PROJECT
ENERGY
Teaching
and Learning for the 21st Century
Energy
Lessons for Middle School
Dennis
W. Sunal
Cynthia
Sunal
Coralee
S. Smith
William
Dwyer
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
Dewayne Davis
Thelma Davis
Carol Johnson Dawson
Johnnie Delaine
Clidean Epps
Jeanelle Bland Hodges
Vicki Jenks
Valesca Lopez
Mary Means
Coralee Smith
Cynthia Sunal
Dennis Sunal
Cheryl Sundberg
Partially funded by Alabama DOE/EPSCoR, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development program administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, and the University of Alabama.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Biology
Sunlight and Plants (4-8)
Physical Science
Testing Materials for Electrical Conductivity (4-8)
Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors (6-12)
Semiconductors: A 21st Century Social Studies Topic (6-8)
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)
Are Acids and Bases Difficult to Identify? (6-8)
Energy Transformation (3-8)
Heat and Temperature: Is There a Difference? (4-8)
Nuclear Reactions: Studying Peaceful Applications (6-8)
Energy to Melt Ice
(7-9)
Earth Science
Global Warming and The Greenhouse Effect (7-12)
Oil Reserves and Drilling
(4-8)
Orientation of Earth
in Space (4-8)
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, along with the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professional Development program administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.
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 (figure 1)
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.
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.
[Back to Table of Contents]
Conductors, Insulators, and Semiconductors
Sample Lesson for Grades 6-12
Dennis W. Sunal
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Student
Alternative Conceptions (Misconceptions) Addressed by the Lesson:
1. A conductive material always conducts electricity.
2. Conductors cannot change their
conductivity.
2. Lights can only by turned off and on with a switch.
3. Only incandescent bulbs produce light in an electrical circuit.
Lesson Goal:
Students will investigate the differences in conductivity of materials,
design a variety of complete circuits, and observe the differences between the
manner in which light is produced in an incandescent
light bulb, and an LED.
Prerequisites: Students are familiar with the concepts of an electric circuit, metal and nonmetal, charged particle, and solution. Students should be able to light a bulb using a battery, and a wire.
Content Accommodations: State Standards: Grade 6:
#26-28,46-49, 51, 52; Grade 7: #38-41, 56-60, 62, Grade 9: #43-45, 61-64, HS
Physics: #25-34, 55-58 (from Alabama
Course of Study- Science). No additional areas need to be added.
Safety Accommodations: Students should be warned about touching wires that are
warm (short circuit) and not to taste any substance.
Exploration :
Objectives:
Students will make predictions and then test them regarding conductivity in solids and liquids.
Students will make conductivity predictions of the various materials (solid or liquid), design a conductivity test, and record observations of the results.
Students will describe differences in properties between conductors and semiconductors.
Materials: For each group:
one 9-volt battery
one 12-volt light bulb with pig tails
one 14-volt LED with leads
samples of conductors
samples of insulators
samples of semiconductors from kit (optional)
separate beakers containing:
distilled water
distilled water + salt
distilled water + sugar
paper towels
beaker of distilled water for rinsing connectors
paper for recording results
Procedure:
A.
Place the students in groups of four and assign roles: materials manager, observers (two),
and a data recorder.
B. 1. Describe the materials and instructions
needed for the groups to carry out the activity
of testing the conductivity
of various materials in C and D below.
2. Distribute batteries, bulbs, and wires to the groups.
3. Have the students light the bulb in a simple circuit.
C. 1.
State the key questions: “What solids
allow the bulb to light?” “Can liquids
allow the
bulb to light?” Can you find a
way to guess, or predict, why some of the materials
allowed the bulb to light, and
some did not?” Use the same questions
concerning an
LED.
2. Decide predictions and write them down. Then, begin the group activity
D. Ask the groups to do the following activity and write down what they find. The data could be recorded in a data table.
1. Begin by asking the question: “Can you construct a circuit so that the bulb
can be lit
and use this circuit to test which
materials are conductors, and which are insulators?”
2. Test a variety of materials by
placing them in the circuit (make sure that the rest of the
circuit remains intact). You might begin with a penny, and then
replace the penny with
a variety of materials. Rate the conductivity as good, poor, or
none.
3. Next, using the beakers of liquid, test to see which solutions allow the bulb to light .
In each test, the probes in the solution should be kept the same
distance apart. After
each test, be sure to rinse the
probe wires in the plain non-testing distilled water and
dry them. Remember, the solutions are to be placed in the same position as
the solid
materials were in the circuit. Once again, record the conductivity as good,
poor, or
none.
E. Continue with the following activity in the groups: Ask them to;
1. Construct a simple circuit with
the battery, LED, and connectors. Make
sure
the LED lights.
2. Reverse the poles connecting to the LED.
3. Record the results.
4. End with the question: “Why did the conductor (LED) only light when
the
leads were connected in one way?”
F. Ask each group to
discuss the results of Activity D and E, and the questions from
Activity C.1. and E.2.
above.
Evaluation: Each group of students will have completed all predictions for the Exploration activities. Their predictions should be evaluated for their prior knowledge and you should monitor their participation in the group by observing if the groups stay together while working, and each person performed their assigned role in the activity.
Invention :
Objective: The students will use their concept of semiconductive materials to demonstrate how diodes work in a simple circuit and in testing conductivity.
Materials: To be given to each member of the class:
Diagram of a diode
Handout covering semiconductive materials and diode construction
For each group:
one 9-volt battery
one 14-volt LED with leads
samples of conductors
samples of insulators
samples of semiconductors from kit (optional)
separate beakers containing:
distilled water
distilled water + salt
distilled water + sugar
paper towels
beaker of distilled water for rinsing connectors
paper for recording results
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four as was done in the exploration
B.
Have the groups present their answers to the questions posed in the
Exploration.
C.
Discuss the various answers as a whole class, writing the responses on
the
board, if so desired. Ask students for their ideas as to why the
diodes worked
only part of the time.
D.
Discuss operational definitions of conductors and non-conductors;
include the
direction of electron flow in a DC circuit.
E.
Hand out the diode diagrams and the semiconductor fact sheet. Discuss these
with the whole class. Describe the properties of semiconductors
with the class.
Allow the groups to work on the
questions located on the diode diagrams.
F.
Ask the class the following thought questions: “Why did the distilled water not
work as a conductor, but the
distilled water + salt worked well?”
“Which lead
of a LED represents the n
region, and which one represents the p
region?”
G. Repeat this
activity: Describe for the students the materials and instructions
needed for student groups to carry-out
the activity of connecting the power
source to a light bulb and an
LED.
1. State the key question: “Are the properties of a light bulb and an
LED the same
in terms of circuit requirements?”
2.
Here is the problem: If you
connect the battery to the light bulb, does it matter
which poles of the battery are used? What about the LED? Make a prediction
of the outcome.
3.
Ask the students to follow these directions. Try out your guess using the 9-volt
battery, the 12-volt bulb with
pigtails, and the 14-volt LED with leads.
If your
guess didn’t work, try to decide why
based on your knowledge of conductors,
insulators, and semiconductors. Record all work.
4. End with the question: “Why did the LED only light when the leads
were
connected in one way?” Have the groups discuss their answers. Refer to the
hand outs.
H. Repeat the
procedures from Activities C and D in the Exploration using the LED
instead of the bulb.(note:
reversing the lead of a diode will cause the LED not to light,
even with a conductor in the
circuit). Ask the groups to do the
following activity and
write down what they find. The data could be recorded in a data table.
1. Begin by asking the question:
“Can you construct a circuit so that the LED can be lit
and use this circuit to test which materials are conductors, and
which are insulators?”
2. Test a variety of materials by placing them in the circuit (make sure
that the rest of
the circuit remains intact). You might begin with a penny, and then
replace the penny
with a variety of materials. Rate the conductivity as good, poor, or
none.
3. Next, using the beakers of liquid, test to see which solutions allow the LED to light .
In each test, the probes in the solution should be kept the same
distance apart.
After each test, be sure to rinse
the probe wires in the plain non-testing
distilled water and dry them. Remember, the solutions are to be placed in the
same position as the solid
materials were in the circuit. Once
again, record the
conductivity as good, poor, or
none. Have the groups discuss their answers.
