PROJECT ENERGY
Teaching
and Learning for the 21st Century
Energy
Lessons for Elementary School
Dennis
W. Sunal
Cynthia
Sunal
William
Dwyer
Coralee
S. Smith
Holly
Loftin Holloway
Editors
Alabama
Science Teaching and Learning Center
The
University of Alabama
Box
870231
Tuscaloosa,
AL. 35487-0231
On the
web at http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/sciteach/energy
CONTRIBUTORS
Thelma Davis
Clidean Epps
Jeanelle Bland Hodges
Vicki Jenks
Audrey Rule
Cynthia Sunal
Dennis Sunal
Cheryl Sundberg
Partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Alabama DOE/EPSCoR Program and the University of Alabama.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LESSONS
Energy Flow in the Arctic
Biosphere (K-5)
Sunlight and Plants
(3-5)
Physical Science
Testing Materials for Electrical
Conductivity (4-8)
Early Concepts An Oil-Drop Model of a Splitting Atom
(4-6)
Modeling Nuclear Fission
(4-9)
Indirect Observations
(4-8)
Investigating Surface Tension
(4-8)
Energy Transformation (3-8)
Heat and Temperature: Is There a Difference?
(3-5)
Oil Reserves and Drilling
(4-8)
Orientation of Earth in Space
(4-5)
Water Cycle
(2-5)
INTRODUCTION
Project Energy is a consortium of university professors, leading scientists and classroom teachers committed to reform in science education. The project began in 1993 with a group of educators interested in increasing the energy literacy of teachers and students throughout the state of Alabama. Project Energy is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and the EPSCoR Universities of Alabama.
The goals of Project Energy include (a) developing exemplary instructional strategies for teaching energy literacy, (b) enhancing and extending partnerships among students, teachers, energy researchers, and personnel in education, business, and industry, (c) encouraging teachers' professional growth through the development of energy literacy instructional activities and effective energy instructional resource materials which are supportive of the state science curriculum, (d) disseminating information relating to energy literacy, (e) collegial mentoring to expand the exemplary energy classroom model to other Alabama teachers and students, (f) increasing access and skillful use of technology which facilitate and strengthen communication among teachers and students and (g) monitoring and evaluating energy literacy performance through the use of summative evaluations and portfolio projects.
Since 1993, Project Energy teachers have participated in technology and energy related workshops in Tuscaloosa and Auburn, Alabama and Oak Ridge Tennessee. The workshops provided participants opportunities to increase their energy knowledge base and acquire skills in teaching energy topics using technology. In addition, the participants have presented energy literacy workshops at the Annual Alabama Science Teachers Association Conference in Birmingham, Alabama and the Annual National Science Teachers Association Conferences.
The science teachers constructed Learning Cycles focusing on energy related topics. A Learning Cycle has three phases: exploration, concept invention, and expansion. In the exploration phase, students participate with hands-on/minds-on activities that draw on their prior knowledge. During the concept invention phase, students find existing patterns and develop conceptual knowledge. The expansion phase allows the student to apply newly acquired knowledge or skills to other situations.
It is anticipated that the learning cycles developed in this text by Project Energy participants will enhance students' energy that the learning cycles developed in this text by Project Energy participants will enhance students' energy literacy for the 21st century.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to acknowledge Project Energy teachers and their students, the participating school sites, and graduate students for their input and time. We also would like to acknowledge the Department of Energy and the Alabama EPSCoR Universities for providing the necessary funding.
Energy Flow in the Arctic Biosphere
Sample Lesson for Grades K-5
Audrey Rule
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Objective: Students will access prior knowledge in arranging cards depicting Arctic organisms to show the network of energy flow in the Arctic biosphere.
Key Questions: The Arctic is a cold, often bleak place, yet many large animals (whales, walruses, polar bears, musk oxen, caribou, Inuit people) make their homes there. Where do these creatures get the energy to survive? What are the chains of energy in the Arctic? What is the ultimate source of this energy? How is energy passed from organism to organism?
Materials: A set of Arctic Energy Flow cards for each group of students
Preparation of card materials: Photocopy the accompanying pages of Arctic
energy flow cards. Cut them apart
outside the dotted lines and use glue stick adhesive to mount them on
cardstock. Glue the picture on one side
and the explanation on the back. You
may wish to laminate these cards. Pictures
may be colored with colored pencils or left as black and white images.
