How is light energy transformed in a solar cell? |
Objective: To analyze the processes that transform light energy to electrical energy in a DSSC. |
Standards: CCSS.ELA.-Literacy.RST.11-12.3: HS-PS1-1; HS-PS3-3 |
Strategies: Students will follow the lab procedure as outlined. They will be provided materials to build and test a DSSC. |
Materials: Materials and procedure for lab (appendix B: Lab Activities), student analysis questions (in student resources), additional resources in teacher resources. |
Unit Summary: Constructed Response |
Essential Questions: Why should we use renewable / carbon neutral energy resources? What is our responsibility to the environment? |
Objective: To evaluate the impact of energy use. |
Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.9: HS- ETS3 & HS-ESS3-5 |
Strategies: This class discussion will provide students the opportunity to propose their responses to various questions raised during this unit. The goal of the discussion is to provide a forum in which they can freely discus their position on these questions. What is their position of energy use given the economic realities and potential climate changes? The goal of the class is to propose ways that we can use energy in ways that protect the environment Direct Instruction: I will function as moderator in this discussion. Students will take the lead focusing on the issues they deem pertinent. The class will decide the format and guidelines for their final summary essay. It is my hope that their essays will address their perspectives on climate change, their sustainable practices (now and in the future) that will safeguard the environment, and how they will advocate for responsible environmental policies. Classroom Activity: Discussion Format. |
Materials: Unit Journals. |
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