Closure: See student handouts 1 and 2.
Expansion :
Objective: The students will apply their knowledge of conductors, insulators and semiconductors to construct circuits using an LED and a light bulb and describe how these ideas are used in everyday life.
Material: For each group:
one 9-volt battery
one 12-volt bulb with pigtails
one 14-volt LED with connecting leads
Procedure:
A.
Place the students in groups of four and assign roles: materials manager,
observers (two students), and a
recorder.
B. Describe for the students the
materials and instructions needed for student
groups to carry-out the activity of
connecting the power source to the light
bulbs and LED’s. Ask the students to
construct one series and one parallel
circuit using both the bulb, and the
LED.
Ask them to construct a series/parallel circuit of their own
design. They should
diagram and explain how
each circuit performed.
C. Student groups should also
discuss and describe how semiconductors can be
used in everyday electronic
devices.
D. Discuss the results of the
groups with the whole class. The teacher
can
summarize the results on
the board.
E.
Summarize the results by stating that at the beginning of the
activities, the
students may not have known the
real difference between a conductor,
insulator, and a semiconductor. By making circuits with different
materials,
they should be able to apply these
terms to everyday objects. They should
also
be able to able to describe how
semiconductors can be used in everyday
electronic devices.
Evaluation: Have the students work in their groups to come up with an answer to the following question: “How can semiconductors be used as switches in a computer?” Have the groups write down their answers to turn in.
Student Handout #1
Semiconductor
Fact Sheet
Semiconductors
A semiconductor is composed of
substances such as silicon or germanium that have electrical conductivity
capabilities in between that of an insulator
and a conductor. They can either resist or easily pass the
flow of electric current. One area of a
piece of silicon can be chemically treated with phosphorus, arsenic, or
antimony to make a region which has extra electrons, called n type.
However, if we treat silicon with boron, indium, or aluminum, it has a
lack of electrons, and is called p
type.
The
Semiconductor Diode
The semiconductor diode is a two
terminal device. In one direction,
through the device from the p to the n region, the diode conducts readily,
presenting low resistance to current flow.
In the opposite direction the semiconductor diode presents a high
resistance to current flow.
A pn diode consists of a single block of semiconductive material to
which two leads are connected. One of
the leads is connected to the n
material, in which there are numerous electrons which carry current. The second lead is connected to the p material easily by the motion of
electrons through it.
The plane separating the p material from the n material inside the diode is called the pn junction. When voltage
is added to the system, there is a flow of current into and out of the
junction.
Student Handout #2
THE SEMICONDUCTIVE DIODE
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
N |
|
|
|
|
|
|
pn junction
1. Where is there an excess of electrons?
2. Where is there a lack of electrons?
3. Label the direction of the current flow in the diode (on the diagram).
4. Why does the
current flow in that direction?
Semiconductors:
A 21st Century Social Studies Topic
Sample Lesson
for Grades 9-12
Cynthia
Szymanski Sunal
Dennis W.
Sunal
Coralee Smith
Carol Pugh
Dawson
The University
of Alabama
Tuscaloosa,
Alabama
Lesson 1:
History of Semiconductors
Goal: Students will describe the advancement of
semiconductor technology since its beginnings in 1947.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will make inferences about the operating systems
existing within samples of modern technology.
Materials per
group: several items
containing microchips (e.g. radio, wristwatch, calculator, birthday card with a
sung greeting, hair dryer, lamp timer, a thermometer that beeps when it has
read your temperature, a programmable thermostat, a child’s game)
Procedure: Place students in groups of three: materials
manager, recorder, reporter. Have each student examine one of three items. Ask:
What do you think each item looks like inside? What system is used to make it
do what it is supposed to do? Ask students to draw their idea of what the item
looks like inside. Share and discuss
drawings and ideas in their groups. Report ideas to whole class and discuss.
Evaluation: Examine
students drawings to determine whether they are focusing on older, mechanical
technology or suggesting semiconductor technology.
Invention:
Objective: Students will describe technological change as a complex
process.
Materials per
group :
A
picture of a vacuum tube, a selection of pictures similar to the following --
television sets from the 1950’s and 1990’s, 1930’s and 1990’s radios, an adding
machine and a calculator, modern toys using microchips such as computer games.
One or more items with the interior exposed and/or pictures of the insides of
technical devices. Note: check
http://intel.com/intel/educate for sources such as the third edition of The
journey inside: the computer, a free curriculum about microprocessor
technology available from Intel Corporation.
Procedure:
A. Have groups sort pictures and place them in
order along a time line. Ask students to list the characteristics they used to
place each item on the time line. Share ideas in class, creating a class list
of time-technology characteristics.
Refer to
students earlier drawings of the internal system of a piece of technology. Examine insides of the various technical
products. Note characteristics and differences between old and new products
such as size of the internal operating system, referring to class list of
time-technology characteristics.
B. Give students
a handout on the history of transistors and semiconductors derived from the
section above in this article, or describe this history. Discuss the historical information relating
it to the student time lines. Focus on:
1) problems that had to be solved that were significant for product change, 2)
continuing problems today that need a solution, 3) Examine the number of years
between solutions of various problems, 4) note contributions of specific
individuals to the effort, and 5) identify technical limitations in the past
and today.
Closure: Work with students to formulate the conclusion that modern
semiconductor technology resulted from the efforts of many people who gradually
solved several problems in order to create a technology that was radically
different from technology available in earlier times.
Evaluation: Ask students to
complete the following with a paragraph, “Change in technology is complicated
because . . .” Evaluate responses to determine which of the characteristics
focused on in the procedure above are described.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will
examine an instance of technological change in the past, comparing its
characteristics with those of the change to semiconductor technology.
Materials per
group: Photographs of one or more of the following
or similar examples of changes in technology prior to the development of
semiconductor technology -- a steam locomotive from the 1920’s and a current
locomotive; a carriage and a car; a mill, grindstone, or metate and a blender;
a clipper ship and a modern ship, wooden beam construction in old office
buildings and steel beam construction.
Procedure: Give each group a photograph set to examine. Tell groups these represent a change in technology. Ask each group to research the technological change, prepare, and give a presentation regarding this change to the class. They should investigate and report on four aspects: 1) problems that had to be solved, 2) gradual solution of various problems, 3) contributions of several individuals to the effort, and 4) technical limitations of the newer technology. Emphasize the limitations they will face in finding appropriate evidence. Ask them to identify the limitations of the available evidence in addressing each of the four aspects. Have them use pictures and objects as possible to make their report as concrete as possible.
Lesson Summary: Briefly describe the
lesson’s activities, creation of drawings of the interior of a modern technical
device and consideration of how it works, development of a time line of
technical devices, discussion of the history of transistors and semiconductors,
identification of characteristics associated with technological development,
and application of those characteristics to earlier technological development.
Summarize change in technology as a complicated process.
Evaluation: Determine
whether students have addressed each aspect and the extent of their
understanding of the limitations of the evidence.
Lesson 2:
Perceived Impacts of Semiconductor Technology
Goal: Students will
investigate the range of perceived impacts of semiconductor technology.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will
describe people’s perceptions of new technology.
Materials per
group:
A selection of technological items and pictures from Lesson 1 above.
Procedure: Assign
students to groups of four: materials manger, recorder, reporter, and
discussion leader. Discuss key questions: What do people think about new
technology? How do they react to it?
Ask students to use the technological items and pictures to support their ideas
with examples. Have them create a listing of ideas and examples upon which the
group agrees. Share group ideas with class. Decide whether there are any
patterns in the ideas and examples being presented. If so, record these on the
board.
Evaluation: Determine whether students addressed the questions and utilized
relevant examples.
Invention:
Objective: Students will
develop and test hypotheses about perceptions of the effects of semiconductor
technology on life at home and at work.
Materials: chart paper, markers, Internet access if
possible.