Exploration:
Divide students into small groups. Each group should have a set of Arctic Energy Flow cards. Tell students to arrange the cards into linked chains or a web depicting the energy flow in the Arctic biosphere. Students need not use all the cards. Students may discuss among themselves to help them determine the connections between organisms.
Evaluation: The teacher interacts with each group to see that students are on task and everyone is participating. The teacher can ask students to record their card work as a flow chart on paper. These can be collected and graded. Additional assessment will occur when groups report their results during the invention phase.
Invention:
Objective: Students will be able to trace the source of energy in the Arctic biosphere to the sun. Students will be able to correctly chart the flow of energy between organisms in the Arctic biosphere.
Materials: Reference Books that provide information on Arctic organisms
Arctic Energy Flow cards
Poster board or blackboard for recording example energy
flow chains
Markers/chalk for writing on board
Paper strips, stapler, and poster board ovals for
constructing chains in activity #6
Procedure:
A. Allow each group to report the way they arranged their Arctic Energy Flow cards. Discuss differences between the ways groups arranged them.
B. Construct several energy flow chains that everyone agrees upon. Record these examples on the board. Point out the sun as the source of energy in the Arctic biosphere.
C. Assign research to students in order to better place organisms that are not well known; or,
D. Read aloud books, magazine articles, or show videos that give information about the ecology of the Arctic. Zoobooks magazines that focus on seals, polar bears, whales, etc. provide interesting information. Another great resource for Arctic tundra ecology is: One Small Square Arctic Tundra by Donald M. Silver (New York: Scientific American Books for Young Readers; 1994). Then, as a whole group, lead a discussion about Arctic organisms and their sources of energy. Ask a student to choose a card featuring an organism. Read the information about the organism on the back of the card. Ask the student where the organism gets its energy. Find the card that shows that organism and place it below the first card to form a chain. Continue until the sun is identified as the energy source. Then see if the chain can be expanded on the other end. Ask, "Does anything get energy from this organism?" When the chain is complete, draw the chain and record the names of the organisms on the board. Ask the students to make other chains and record them.
E. Students may want to investigate organisms that were not included in this lesson. Use references to see what they eat and how they get their energy. Add them to the energy chains and webs.
F. A giant web showing all 29 organisms plus the sun will give students the big picture of how all organisms depend upon the sun for their energy. It will also show the numerous interconnections between organisms. Writing the organism names on poster board ovals and connecting them with stapled paper chains is a fun visual activity that will illustrate this well. See the accompanying Arctic Biosphere Energy Flow Chart Diagram for ideas.
Evaluation: Students can be asked to individually draw energy flow charts for the Arctic biosphere. These can be graded.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of
Arctic energy flow chains by dramatizing them, making a menu or cookbook
depicting them, or writing a poem about them.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the way energy flows in the
biosphere by constructing a flow chart for a different ecosystem.
Procedure: Choose one or more of the following activities:
1. Students work individually or in groups to dramatize one of the Arctic energy food chains. They may make stick puppets or masks and write a play that illustrates the flow of energy from organism to organism. Alternately, students may want to make a series of colored transparency drawings or paint a mural to tell the story of the sun and organisms in the energy chain.
2. Students may make an "Arctic Restaurant Menu" or "Arctic Cookbook" featuring food energy dishes for different organisms. This should be a creative project with illustrations.
3. Students can write an "Ode to the Sun" poem that tells the sun's role in providing energy for life on Earth. Energy flow chains should be mentioned in this poem.
4. Students may choose a different biosphere such as the American southwestern desert or Florida everglades and construct energy flow charts for the organisms there.
Evaluation: Student projects can be presented to the class and graded.
Sample Lesson
for Grades 3-8
Dennis W.
Sunal
The University
of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Alternative Conception Addressed by the Lesson Plan:
Direct sunlight is necessary for green plants to live and grow. Direct
sunlight makes green plants healthy. Green plants always need direct sunlight .
Lesson Goal: To allow students to investigate and develop inferences
about the role of sunlight in the nutritional needs of a green plant.
Prerequisites: Can measure height to the nearest millimeter or one/eighth
inch.
Exploration:
Objective: The students
will investigate the effects of sunlight on germinating seeds and young green
plants.
Materials: For each group:
Four
lima bean or corn seeds,
Potting
soil, and
Four
styrofoam cups
Procedure:
A. Organize small groups of four
students; a materials manager, a reporter, one observer, and one illustrator. These roles could rotate over time.
