Category: Investigations
EU6. Energy in Society
Chapter 6 { Energy Use Contents } I. The Big Picture The flow chart above may look complicated, but it’s really not difficult to interpret. It provides THE BIG PICTURE of how the United States uses its energy resources. The boxes on the left side of the chart show the major primary sources that humans […]
EU5.1. Energy and Power
{ Energy Use Contents } { All GSS Books } You are browsing in a store to buy a light bulb to replace a burnt-out bulb. Will a 60-watt bulb be bright enough? Were you satisfied with its brightness? How about a 75-watt bulb? Why not a 100-watt bulb? What is a watt anyway? Watts […]
EU5. America Plugged In
Chapter 5 { Energy Use Contents } In Thomas Edison’s view, persistence was a key to success: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” In his endeavor to build a better storage battery, he made 8,000 attempts. “Well, at least we know 8,000 things that don’t work,” he is reported to have said. Returning to […]
EU4. Field Trip To a Power Plant
Chapter 4 { Energy Use Contents } Electricity, from the power plant to your toaster Marty Hunt told us the power plant would be on the right, when we turn onto Tenth Street, and we couldn’t miss it. There is no question we are headed in the right direction. Steel towers loom over the countryside […]
EU3. Fossil Fuels
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 […]
EU2.2. Using Electricity to Do Work
{ 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 […]
EU2.1. Doing Work to Create Electricity
{ 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 […]
EU2. Energy Basics
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? […]
EU1. How People Use 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
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 […]