Procedure:
A. Assign groups of students to carry out one
of the following activities as an out of class assignment. Each group member
should do the assigned activity individually and share the results with the
group. Activity one: interview an adult about items of semiconductor technology
that have made life easier. Activity
two: interview an adult or a fellow student about new things to do created by
semiconductor technology. Activity
three: interview an adult about new jobs created by semiconductor technology. Activity
four: interview an adult about new responsibilities created by semiconductor
technology. Activity five: interview an
adult or a fellow student about problems created by semiconductor technology at
home. Activity six: Interview an adult
about problems created by semiconductor technology at work. Have each group
share its findings with the class.
B. Ask each group to consider the topic of the
activity they were assigned and to generate some hypotheses in relation to it.
Then, ask them how they might go about determining whether there is evidence
for their hypotheses. The interviews they have carried out give them some
evidence with which to test their hypotheses.
However, their evidence has been collected from a limited group of
people. How could they collect
additional evidence? Should they repeat
the activity with more people? Is there
another source from which they might obtain evidence? Encourage them to collect evidence through surveys, interviews,
and job statistics as appropriate to their topic.
Note that
http://stats.bls.gov/ces8mlr.htm contains national current employment
statistics with a special issue on computers and employment. The home page on
Internet for the US. Bureau of Labor Statistics is at
http://stats.bls.gov/datahome.htm. Another useful resource is an outlining of
changes in the U.S. labor market indicating that technology generates jobs that
require skills. This resource is found at
http://www.usis-israel.org.il/publish/econews/1996/ecosept/eco_903a.htm.
C. Help each group devise a data gathering plan
in which each group member has a specified and equal role. Then, assist them in deciding how they might
best organize their evidence so that it will best help them test their hypotheses
and communicate their efforts to the whole class. For example, charts and graphs may be useful.
D. After students have completed their
investigations and organized their evidence have them share it with the
class. As a class, decide whether a
clear pattern is emerging from the evidence.
Discuss whether the evidence supports the hypotheses.
Closure: As a class, develop a statement in answer to
the problem with which each group worked.
Write the problem and the summary statement on separate sheets of chart
paper or transparencies. State the idea: semiconductor technology has had an
effect on all of us that is sometimes good and sometimes questionable.
Evaluation: Consider whether each students fulfilled his
or her role in the group’s work. Ask each student to complete the following sentences.
Semiconductor technology has these three big effects on me:
________________. Semiconductor
technology probably has these three big effects on the school principal:
____________________.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will
develop a case study of the effects of modern technology on the work of an
individual.
Procedure: Assign pairs
of students an interview task. They are
to interview an individual and construct a case study describing how
semiconductor technology has influenced and changed his or her work. Among those who might be interviewed are:
school principal, school secretary, school librarian, school nurse, cafeteria
worker, school custodian, school coach, teacher, school bus driver, hair stylist,
discount store manager, cashier, fast food worker, travel agent, construction
worker, engineer, or bank teller. If
possible, have the interviewee assign years to changes in the work. Have students ask the question “How has
modern technology changed your job since you started working at it?” After you tell me about a change, can you
tell me about what year it happened?
How did this change make your job easier? How did it make your job
harder? Have the pairs of students
devise a time line illustrating the chronology of technology effects on this
individual’s work.
Alternative: Invite an
industrial engineer or the managers of a business to the classroom to describe
how modern technology has effected two workplaces: the factory and another
industry (fast food, hospitals, city government offices, etc.) Have students,
in groups, prepare questions beforehand to be asked of the speakers. Afterwards
create a web for each workplace described showing the effects of modern
technology.
Lesson
Summary: Discuss results of individual interviews.
Ask students to make concluding statements that resemble the key idea: people
perceive modern technology as having a range of effects on their lives.
Evaluation: Ask students
to write a summary statement about the effects of technology on the work of the
individual interviewed. Examine the
statement to determine whether students perceive and report technology as
having a range of effects.
Lesson 3:
Issues Today and in the Future
Goal: Students will
investigate issues raised by the use and growth of semiconductor technology in
society.
Note: The previous
lesson may identify issues that students wish to investigate further. The
lesson below suggests some issues that may be investigated, but others can
replace these or be added to them.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will
construct a list of problems that might occur if semiconductor technology
stopped advancing.
Materials
per group:
chart paper and markers or computer access
Procedure: Form small groups: materials manager, group
manager, reporter, and recorder. Review lesson two with students and summarize
the findings that semiconductor technology has had an effect on peoples lives
both at work and at home. Review some
of the problems and limitations faced by semiconductor technology. Tell students this may mean that the
technology could stop its advance by 2020.
Ask the key question: Do they
think there will be any What might be some problems that would result if
semiconductor technology stopped advancing?
Have each group construct a list of its ideas in response to the
question and support each idea with at least one piece of evidence. Share lists
and record a class list on chart paper or on a computer.
Evaluation: Evaluate
group predictions for prior knowledge and monitor whether each person shares in
the activity.
Invention:
Objective: The students
will find and present evidence related to five issues raised by the growth of
semiconductor technology.
Materials: copies of each of the five scenarios below to be placed in a
work station. (If computers are available for each work station, the scenario
can be presented to students on the computer’s screen.)
Procedure: Remind
students that we have been talking about what would happen if semiconductor
technology stopped advancing. That’s a
tough question to think about because it is hard to figure out what would
happen. Ask each group to visit
stations illustrating different scenarios. Each scenario deals with a real
world problem that comes from the life of a student in a middle school. The scenarios deal with the effects of
semiconductor technology on people today.
After your group reads the scenario, talk about your response to it,
then have the recorder record your response on paper (or, if available, on the
computer at the station.)
Scenario one. My family
that can’t afford a computer. I can’t do my homework on the computer. I have to
write out my papers. They don’t look as
neat as other people’s papers and I can’t spell check them. I can’t play
computer games at home. So, I am just not as good with the computer as are the
other students in my class. I seem to
be getting farther behind everyone else because I don’t have so much chance to
work on a computer since I don’t have one at home. What can be done to help me
keep up with the other students?
Scenario two. My Mom lost her job in a factory because the
company put in new machines that can do the stuff she used to do. She decorated cookies and cakes for a
factory that sells them to supermarkets.
So, she lost her job because of the technology. She is going to night school now to finish
high school and get her GED. But, she thinks she isn’t learning stuff about
technology that might help her get a job.
She is just learning basic math, English, and so on. So, modern technology is putting people out
of jobs and maybe they won’t be able to get a job anymore unless they can get a
lot of technology training. What can be
done about giving people like my Mom training?
What if someone doesn’t have much basic education? Can you train them to
work at technological jobs?
Scenario three: Computers
can store all kinds of information about people. Other people and businesses, like magazine companies, can get
information about you. It helps them
decide whether to send you a letter to get you to use their product, or buy
their magazine. If you join a club or
rent mystery movies at a video store, this information about you can be kept
and given to someone who wants to know who likes mystery movies or belongs to a
certain type of club. Then, they might send you advertising to get you to join
a mystery club or buy mystery books.
Why do some people believe computer stored information is a bad idea?
What groups of people would be for and against such laws? What kind of laws
could be passed so that information about you isn’t saved by everybody and to
make sure nobody can get information about you unless you want them to? If such
laws were passed what problems might they create? What is the chance of such
laws being passed?
Scenario four. Some people
in rural areas and small towns don’t personally see as much modern technology
in use as do people around large cities. In some rural areas you don’t have
cable television and you have to pay a huge amount of money to get Internet
connected to your house. So, where you
live can make a difference. If these
people don’t have as much new technology, there are some things they can’t do
and some things that take longer to do than if you had the new technology. They just may not know how modern technology
is used for some things because they don’t see it where they live. What things
might be done to provide rural people with more experiences with modern
technology? Note: teachers in rural areas may wish to rewrite this scenario
with a focus on an urban area and the opportunities to interact with new
technologies that are found in that setting.
Scenario five. In my family
we have a computer, lots of software and an Internet connection. My sister and I always are using the
computer. We fight a lot over it. We don’t read books or magazines much. I would rather play on the computer than
read a comic book. My Dad says “you
have a problem.” My sister and I don’t think we have a problem. Dad just doesn’t understand that you don’t
need to do other stuff. There’s so much
stuff on the computer and Internet so, why bother with other stuff? Dad is threatening to limit how much we use
the Internet. How do you think the disagreement between us and our Dad should
or could be solved?