B. Describe
the materials and instructions needed for students to carry out the activity
related to the effects of sunlight on growing plants. State the key questions: Is light necessary for plants to live
and grow? Does sunlight make green plants healthy? and Do green plants always
need light?
C. Provide
each group with four lima bean or corn seeds, potting soil, and four styrofoam
cups. Ask the students to design an
experiment to test the effects of light on the growth of plants using the lima
bean or corn seeds. An example of an
experiment that might be designed by a group would involve students putting
three inches of potting soil into each cup. Then the students could plant the
lima bean seeds about one inch below the surface of the soil. They would add three tablespoons of water to
each cup. One cup would be set on the
windowsill or some bright spot in the room.
One cup would be put in a closet or in a box that is sealed off from
light. The other two cups should be put
in parts of the room that are partially lit.
One across the room from the windows and one behind or under a large
object in the room. The students would
keep a daily diary indicating at least the following observations: the date, a
description of the seed or plant, a measure of the height of the plant and the
number of leaves. The illustrator
would make a sketch of the plant each day in the diary.
An experiment such as the one above
will probably involve a week to ten days of plant growth time. Seeds generally require two to three days to
germinate (when they break through the soil) and another week to grow tall
enough to have leaves so that the effects of light become evident. The illustrator should draw the plants at
regular intervals. The observers should
record a description of the plant at the same intervals and use it to construct
a table or bar graph of plant growth.
D. At
appropriate points, the group should be allowed to discuss the results of the
experiment they designed.
Evaluation: Each group
should have a complete description of their hypothesis, procedure, data, and
results. Group skills should be
assessed by observing that students should join their groups quickly when asked
and the group should review what needs to be done before starting.
Invention:
Objective: The students
will describe the effects of sunlight on green plant growth during germination
and on green plants after they have broken through the top of the soil (after
germination).
Materials: For each student:
A lima bean
seed soaked in water for 24 hours
Procedure:
A.
Have each group present to the whole class their hypothesis, procedure, and
results. Help students communicate the
results of their activities using tables and/or bar graphs to justify their
conclusions. Continuously help the
students compare the results of each group’s experiment.
B.
Write the key questions from the exploration on the board. Ask the student
groups to discuss these questions based on the class discussion of their
experiments. Ask them to report their
answers to the whole class.
C.
Explain that the discrepancy here involves the observation that seeds will
germinate whether or not they are in the presence of light. Once germinated, the plants in the dark will
grow faster than the plants in the light.
However, they will be spindly and will have fewer leaves. If the experiment were stopped before the
plants in the dark condition die, the students will be left with the
alternative conception that light is not necessary for plants to live and
grow.
D.
Provide soaked lima bean seeds and a sheet of paper to all students. In groups, have them take apart the lima
bean seed and tape the parts to the paper.
At the bottom of the paper, ask the groups to discuss the function of
each part. As an extension, another
lesson could be performed where the students plant these parts to determine
which one grows. The students should
find the following parts: cotyledon(s), seed coat, cover, and an embryo. Tell the students that the embryo is the
plant and that the cotyledons are food sacs (starch) that the embryo uses to
develop roots and a stem with which to reach the soil surface. Corn seeds have only one food sac or cotyledon.
The students should have observed this growth during the germination phase of
the plant. State that the germination
process does not require sunlight, as they have found in their experiments.
E.
Ask the students to display the illustrator’s pictures of plant growth
following germination in dark and light conditions. Explain to the students that even though the plants in the dark
grew faster before they started dying they did not look healthy. They did not have a very green color and
they had very few leaves. Sunlight is
necessary for the health of green plants.
It is needed by green plants in order to make green chlorophyll and to
make additional food. Without this
additional food production, the green plant’s food sac soon becomes used up and
the green plant dies because it lacks the materials and the energy that the
food provides for growth and maintenance.
F.
Closure: Light is not necessary for seeds during the germination phase of
growth. It is necessary following
germination for health and continued growth.
Evaluation: Ask the students
to create a poem about two plant seeds, one that landed on soil in a field and
one that landed on soil in a cavity under a rock or in the woods. Assess students group skills by observing
that they stay with their group while it is working and that pay attention to
how much time they have to carry out each activity.
Expansion:
Objective: The students will solve everyday problems
involving the role of sunlight on green plant growth.
