Category: Activities

Chapter 3 { Energy Use Contents } Next time you look at a blade of grass, think about this: without green plants none of us would survive.  In some cases, we eat plants directly to get the energy that is stored in them. In other cases, cows or pigs eat the plants, store the energy […]

{ Energy Use Contents } { All GSS Books } In the Lab Investigation “Doing Work to Create Electricity,” you were generating electricity by moving a coil of wire near a magnet or moving the magnet near the coil. The generator transforms kinetic energy (energy of motion) into electrical energy. Do you think you can […]

{ Energy Use Contents } { All GSS Books } Use magnets and coils of wire to investigate what kind of responses you can get from an electric meter. Your challenge is to arrange and rearrange the magnets and wires to generate as much electrical output as you can. Materials magnet wire (24 gauge, 3 […]

Chapter 2 { Energy Use Contents } In order to make intelligent choices about energy it’s important to understand what energy is. Surprisingly, energy is not easy to define; and you are likely to find different definitions in different textbooks. A useful definition for energy is “that which makes things happen.” Can you see energy? […]

Chapter 1 { Energy Use Contents } Without energy, nothing happens. With energy, things start happening. An intricate web of energy connects everything. The sound of rain on the leaves, the sound of a waterfall, and the sound of a rock concert are all related. Here’s how . . . The Sun shines on oceans, […]

ENERGY USE is in the GSS theme 4, Underlying Causes and Possible Solutions. See Overview. Contents Chapters Investigations Stay Current 1. How People Use Energy 1.1. Recent History Chapter 1 2. Energy Basics 2.1. Create Electricity2.2. Electric Motor2.3. Transformations Chapter 2 3. Fossil Fuels 3.1. Energy Units Chapter 3 4. Field Trip to a Power […]

Chapter 9 { Energy Flow Contents } It’s a sunny spring day. Lush green grass from winter rainstorms carpets the hillside, punctuated here and there with ancient oak trees. Zooming in on one of the trees we see that it’s alive with hundreds of oak caterpillars, munching holes in the leaves. It’s a feast day […]

Chapter 7 { Energy Flow Contents } “Dad was outside and Mom and I were getting dinner ready,” said Karen Knobloch, who lived with her parents on a farm in northwest Iowa.  “Dad came inside and said we’d better get to the basement. It hit when we were halfway down the steps.” Windows were blown […]

{ Energy Flow Contents } { All GSS Books } Your job as a member of Heat Trappers, Inc., is to work with a team of engineers (your fellow students) to create as warm an environment as possible for some miniature exotic tropical plants that have just been acquired for your school’s new botanical garden.  […]

Chapter 6 { Energy Flow Contents } Most natural systems are continuously changing. Yet within them certain things remain the same, or fluctuate within limits. Any balance between opposing forces or influences can be called “equilibrium.” There are two kinds of equilibrium: static and dynamic. Systems in Static Equilibrium Static equilibrium is when parts of […]