After they
have completed the stations, ask students to share their ideas. Which scenarios were the most difficult for
them? What additional information would
help them respond to the scenario questions?
Point out that these are all issues that have been created by modern
technology.
Assign one group
to each scenario. This scenario
represents an issue they will investigate.
Each scenario has information in it which may or may not be well
supported by evidence. Each group
should try to find ways to obtain more evidence relating to the problem posed
by the scenario.
In scenario
one a student worries because the lack of a home computer is reducing his
opportunities for experience with the computer and may affect his ability to
carry out school-related tasks.
Students might conduct a survey to determine whether all students have a
computer at home. They might survey the
types of activities for which a home computer is used. They might use Internet to find statistics on
ownership of home computers by families in various income brackets. With this evidence they should be better
able to decide how serious an issue this may be. This information probably will not help them come up with a much
improved answer to the issue, but it will bring the issue into clearer focus
and should highlight the difficulty of resolving such issues. As each group shares its work with the
class, the impact of semiconductor technology on society should become more
evident to students.
The following
suggestions are presented to guide student evidence gathering for the other
scenarios. Students and teachers may wish to pursue other means of gathering
evidence. In scenario two, the issue raised is that of job loss from modern
technology and the limitations of a worker’s low level of education. Students
might examine U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics job statistics
and reports of trends of job loss among unskilled workers and job availability
for workers with skills in new technologies.
The Bureau can be accessed at http://stats.bls.gov. Students might talk
with a counselor working with the local GED program or a representative from a
community college that has worker retraining programs.
To gather
evidence relating to scenario three which focuses on computer storage of
information about people students might ask to view their families record at a
video rental store they use. Or, they
might note what sort of “junk mail” the family receives and consider where the
sender might have gotten the names of the persons to whom the mail is
addressed. Students can interview the
manager of a supermarket about check cashing.
Does the store have a service that uses an individual’s credit
background to determine the level of risk in accepting a check? Such services
maintain a record that enables them to determine risk factors.
Scenario four
describes limitations rural citizens may have in interacting with
technology. Students might talk with a
telephone company representative to determine how expensive it would be to get
an Internet connection to a rural town in their state, and to someone living a
distance away from a rural town. If possible, a pen pal effort between a rural
school and an urban or suburban school can be used to collect information about
the newer technologies with which students interact on a frequent basis.
In scenario
five, family members’ disagreement over how much the Internet is used is the
focus. Students could survey family
members to determine amount of usage.
They could record the amount of time they use various newer
technologies. They could ask family
members how the disagreement in the scenario might be resolved.
Closure: Semiconductor
technology has created issues that are not easy to solve. It affects us in many ways. It affects our incomes, our laws, and our
education. There are lots of decisions
that have to be made by individuals, businesses, and governments.
Evaluation: Determine the types
of additional evidence each group obtained relative to the scenario they
examined. Ask each student to make a
web or outline of one of the issues another group worked with and the evidence
indicating it was an issue needing to be addressed.
Expansion:
Objective: The students
will predict how the issues identified as resulting from the growth of
semiconductor technology would be affected by the successful development of
organic semiconductor technology.
Procedure: Review information on work scientists are
doing to create semiconductors of new materials that will be faster, smaller,
and contain more information. Might
such a development be likely to make the issues in the scenarios even more
worrisome? Which of these issues, if
any, might be solved if new materials make technology cheaper? Discuss these questions in groups and share
with the class.
Alternative: Investigate the issues that were behind the concerns of the
Luddites who rioted against the introduction of textile machines around 1811 in
England. Or, investigate the beliefs
behind some religious groups’ preferences for the “old ways” where modern
machinery is not used. An example is
the Amish.
Lesson
Summary: Technology has an effect on people and their
lives. It raises issues that the
society must address. There are many
such issues. An issue should be
investigated and evidence collected of its effects if it is to be solved.
Evaluation: Ask each student to list or web the steps he
or she found to be important in helping to make an issue clearer and more
understandable.
Additional
Lessons
There are many other lessons that
could be done. A set of lessons could
accompany the first lesson examining student conceptions of technology. Students, for example, may associate
semiconductor technology only with computers, not realizing that it is found in
many other items. The reasons for the
location of semiconductor manufacture in states such as New Mexico (Intel
Corporation has a large presence in the state, see
http://www.intel.com/intel/community/newmexic.htm#Applying) could be
investigated. Engineers could come into
the classroom and talk about semiconductors and their role in a wide range of
items. There are many possibilities.
This technology has had an enormous impact on societies around the
world. That impact, and the issues
raised by it, can be expected to continue.
References
Friend,
Robert. 1994. Light-emitting devices from
organic semiconductors.
http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/www/research/ledfos/ledfos.html.
Kim, Harold.
1994. Bell labs organic semiconductors
can transmit data photonically. http://Rita.T.Ullrich@att.com.
National
Council for the Social Studies. Expectations
of Excellence: Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Washington, D.C.:
The Council, 1994.
Sunal, Dennis,
Sunal, Cynthia, Smith, Coralee, Dawson, Carol and LeBlanc, Louis. Energy Literacy: Teaching and Learning for
the 21st Century. Tuscaloosa,
Ala.:The University of Alabama, 1996.
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.
[Back to Table of Contents]
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:
A. Place the students in cooperative groups and assign roles: materials manager, experimenter, observer, and recorder.
B. 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.)
C. Ask the students to measure the angles made by the steel ball using the trail left by the ball rolling over the carbon paper.
D. 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 should submit a lab report.
Invention:
Objective: Students will gather information on the interaction of marbles after being struck by a tennis ball, simulating a beam of electrons (a probe) hitting a collection of atoms (target).
Materials: For each group:
5 marbles
tennis ball
protractor
meter stick
Procedure:
K. Place students in cooperative groups and assign roles: materials manager, experimenter, observer, and recorder
L. Align five marbles as shown in Diagram A. Walk three meters away from the marbles in a straight path. Roll the tennis ball towards the marbles in a straight path. After each roll, each member of the group should draw the direction of the marbles after they are hit by the tennis ball. The students should also measure the angles made by the collision of the marbles.
(Note: It would be better to have the students measure three meters with a meter stick prior to the experiment. They should mark the place with a small amount of masking tape. If the floor is tiled, the students could use the tile as a way to line up the marbles. If the floor is not tiled, the students can use masking tape to create a "bowling lane". Remind the students they are to roll the ball. Students who throw the ball in the air at any time will be asked to sit out the lab.)
Closure: Ask the students the following: How do the angles produced by the marbles relate to how hard the ball was rolled? What do you think would happen if you used a golf ball as a probe? a baseball? a ping pong ball?
Evaluation: The recorder should record the group's hypotheses on the above questions on the board or overhead. A group discussion should follow when all the groups have completed the lab. Each student should place a copy of the group's results and class discussion in his/her lab notebook.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will design mystery boxes to show how to determine the shape and orientation of an object by indirect observation.
Procedure: Place students in their cooperative groups as before. Students will design a box with a shaped object attached to the bottom of the box. The end of the box will be cut off so a steel ball will go into the box. They are to line the box with a sheet of plain typing paper covered with a piece of carbon paper. The students swap boxes. From the patterns on the typing paper, each group of students should try to determine the shape of the object.
Closure: The recorder for each group should record the group's hypotheses on the board. A group discussion should follow and the contents of each mystery box revealed. The teacher should use these activities as a springboard to discuss how scientists probe the nucleus of an atom. This is a good beginning for a lesson on Rutherford's gold foil experiment or nuclear bombardment to form a new element.
Evaluation: The students could do library research on nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, Rutherford's gold foil experiment, nuclear power, nuclear medicine, X-rays, gamma rays, the Manhattan Project, etc. The students could design a multimedia presentation on the topic assigned. This could be a group or individual project.
Sample Lesson for
Thelma Davis
Parker High School
Birmingham, Alabama
Misconception Addressed by the Lesson Plan: Students believe the molecules of water are not attracted to each other because water flows when it is not contained within a boundary.
Lesson Goal: To illustrate the cohesive property of water. To demonstrate that surface tension is a result of cohesiveness (molecules clinging together).