Materials: for each student:
A map or drawing of an area with three vegetation zones:
deep forest, low shrubs, and meadow (figure1)
A sheet of paper with a 3 x 4 matrix
Procedure:
A.
Provide the following problems and ask the groups to discuss their answers and
report them to the class. The students
should provide supportive evidence for each of their responses to the
problems. Write the following problems
on the board. For problems one and two
give the students a map (it may be teacher-drawn) of an area of mixed height
and foliage. It may have an area of
deep forest, an area of small bushes, and a meadow.
1)
In which area will a squash seed planted three centimeters below the soil
surface reach the soil surface the fastest.
The temperature of the soil is the same in all areas.
2)
Small squash plants are planted in each area.
Draw the plants after 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks. Provide each group with a 3 X 4 matrix on a whole sheet of paper.
3)
A farmer purchased an abandoned coal mine to produce mushrooms for sale in
grocery stores. The farmer spread lots of horse manure from his stables on the
floor of the coal mine. The farmer
successfully produced lots of large mushrooms for sale.
Teacher’s note: Mushrooms are part of a class of plants
called fungi. This class includes
molds, mildew, rusts, and smut. They
lack chlorophyll so they do not produce their own food. Fungi get their food from organic soil
materials dissolved in water.
B. Ask the
students to present their answers to each problem in a report to the
class. Discuss the results in an
interactive discussion.
C.
Summarize the lesson by describing each of the activities in the order in which
they were experienced in the lesson.
Briefly indicate the main point developed in each activity.
Evaluation: Each student will respond to the following
problem. The moon has a day that takes
twenty-eight of our earth days. For
fourteen earth days it is dark at a certain location on the moon and for
fourteen earth days it is light. Describe
by illustration and narrative the growth of a lima bean planted on the moon in
a greenhouse in the middle of the lunar night. Remember that there will be two weeks of sunlight followed by
two weeks of darkness every lunar month. Describe its growth for two lunar
months. identify, investigate, and develop inferences about
the role of sunlight in the nutritional needs of a green plant.
Figure 1:
Vegetation zones.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Testing Materials for Electrical Conductivity
Sample Lesson for Grades 4-8
Clidean Epps
Russell Elementary
Russellville, Alabama
Student Misconception Addressed by the Lesson Plan: Liquids cannot be conductors.
Lesson Goal: Students will investigate electrolytes and nonelectrolytes.
Prerequisites: Students must be able to build a simple electric circuit. Students must be able to apply problem solving techniques to electric circuits.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will investigate the electrical properties of electrolytes and nonelectrolytes.
Materials: Electric circuit test (also called a conductivity tester)
Bulb, bulb holder, battery (A size or 9V)
Wires for connecting components
3 pieces of bell wire
distilled water
sugar
baking soda
vinegar
ink
lemon juice
apple juice
plastic spoons
small beakers or plastic cups to hold solutions
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four and assign roles: materials manager, reader, observer, and recorder.
B. Describe materials and instructions needed for groups to carry out the activity of making a circuit tester and mixing solution.
C. State the key question: Can you find a way to predict what will happen if you put the free ends of the electric tester into a beaker of distilled water and other solutions?
D. Sample teacher led discussion: The problem is "If you put the free ends of the electric conductivity tester into a beaker of water, what will happen to the bulb? Lemon juice, apple juice, salt water, etc." Write down your predictions for each test solution. If the material is solid, place a teaspoon of each solid in half a cup/beaker of distilled water and stir.
E. Instruct the students in the construction of an electric conductivity tester. Students should investigate the conductivity of metals before they test electrolytic solutions. Attach one wire to one terminal of the bulb connector. Attach the other end of this wire to one terminal of the battery. The second wire is attached to the second terminal of the bulb and its end is left unattached to anything. The third wire is attached to the second terminal of the battery and its end is left unattached to anything. (Demonstrate each step of the procedure as the students work. Check groups for successful completion of each step.) If you have successfully constructed your circuit, the bulb is connected to the battery on only one side. Two wires are left dangling: one on one side of the bulb and the other on one side of the battery. If you touch the dangling wires for a second, the bulb should light up. If it does not, raise your hand and wait quietly for help.
Rest the dangling wires, without letting them touch each other, on the edge of the beaker/cup. Place enough distilled water into the cup so that the wires are in the water. What happens to the bulb?