Exploration:
Objective: To demonstrate that water molecules form bulges on surfaces as a result of cohesion.
Materials: Large supply of dry pennies Cold water
Tap water Hot water
Paper towels Salt water (1%)
Concentrated soap solution Eyedropper
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four. Allow students to decide on the roles of leader, materials manager, recorder, and environmental manager. Depending on the age group of the class, the teacher may need to assign roles.
B. Allow the materials manager to gather the materials.
C. Have the students predict the number of drops of each liquid they can get on the surface of a penny.
D. Encourage them to run at least three trials and calculate an average count of drops.
Note: Make sure the students use dry pennies every time, and also have the same student dropping the drops for all the liquids.
Closure: Allow for group discussion by asking the following questions:
1. What happened as you added drops to the coin?
2. What shape did the water take as the drops were added?
3. Which liquid allowed you to place the most drops? Which allowed you to place the least number of drops?
4. Was there a significant difference between the hot and cold water?
Teacher Note: Introduce the terms cohesion and surface tension after discussion of question number two.
Evaluation: Have each student explain cohesion in their own words. Have each student to give examples of water surface tension that they have observed in everyday life.
Invention:
Objective: To investigate factors that affect surface tension.
To observe surface tension in action.
Materials: Paper clips Milk Water
Food coloring Liquid Soap
Shallow pan (Aluminum pie pans work great)
Procedure:
Part One:
A. Instruct each group to fill the aluminum pie pan approximately 2/3 full of water.
B. Challenge the group to float a paper clip on the surface of the water. The students will think it is impossible, and they will become frustrated. Offer bonus points to the first group that accomplishes the task. Continue competition and give additional bonus points to the group who floats the most paper clips.
Teacher Note: Observe the groups to see if they are using any new knowledge from phase one of the lesson.
Part Two:
A. Instruct the students to fill the pie pan approximately 2/3 full of white milk.
B. Place one drop of each food coloring into the milk at different locations.
C. Add 2-3 drops of liquid soap and observe. Write down your observations.
Teacher Note: The students should observe an explosion of colors similar to a kaleidoscope.
Closure/ Evaluation: Allow the groups to write down their thoughts explaining why the paper clip floated on the water surface. Look for usage of new knowledge. Have each group explain what happened to the milk and food coloring when the soap was added. Ask each group to discuss what affect the soap had on the surface tension of the milk, and be ready to debate their answer.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will determine if certain common household products affect the surface tension of water.
Materials: Suggested products to use:
Bleach, comet, vinegar, ammonia, shampoo, hair spray, etc.
Procedure: Each group will be responsible for designing
an experiment to determine if certain products affect the surface tension of
water.
Closure/Evaluation: The groups will carry out their experiments and present their findings to the class.
Are Acids and Bases Difficult to Identify?
Sample Lesson for Grades 6-8
Dewayne Davis
Saks High School
Misconception addressed: acids and bases are difficult to identify.
Time required for the lesson: 2 days. Complete exploration and invention phase the first day. On the second day, finish the expansion phase.
Lesson Goals:
1. To allow students to identify acids and bases.
2. Students
will identify acids and bases by using indicators, such as litmus paper and
phenolphthalein.
3. Students
will learn properties of acids and bases that will aid in their identification.
Prerequisites:
1. Students will be familiar with the substances that they identify in lab (e.g. ammonia, milk of magnesia, etc.)
2. Students are familiar with the terms “acids” and “bases.”
3. Students
have experience working in cooperative groups.
Exploration (Begin Lesson)
A. Objectives:
1. Students will identify common acids and bases with a litmus paper indicator. This will activate students’ prior knowledge and prepare them for the concept phase of the learning cycle.
2. Students will record the color of litmus paper after it contacts an acid or base.
3. Students
will discover what color phenolphthalein turns in the presence of an acid or
base.
B. Materials: (each group)
1. 10-15 ml of sprite and ammonia
2. 3 small test tubes
3. napkins
4. litmus paper (red and blue)
5. 10 ml of phenolphthalein
C. Procedures:
1. Place students into cooperative groups.
2. Assign group roles: 1 reporter, 1 recorder, 1 solutions manager, and 1indactor manager.
3. Students will use the red and blue litmus paper to see what color it turns in the presence of an acid (sprite) or base (ammonia or vinegar).
4. Students will record their observations in their journal.
5. Similarly, students will discover what color the 2 solutions turn in the presence of phenolphthalein and record their observations in the their journal.
6. The teacher should inform each group’s materials manager to pick up materials at a specified station. Allow students to get into groups and begin.
D. Evaluation:
1. Students will be asked questions during the Invention phase to assess understanding.
2. Observe participation in the lab activity.
3. Students will write in their journals. Ensure that all students complete the writing assignment.
Invention
A. Objectives:
1. Students will share their observations with classmates.
2. Students will identify other indicators/means that scientists use to distinguish between acids and bases.
B. Materials:
1. Marker
2. Overhead
3. 20 ml HCl
4. 100 ml beaker (3)
5. medicine dropper
6. methyl orange indicator
7. 25 ml NaOH
8. stirring rod
9. paper towels
10. goggles
11. distilled water bottle
C. Procedures:
1. Ask students to return quietly to their assigned seat.
2. Explain that “the activity was designed to give you a familiarity with acids and bases. Using litmus paper and phenolphthalein are two techniques that scientists use to identify acids and bases.”
3. In the medicine cabinet, refrigerator, and kitchen, there are substances called acids and bases. Acids include aspirin and vitamin C (fruits, such as apples and oranges). “Can anyone give additional examples of foods/drinks that contain acids?” How about grape fruit, milk, tea, and pickles?
4. Taste: Acids have a sour taste. What yellow fruit is very sour and used in tea? Lemon, which, like oranges, contains citric acid. “Never use taste to identify acids (unless a food or drink).” Why?
5. Bases feel slippery and taste bitter. (do not taste, unless a food/drink) “Do you know of any bases? Bases are often used as cleaners because they cut grease.” Examples: ammonia, soaps. Discuss bases identified by students in lab.
6. Litmus paper: What color does an acid turn blue litmus paper? Red. What does this tell you about the sprite that you tested? Was it an acid or base? (Acid). What color does an acid turn red litmus paper? (Stays the same). What color does a base turn red litmus paper? (Blue). What color does a base turn blue litmus paper? (Stays the same). Thus, was the ammonia/vinegar an acid or base? (Base).
7. Phenolphthalein: Tell the students that the second indicator that they used was phenolphthalein. What color were the sprite and vinegar/ammonia solutions after the phenolphthalein was added? Allow students to explain that acids in contact with phenolphthalein are clear, while bases in contact with phenolphthalein are pink.
8. The teacher will do a demonstration of another indicator, methyl orange.
Safety: Remind students that the teacher is working
with strong acids and strong bases. Protective clothing and goggles are
required. “Don’t splash a strong acid
or strong base or let it touch your hand.
If it does flush immediately with water and calmly notify the teacher.”
9.
Demonstration
procedure:
a.
Pour
20 ml of HCl into beaker. In a separate
beaker pour 25 ml of NaOH.
b.
Put
a few drops of methyl orange into the HCl beaker. Note the color change
c.
Add
NaOH base in small amounts very slowly to the acid/methyl orange solution. Note the color change.
d.
Continue
adding base and note the final color change.
10. Explain demonstration: Methyl
orange
“The methyl orange indicator was
red in the acid (HCl), but it turned orange when the acid was neutralized by
the base. Adding more base changed the
color to orange-yellow”.
11. Discuss the pH scale and explain which
number on the scale correspond to an acid
and which corresponds to a
base. Which numbers are most acidic or
least acidic?
Which numbers are most basic or
least basic? The lower the pH, the stronger
the
acid (weaker the base). Consequently, the higher the pH, the weaker
the acid
(stronger the base).
12.
Introduce
universal indicator. What is it? How is it used?
13.
Compare
EA 100 to pH meter and explain how EA 100 can aid in identification of acids
and bases.
Evaluation:
Observe student’s responses in the lesson and provide feedback. Ask as
many questions as possible.
Expansion
A.
Objectives:
1. Students will perform an experiment (similar to in the exploration phase) that will reinforce the new content.
2. Provide students with rationale for studying acids/bases.
3. Students will identify acids and bases with another indicator.
4. Students will understand that a variety of methods are available to identify acids.
5. Students will use the universal indicator and EA 100 data collector to identify acids and bases.
B. Materials: each group
1. 5-10 ml of vinegar, soda, and ammonia
2. Paper towels
3. Small test tubes (3)
4. Universal indicator
5. 10-20 ml of each of the following: orange juice, grape juice, lemon juice, coffee, tea, milk of magnesia, and liquid soap
6. EA 100 data collector and pH probe
7. 2 ft. by 2 ft. group whiteboard
8. Markers for whiteboard
C. Procedures:
1. Part 1 expansion:
a. Students will use the universal indicator and EA 100 to measure the pH of the provided solutions (vinegar, sprite, and ammonia).
b. Students should summarize the findings in their journal. How does the pH measured with the universal indicator compare with the EA 100? (less precise than EA 100).
c. Compare results with other indicators. (Other indicators, such as methyl orange, litmus paper, and phenolphthalein, only distinguish between an acid and base. The universal indicator and EA 100 put a quantity on the measurement, which allows one to distinguish between weak acids/bases and strong acids/bases).
2. Part 2 expansion:
a. Students will predict which of the following is most acidic or most basic: orange juice, grape juice, lemon juice, coffee, tea, milk of magnesia, and liquid soap. Inform students that they are to use only the EA 100 to measure the pH of the provided materials.
b. Each group will use their whiteboard to summarize their findings. Students will be instructed to illustrate the acidity/basicity of the previous solutions along a continuum on the whiteboard. Each group’s leader/spokesperson will present the group’s findings and data, displayed on the whiteboard, to the whole class.
Evaluation: The teacher should write reflective thoughts in journal. Informally assess success of lesson and observe each group during the final activity.
Sample Lesson
for Grades 4-8
Dennis W.
Sunal
The University
of Alabama
Tuscaloosa,
Alabama
Alternative Conceptions Addressed
by the Lesson Plan:
Energy is not measurable.
Energy transformations involve only one
form of energy at a time and only if they have perceivable effects. For example, transformation of motion energy
to heat energy (air friction) is usually not obvious because there is no
observable temperature increase.
Lesson Goal: To allow students to investigate, develop inferences, and
differentiate between the concepts of motion
energy and heat energy, and the part played by friction in the transformation process.
Prerequisites: Can measure temperature to the nearest two degrees with a
thermometer.
Exploration
Objective: The students
will investigate the effects of motion on an object.
Materials: For each group:
Two baby food jars filled 1/2 full of sand
Two thermometers
Newspaper to cover desks or tables
Paper towels
Paper to make a bar graph and for recording
results
Procedure:
A. Tell the students that you are going to give them a
thought problem. Have them discuss and
write their answer on a sheet of paper. “You are riding in a car traveling down
the interstate highway. The driver
takes his foot off of the gas but doesn’t put his foot on the brake. The car comes to a stop on the side of the
road. Why does the car stop?”
B. Place the students in groups of four and assign roles:
materials manager, two timers/recorders, and one helper. All students will also serve as shakers.
C. Describe materials and instructions needed for student
groups to carry out the activity of shaking jars containing sand at different
rates and times. Discuss safety precautions relating to glass jars and
thermometers.
D. Key question: What happens to the material inside a jar
when you shake it? Draw and describe a
jar one-half full of sand after it has been shaken for five minutes.
E. Provide each group
of students with two baby food jars half-full of sand, newspaper, and a
thermometer. Tell the students to wrap each jar with a
piece of paper towel folded over several times to form a strip about two inches
in width. This will provide insulation
to keep the jars from being warmed by hands..
F. Ask the students to measure and record the temperature of
the sand in each jar. Have the students
examine the contents of the jar. Ask
the students to infer what will happen to the contents of the jars if they are
shaken for a long time. Have the
students record their inferences.
G. Next, ask the students to close each jar tightly and to
shake each jar for six minutes. One jar
should be shaken rapidly. The other jar
should be shaken moderately. The
students in the group can take turns during the shaking process. Each student should shake the jar for one
minute at a time.
H. After shaking, the students should immediately put
thermometers into the jars. After sixty seconds, they read the
thermometers. While waiting, the
students the students can examine the the contents of the jar.
I. Ask the groups to report their results to the whole
class. Help them communicate the
results of their activities using tables and/or bar graphs to justify their
conclusions.
Evaluation:
Collect the students’ responses to the thought problem in “A”
above. Evaluate them considering the
type and extent of knowledge expressed.
Evaluate group skills by assessing whether all participated equally in
the activity.
Invention
Objective: The students
will investigate a variety of materials and determine that the heat energy of
an object can be changed by transforming motion energy into heat through
friction.
Materials: For learning stations:
Small wood block (about the size of an ice cube) for each
group
Ice cube for each group
Hammer
A dozen three to four inch nails
Six large boards (a one foot long, 2 inches by 4 inches
board)
Wax paper
Seven pieces of sandpaper (8 1/2 inches by 11 inches)
Paper towels
Paper for recording results
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four and assign roles:
materials manager, readers/observers (two students), and recorder.
B. Have them discuss the key question from the Exploration
in their groups. During the discussion introduce the alternative conception
that the energy of motion from the hand caused the sand particles to move. The motion of the sand particles bumping
against each other is called friction. The friction of the sand, stopping the
motion of the sand, created heat.
C. Ask each group to perform the following activities at
learning stations. Instructions for
each station will be given on a laboratory guide available at the station.
Station 1: Slide a small block of wood and an ice
cube across a sheet of sandpaper. Each
member of the group should do the task.
Discuss what happened.
Station 2: This station will involve using one
large piece of wood, two books, and a piece of wax paper. Put the two books on top of the wood and
push the wood along the floor. Then, pile
the wood and the two books on top of the wax paper and push it along the
floor. Draw and describe what happened
each time.
Station 3:
Take two large pieces of wood and rub them together as hard as possible
fifteen or more times. Every member of the group should feel both pieces of
wood afterwards. Discuss what happened when you carried out the activity.
Station 4:
For this station you will need two boards and one piece of
sandpaper. You will use the sandpaper
on just one of the boards. Rub a piece
of sandpaper fifteen times across a large wood board. Every group member should feel the board. Compare the board that was just rubbed with
sandpaper to the board that was not rubbed with sandpaper.
Next,
rub the sandpaper thirty times across the large wood board. Every group member should feel the board
again. Feel a board that has not been
just rubbed with sandpaper. Compare how
both boards feel.
Station 5:
In this station you will use a hammer, a nail, and a large board. Put the board on the floor and carefully
pound the nail about halfway into the it.
Discuss safety precautions relating to use of the hammer. Use the claws
of the hammer to pull out the nail. Every member of the group should feel the
nail. Then, discuss how it felt.
D. Lead a whole group discussion concerning motion,
friction, and its effects. Student
participation should include evidence from the learning stations and other
experiences they have had with friction.
The discussion should lead students to draw the conclusions that some of
the energy of motion is transformed into heat energy in the objects involved
and the greater the amount of friction, the more heat energy is transformed
from the energy of motion.
E. As a closure, state that the greater the energy of motion
the greater the heat energy produced.
The rise in temperature of the thermometer indicates that a transfer of
energy took place. The motion energy
provided to the grains of sand or wood in the station activities was
transformed as a result of friction, into increased heat energy in each grain
of sand and in the wood.
Evaluation: Ask each member of the groups to write out a
summary of the actions undertaken by group members at one of the stations. Each member should address a different
station.
Expansion
Objective: The students
will investigate and describe the chain of events by which motion energy is
transformed into heat energy in an everyday situation.
Materials:
For problem stations (as possible, ask the students to bring in these
items)
Bicycle pump
Bicycle tire
Bicycle
Shoe
Kite
Lunch tray
Toy car
Procedure:
A. Provide each group of four students with problems written
on three inch by five inch cards. Ask
each group to perform the problem situation if possible. Whether or not they can act out the
situation, they are to think about the problem and describe the chain of events
by which the energy of motion in the problem becomes transformed into heat
energy possessed by the objects involved.