Now add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and stir. What happens to the bulb? Rinse the cup/beaker. Continue testing each of the solids and liquids.
The recorder should place a copy of the data collected in the data table for the group on the board/overhead. Each person in your group should record the results in your notebook.
Evaluation: Recorders for each group should place their results in a data table on the board or overhead. Teacher led large group discussion should cover results and conclusions drawn from the data collected.
Invention:
Objective: Students will classify common household liquids as conductors or nonconductors.
Materials: Liquid soap
Ketchup
Cola
Mustard
Syrup
4 beakers/cups
Electric conductivity tester
Paper towels
Plastic spoon
Procedure:
A. Place students in cooperative groups and assign roles: materials manager, experimenter, observer, and recorder.
B. Teacher discussion: An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity when it is dissolved in water. A battery contains an electrolyte in either a liquid or paste solution. When an electrolyte dissolves, it releases equal numbers of positive and negative ions. These ions move through the solution and carry electric charges (current) between the electrodes immersed in the solution. The electrodes in your electric conductivity tester are the dangling wires.
C. Instruct students to test the liquids with the conductivity tester and record their results in their notebook. The group recorder should write results for the group on the board or overhead. Focus questions: Does the bulb light the same in each solution? Which liquids conducted electricity? Which liquids were strong conductors of electricity (strong electrolytes) and which were weak conductors of electricity (weak electrolytes)? How did you decide? Which liquids did not conduct electricity at all? How did you decide?
Closure: Explain to students that strong electrolytes release many ions and conduct electricity well. These electrolytes include strong acids and bases and most salts. Weak electrolytes do not conduct electricity as well and do not release as many ions. Sugar is a nonconductor because it does not form ions.
Evaluation: Student predictions, notebook entries, completion of tasks and group participation should be used to assess the students' performance.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will continue to test various objects for conductivity.
Procedure:
A. Place students in groups of four and assign roles: materials manager, reader, observe, and recorder.
B. Set up stations around the room and outline the procedure for moving from one station to another. Place on the board the order in which groups will rotate from one station to another. Set a time limit on each station.
Station 1: A battery contains an electrolyte in either a liquid or paste solution. Using the materials at the station, make a circuit that will light the bulb. Draw a picture of your circuit. Place the picture in your notebook. The recorder will make a copy of the picture to place on the bulletin board.
Materials: 2 bell wires (25 cm with ends stripped)
1 bulb holder
D-cell battery
Masking tape
Station 2: Classify the following mixtures as either an electrolyte or a nonelectrolyte. Describe your procedure for finding which is an electrolyte or nonelectrolyte. Draw a diagram of your circuit in your notebook. Make a data table in your notebook to record your results. The recorder should make a copy of the data on the board/overhead.
Materials: milk
orange juice
lemon juice
honey
cups
(Hint for teacher: Place the solutions in cups and label. This will reduce clean-up time.)
Station 3: You have learned an electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity when it is dissolved in water. When something allows electricity to pass through, it is called a conductor. Use your electric conductivity tester to find out which of the solid objects at this station conduct electricity. Make a data table of your results in your notebook. The recorder will make a copy of the results on the board/overhead.
Materials: coin key
glass bobby pin
marble button
screw pencil (unsharpened)
nail pencil (one sharpened)
bar magnet pencil (both ends sharpened)
balloon pen
rubber ball eraser
Closure: Discuss the results of the stations' activities in a large teacher led discussion. Summarize key concepts of electrolytes, nonelectrolytes, batteries, conductors, and nonconductors.
Evaluation: Ask students to define and give examples of electrolytes and nonelectrolytes. Ask students to define and give examples of conductors and nonconductors. Ask students to define a battery and to draw a circuit that will light a bulb.
Fusion and Fission Energy - Early Concepts
An Oil-Drop Model of a Splitting Atom
Sample Lesson for Grades 4-6
Cynthia Sunal
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Prerequisites: The students should have an understanding of the structure of an atom and the atom's role as the basic building block of matter. The students should also know the difference between fusion and fission.
Background: After scientists discovered atoms, machines were designed that caused atoms to split in a process called fission. In nuclear fission reaction, energy is released when the nucleus of an atom is split apart. Scientists are able to make uranium atoms split or undergo fission. This process releases energy as heat, nuclear products, and one or more neutrons.
When neutrons cause additional uranium atoms to fission, there is a chain reaction. The heat from the fission chain reaction is used at nuclear power plants to make steam, which turns turbines to generate electricity.