Write the key questions on the board.
For each situation draw and describe “What is moving?” “What becomes
warm?” and “How did the energy of motion become heat energy in the object?”
Problem 1: Your group
must pump a bicycle tire for three minutes.
After three minutes, feel the pump and the bicycle tire. Discuss the answers to the key questions.
Problem 2:
You
are riding in a car traveling down the interstate highway. The driver takes his foot off of the gas but
doesn’t put his foot on the brake. The
car comes to a stop on the side of the road.
Discuss the answer to the key questions. You
may use the toy car to act out the problem.
Problem 3:
A boy is riding a bicycle and stops it using hand
brakes.
Discuss the answers to the key questions.
Problem 4:
A kite is
flying in the sky in a strong wind. You
notice smoke from a fire blowing into the kite. When it passes the kite, the smoke moves slowly and in swirls.
Discuss the answers to the key questions.
Problem 5:
For lunch
today, you put pizza and french fries on your tray and slid the tray on the
counter to the cashier.
Discuss the answers to the key questions.
D. Summarize the lesson by stating that when we started the
activities, the students may not have been able to tell the difference between
the words motion energy and heat energy,
and the part played by friction in
the transforming one to the other. The activities with sand in jars, stations,
and problems should help them in applying these ideas successfully in your
everyday lives. By observing events
where something in motion is being heated, they should be able to identify the “source
of friction” and apply the terms “motion energy” and “heat energy.” Whether they are talking about bicycles or
in-line-skates they should be able to use the idea of heat energy being
transformed from motion energy.
Evaluation: Ask the students to respond to the
following situations. First,
a girl is
riding her bicycle and stops by dragging her feet.
Write out your
the answer to this question: “What is moving?” “What becomes warm?” and “How
did the energy of motion become heat energy in the object?” Second,
you are
pushing a brick six feet along on a waxed tile floor, an unpainted cement
floor, and through dirt on the playground.
“On which of
these will more heat be created?”
Write out your
the answer to this question. Evaluate
the answers to these questions based on their appropriate application of the
concepts motion energy and heat energy, and
the part played by friction in the
transforming one to the other. A
performance checklist will be applied.
Level of Performance
1. May Identify heat
as a result of the action and the source of friction in one or both situations.
Does not identify or apply energy transformation as the cause of the actions
observed.
2. Identifies heat
as a result of the action and the source of friction. Identifies the reduction in motion energy and increase in heat
energy variables in each situation.
Does not apply energy transformation as the cause of the actions
observed.
3. Identifies heat as a result of the action and the source
of friction. Identifies the reduction
in motion energy and increase in heat energy variables in each situation. Applies the idea of transformation of energy
as the source of heat.
Some examples
of people who made significant contributions to the physical sciences, but have
been underrepresented in the mass media are listed in Figure 1 along with their
major contributions. Additional
information can be found in library references such as an encyclopedia. The book Nobel Prize Women in Science:
Their Lives, Struggles, and Momentous Discoveries by S. McGrayne (1993) is
one resource example. An added
Expansion activity to most any physical science energy lesson would be to read
a curent newspaper item on the contribution of a related energy scientist or use
of energy science concepts by members in the community to make him or her seem
more real. Older students could create
library research reports and short plays on the contributions of these
underrepresented scientists.
____________________________________________________________________
Figure 1
Scientists are
Diverse!
Some Who Have
Contributed to Our Knowledge of Physical Science
____________________________________________________________________
Arnald of Villanova
He was an
alchemist who worked with tinctures in Spain.
Callinicus
In Egypt, he
explained the nature of combustion.
Har Khorana
An Asian
American from India who invented the first artificial gene.
Tsai Lun
He invented
paper in China.
Dorothy Wrinch
Working in
Argentina, she found that the amino acids are where genes have their specific
coding.
Benjamin Banneker
An African
American who carried out research with honeybees and with a wooden striking
clock.
Marie Curie
A Polish woman
who discovered radium and polonium and receive the Nobel Prize for her work.
Bertha Lamme
She worked
with the theory and design of motors and generators in the USA.
Lewis Latimer
He was an
African American who developed the carbon filament for the electric light bulb.
Samuel Ting
An Asian
American who discovered the J particle in the atom.
____________________________________________________________________
Heat and
Temperature: Is There a Difference?
Sample Lesson
for Grades 3-8
Dennis W.
Sunal
The University
of Alabama
Tuscaloosa,
Alabama
Alternative Conception Addressed
by the Lesson Plan: Heat and temperature are the same thing.
Lesson Goal: To allow students to investigate, develop inferences, and
differentiate between the concepts heat and
temperature.
Prerequisites: Can measure temperature to the nearest two degrees with a thermometer.
Exploration
Objective: The students
will investigate mixing hot and cold water by making predictions of the
resulting mixture accompanied with observations of the results.
Materials: For each group:
Two styrofoam cups per group
A source of hot water (from a tap or hot plate at about 50
Celsius or 122 degrees Fahrenheit)
Cold water with floating ice cubes in it (with a temperature
of about 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit)
One thermometer per group
Paper towels
Paper to make a bar graph and for recording
results
One kitchen measuring cup with metric or English measures
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four and assign roles:
materials manager, readers/observers (two students), and recorder.
B. Describe materials and instructions needed for student
groups to carry out the activity of mixing various temperatures and quantities
of water.
C. State the key questions: “What happens when we mix
together two water samples that have different temperatures?” “Can you find a way to guess, or predict,
what the temperature will be when you mix together two water samples that have
different temperatures, one that is warmer with one that is colder?”
D. Let’s start with a thought problem. Discuss it in your groups. Decide on an answer and write it down. Then begin your group activity. Here is the problem: if you mix one-fourth
cup of very hot water with three-fourths cup of very cold water, what will be
the temperature of the mixed water? Write down your prediction..
E. Ask the groups to do the activity explained above in
number one of Discrepant Activities in Heat and write down what they find. The data could be recorded in a bar graph or
data table.
F. Ask each group to discuss the results of Activity E and
the questions from Activity C above.
Evaluation:
Each group of students will have completed all predictions for the
Exploration activities. Their
predictions should be evaluated for prior knowledge and monitor their participation
as a group by observing whether groups stay together while working and each
person has a chance to share their ideas.
Invention
Objective: The students
will investigate properties of heat and materials and determine that the heat
energy possessed by an object is related to both the quantity of matter present
and its temperature.
Materials: For each group:
Eight clear plastic drink cups
A source of hot water (from a tap or hot plate)
Crushed ice (do not use ice cubes)
Paper towels
Paper to make a graph and for recording
results
One kitchen measuring cup with metric or English measures
Teaspoon
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four as was done in the
exploration.
B. Ask the students to report the results of their
exploration activities. Help students
communicate the results of their activities using tables and/or bar graphs to
justify their conclusions. Continuously
help students compare the results of one group with another.
C. Write the following questions on the board and ask the
groups to discuss them. What can you decide
about mixing two equal samples of water that have different temperatures? What can you decide about mixing a very
small amount of water at one temperature with a lot of water at another
temperature? What is more important, the temperature of the water with which
you started or how much water you started with?
While the
students are reporting their results, at appropriate points discuss an alternative way of looking at
the properties of heat and temperature as a means of describing matter. The
students can be expected to have some difficulties at this point because their
preconceptions create a barrier to understanding that both properties, the
original temperature and the volume of the water involved, are important and
real. The amount of water at a specific
temperature is related to the amount of heat internal energy present. Temperature relates only to how fast the
molecules of water move (the energy of a single molecule) which causes the
thermometer column to expand and rise.
It may that single molecules have a large amount of heat energy but if
there are not a lot of molecules there will not be a lot of heat in the entire
sample.
D. Provide each
group with a set of instructions on paper or three by five inch index
cards. This activity will relate the
concept of heat to the amount of internal energy that various quantities of
water possess. Ask students to put
together different amounts of hot water with the same amount of crushed ice. Mix one-fourth cup of crushed ice with
three-fourths cup of hot water. Repeat the activity by mixing one-fourth cup of
crushed ice with different amounts of hot water. Put one-half cup of hot water, one-fourth cup of hot water, and
one teaspoon of hot water in separate cups.