Scientists and engineers also plan to build nuclear power plants that will produce heat to generate electricity in the future by forcing atoms of hydrogen isotopes to fuse or join together, in a reaction called nuclear fusion.
Exploration:
Objective: The students will demonstrate what happens when an atom is split during nuclear fission.
Materials: For each group: Drawing paper and markers
Procedure:
A. Place the students in cooperative learning groups of four: Assign roles of artist, recorder, materials manager, and spokesperson.
B. Tell the students they are going to draw a model of an atom and demonstrate what has to happen for an atom to undergo fission (splitting of an atom). Encourage the students to discuss among themselves how the model should be drawn. Have the students use drawing paper and markers to draw a model of a splitting atom. Tell them to show in their pictures what they believe has to be done to split an atom. Again, ask the students to discuss with the class what they are trying to explain in the picture.
C. Display the pictures for later references to possible misconceptions.
Invention:
Objective: The students will investigate the effects of a force exerted on an oil-drop model of an atom.
Materials: Small water glass
Six ounces of rubbing alcohol
An ounce or so of cooking oil and water
A teaspoon, butter knife and paper towels
Procedure:
A. Place the students into cooperative groups of four: assign roles of experimenter, observer and recorder.
B. Tell the students they are going to make an oil-drop model of atom. Assign new roles to the group: materials manager, observer, recorder and technician.
C. For each group, tell the students to fill the water glass about half-full with alcohol, then add enough water to fill the glass about two-thirds full. Stir the alcohol - water mixture with the teaspoon. Next, wipe the teaspoon dry and fill it with cooking oil.
D. Tell the students: Now here comes the tricky part - Carefully bring the spoon with the cooking oil close to the surface of the alcohol-mixture in the glass, then gently tip the spoon over. You may need to demonstrate this to the students before allowing them to try it. If you've done the job right, a single blob of oil will slide into the glass.
E. If the blob of oil is floating on the surface, carefully add a bit more alcohol to the mixture (use the teaspoon); if the blob has sunk to the bottom of the glass, spoon in some more water. The idea is to change the blob of oil into an oil drop that hovers somewhere in the middle of the glass. Note how perfectly spherical the drop is in the glass. The forces that hold the oil drop together are analogous to the forces that hold an atom together.
F. Now tell each group to take the butter knife and carefully prod the drop apart. At first the blob will resist being torn into two parts and will just form a larger bulge. Only after exerting a force several times will the blob tear apart into two perfectly round oil drops. Atoms behave in much the same way. Atoms will resist splitting (fission) until a sufficient amount of force is exerted on them.
G. Provide a closure for the lesson by asking the students to relate their observations of an oil-drop model of an atom to how an actual atom behaves when it is bombarded with a low speed particle -- the neutron.
Expansion:
Objective: To describe the events which occur during a nuclear fission reaction.
Materials: Drawing paper and markers
Procedure:
A.
Place the students in cooperative learning groups of four. Assign the same
roles as above to different
students in the group.
B.
Tell the students they are going to explain how their
observations of the oil-drop model of an atom will relate to the bombardment of
the U-235 nucleus (uranium-235) by a low speed neutron. Tell the students to use resource materials
related to the fission of the U-235 nucleus and describe the process in their
cooperative learning groups.
Evaluation: Tell the students to draw diagrams which show what happens to the U-235 nucleus when it is bombarded with a low speed neutron. The diagrams should include:
1. indications of the forces which hold the atom together,
2. the forces which are exerted to split the atom, and
3. the products of nuclear fission (heat energy, Krypton-92 nucleus, three neutrons, Barium-141 nucleus).
Have the students compare these diagrams to the diagrams drawn in the exploration phase.
Sample Lesson for Grades 4-9
Thelma M. Davis
Parker High School
Birmingham, Alabama
Misconception Addressed by the Lesson Plan: Atoms break into equal halves when they split, (undergo fission).
Lesson Goal: To illustrate that the fission process produces two new unstable atoms of different masses. To illustrate that some mass is lost during the fission process.
Exploration:
Objective: The students will demonstrate what happens when an atom is split during nuclear fission.
Materials: For each group of four students: Drawing paper and markers.
Procedure:
A. Place the students in cooperative learning groups of four. Assign roles of artist, recorder, materials manager, and spokesperson.
B. Facilitate discussion by asking the following questions:
1. How would an atom look after it has split?
2. Where does the energy come from to cause an atom to split?
3. How much energy is needed to splt an atom?
4. What holds an atom together?
C. Tell the students to draw a model of an atom. The model/picture should show what has to happen to cause an atom to split, and what the atom will look like after it has been split.
D. Encourage group discussion and tell them the group must be ready to defend everything in their picture.
Closure: Have each group explain their picture. Display the pictures for later references to possible misconceptions.
Invention:
Objective: To demonstrate what happens when an atom is split.
Materials: For each group of four students:
Play doh modeling clay metric scale
Straw
blindfold
Procedure:
A. Give each group the materials.
B. One person in the group should make a spherical ball out of the modeling clay. Tell the students the clay represents an atom.
C. Have the students weigh the ball of clay (atom) and record its mass.
D. Now blindfold one student in the group and give him the drinking straw. Instruct the student to hit (bombard) the atom with the drinking straw.
E. Tell the student to remove the blindfold. Have the student separate the clay ball at the point of contact made by the straw.
F. Tell the student to form two new spherical balls. Have them to weigh the new atoms and record their masses.
G. Tell the student to remove the clay from inside the straw and make 2 or 3 tiny balls. Lay these aside with the new atoms.
Closure: Engage discussion by asking these questions:
A. What did the original clay represent?
B. What was the mass of the original clay ball?
C. Are the masses of the two new clay balls (atoms) the same?
D. What do these two new clay balls represent?
E. Is there any clay in the straw? What does the clay in the straw represent? (neutron particles and heat energy)
Evaluation: Have each group construct a new picture showing the results of an atom that has undergone fission.
Ask the following questions:
A. How do the two new clay balls represent fission of an atom?
B. What is the extra mass used for?
Expansion:
Objective: To investigate the fission process of a Uranium - 235 atom. To investigate the production and usage of nuclear energy.
Materials: Media resources, the internet, science encyclopedias, etc.
Procedure: Have each group research the questions: What happens during the fission process of a Uranium - 235 atom? What is a nuclear chain reactor? What type of energy is produced and why is the energy important to mankind? After the research is completed each group will use materials of their own choosing to construct a three dimensional model of the fission of a Uranium - 235 atom. The model must show forces exerted on the atom and products produced.
Closure/Evaluation: Have each group present their research findings and explain their model representation.
Sample Lesson for Grades 4-8
Cheryl Sundberg
Jefferson County International Baccalaureate
Leeds, Alabama
Misconception Addressed by the Lesson Plan: You have to see an object to measure its dimensions.
Lesson Goal: To determine the shape and orientation of an object by indirect observation, simulating the interaction between a beam of electrons and a nuclear target.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will observe the path of an object after striking an unseen object.
Materials: poster paper
white typing paper
carbon paper (Make sure the carbon paper is new.)
masking tape
objects with different shapes (triangle, rectangle, circle, cylinder, and square)
Note: You can use pre-cut wooden shapes available in the toy department.
steel balls (at least 1 inch in diameter. You can get steel balls from a hardware or auto supply store, i.e. ball bearings, wheel bearings)
pie pans
inclined plane (You can prop a board at a 45 degree angle with books.)
protractor
marbles
tennis ball
Procedure:
J. Place the students in cooperative groups and assign roles: materials manager, experimenter, observer, and recorder.
K. For station 1, place poster paper on the lab table. Tape carbon paper to the poster board. In the center of the poster paper, secure a triangular shaped object with masking tape. (Roll the tape and secure the bottom of the object.) Cover the object with a pie pan so that the steel ball will roll under the pan, but the students cannot see the object. (You may have to use other blocks of wood, etc. to raise the pie pan to the appropriate height.) Set up the inclined plane so the steel ball rolls down the plane and strikes the object. (Make trial runs before the students try the experiment to ensure the carbon paper is in the right position for the steel ball to leave an impression.)
L. Ask the students to measure the angles made by the steel ball using the trail left by the ball rolling over the carbon paper.
M. Stations 2-5 are set up in the same manner, using different shapes.
Closure:
A. The recorder for each group should draw a representation of the trail on the board or overhead with the angle given.
B. Each group should make hypotheses on the shape of the object under each pie pan.
C. The recorder for each group should write the hypotheses for the group on the board or overhead. A group discussion should follow when all groups have completed the lab.
Evaluation: Each student