To begin
the activity, the students should place one-fourth cup of crushed ice in each
of five clear plastic drink cups. Then
they should measure out the four different amounts of hot water into other
cups. Finally, they should quickly pour
the hot water out of one cup into a paired crushed ice cup. They should repeat
the process as fast as possible with all the other cups of hot water. The groups should make observations of all
five mixtures for five minutes. At the
end of five minutes they should be asked to note how much crushed ice is left
in each of the five cups. Finally, they
should relate the amount of crushed ice left in a cup to the amount of hot
water (heat) added to the cup. Older
students can perform a second activity by adding the same amount of water,
three-fourths cup, at different temperatures to the crushed ice. Similar results will be observed.
E. Ask the students to record the results of their
activity. At the end of each group
report, the teacher should ask that group why different amounts of ice were
found in the five cups at the end of the five minute observation period. The groups should also be asked to state the
evidence by which they made their inference.
At this point the students may report that the amount of ice left is
related to the amount of water added to the cup. The teacher should explain that the added water was all at the
same temperature. The temperature did
not vary. Only the amount of water
varied. Everything else was the
same. If more hot water was added to
the ice it was the same as adding more heat to the ice, which caused the ice to
melt. Help the students focus on the
smallest amount, a teaspoonful, of water added to the ice. Even though that water had a high
temperature, it did not melt much ice.
So, very little heat was added to the ice.
F. As a closure, explain to the students that heat and
temperature are two different properties of materials. Temperature is measured with a
thermometer. It indicates the amount of
quickness of motion or speed energy each particle of water has. An increase in speed causes matter to
expand, so liquids will rise in a thermometer. Heat energy can be measured by its effect on the amount of ice
it can melt. This is a practical way of
measuring heat energy. Heat is a
measure of how much energy all the particles in an object have lost or
gained. It indicates the total amount
of internal energy transferred to or from a specific amount of water.
Evaluation:
When asked during the Invention to make an inference about the ice and
water, the group reports the evidence upon which the inference was made. The evidence should relate in a logical way
to the inference. Group participation
will be assessed by noting whether all members were part of the plan and had a
chance to do their part.
Expansion
Objective: The students
will solve everyday problems involving the properties of heat and temperature.
Materials:
Ten clear plastic drink cups
Crushed ice
Paper towels
Paper for recording
results
One kitchen measuring cup with metric or English measures
A source of hot water (from a tap or hot plate at about 120
degrees Celsius)
Cold water with floating ice cubes in it (with a temperature
of about 0 degrees Celsius or 32 degrees Fahrenheit
Thermometers
Tablespoons
Procedure:
A. Place the students in groups of four and assign roles:
materials manager, readers/observers (two students), and recorder.
B. At stations set up around the room, the groups will be
asked to solve a variety of problems.
Station 1. Ask students to take one-half cup of very cold
water and predict the final temperature when one-half cup of hot water is added
to it.
Next, ask them to follow these
directions. Get one of each
sample. Measure the temperature of each
cup of water. Then, pour the hot water
into the cold water cup. After thirty
seconds, take a measurement of the temperature of the mixed cup of water and
compare it to their prediction. (The students should find a temperature midway
between the temperatures of the starting cups of water.)
Station 2. Present the
following problem.
Mom is having a cup of coffee after
dinner. She pours almost a full cup of
coffee. The temperature of the coffee
is about 120o Fahrenheit (F).
She adds one tablespoonful of cold milk to the coffee. What temperature is her coffee now? Write your prediction on a sheet of
paper. Describe the reasoning behind
your answer.
Next, ask them to follow these
directions. Get one cup almost full of
hot water, a second cup one-fourth full of cold water, and one tablespoon. Measure and record the temperature of the
hot water and of the cold water. Pour
one tablespoon of cold water into the hot water cup. Measure and record of the temperature of the mixed cup of water
and compare it to their prediction. (The students should find a temperature
that is still warm, perhaps 105 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Station 3. Present the
following problem.
You are having hot chicken soup for
dinner. Mom always serves it too hot
for you to eat, about 120o F You are really hungry so you do not
want to wait for it to cool down. You
want to eat it right away. So, you are
going to add some very cold water to it.
There is about one cup of soup in your bowl. How much very cold water should you add to your soup so that its
temperature will be below 90 degrees Fahrenheit? Write your prediction on a sheet of paper. Describe the reasoning behind your answer.
Next, ask
students to follow these directions.
Try out your guess using the hot water, cups, and thermometer at this
station. If your guess didn’t work, measure out more or less water until you
get it to about 90 degrees. Record all
work. (The students will need to measure out about one-third of a cup of very
cold water.)
Teacher
Note: The following three stations may
be discussed without performing the task.
If time is available, the teacher may wish to have the students carry
out the activity at the station or one group of students could demonstrate the
station’s activity to the whole class.
Station 4. Present the following problem.
Which will have a higher
temperature after one minute on a burner: a small pot with one cup of water in
it or a small pot with one-fourth cup of water in it? Write your prediction on a sheet of paper. Describe the reasoning behind your answer.
(For every
degree of temperature increase, the larger amount of water requires more heat
than does the smaller volume of water.
Since the burner is giving off the same amount of heat during every
one-minute period, the larger amount of water will rise to a lower temperature
when compared to the smaller amount of water.)
Station 5. Present the following problem.
Which will cool to the
lower temperature in ten minutes: a plastic glass containing one cup of very
hot of water or a plastic glass containing one-fourth cup of very hot water?
(The larger
amount of water has more heat and therefore takes longer to cool down.)
Station 6. Present the following problem.
Which has a higher
temperature: a cup of boiling hot water or a swimming pool of water at air
temperature? Which has more heat: a cup
of boiling hot water or a swimming pool at air temperature?
(The cup of
water has the higher temperature. The
swimming pool has more heat. If the students are having difficulty with this
question, ask them “Which can melt more ice: A cup of boiling hot water or
swimming pool of water at air temperature?”
“Which had more heat?” )
C. Discuss the results of their station activities in a
whole group. The teacher can summarize
their ideas on the board.
D. Summarize the lesson by stating that when we started the
activities, the students may not have been able to tell the difference between
the words “heat” and “temperature.” By mixing different amounts of water and by
melting ice with different amounts of water, they should be able to apply the
terms “heat” and “temperature” to their everyday lives. Whether they are talking about soup or
coffee they should be able to use the idea of heat to guess how long it will
take things to heat or cool. They
should also be able to guess how much cool water they need to mix into hotter
water to make it cool.
Evaluation: Tell the following story to the
students.
Juan
had a carton of cold milk sitting on his lunch tray. Jill came by and said that she did not like the soup that came
with lunch. It was steaming and looked
like it was too hot to eat. She took a
tablespoonful of her hot soup and poured it into Juan’s milk. After yelling at Jill to “Stop it!” Juan
decided to drink his milk even though there was some soup in it. He was surprised to find out that his milk
was still cold.
Write down your
ideas about whether or not Juan should have been surprised that his milk was
still cold.
Nuclear Reactions: Studying Peaceful Applications in the
Middle and Secondary School
Sample Lessons for Grades 9-12
Cynthia Szymanski Sunal
The University of Alabama
and
Dennis W. Sunal
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Lesson 1:
History of People’s Efforts to Control and Use Nuclear Reactions
Goal: Students will describe the advancement of
nuclear reaction technology during the twentieth century.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will make inferences about pictures of nuclear
technology.
Materials per
group:
Several
pictures such as a nuclear reactor core, nuclear power plant, the control room
of a nuclear power plant, nuclear waste storage technology, nuclear bomb,
electrical power lines, power plant turbine. Note: Useful Internet sources with
links to many other sites with pictures and information on nuclear reactions
and related social issues are:
http://www.seattletimes.com/trinity/index.html
and http://www.nuc.umr.edu/~ans/.
Procedure:
A. Place students
in groups of three: materials manager, recorder, reporter.
B. Have each
student examine one of the pictures. Ask: What is your picture about? What details in the picture are you using to
support your idea? In 2-3 sentences, describe the use to which the technology
in the picture can be put.
C. Share and
discuss ideas in the groups. Report and discuss ideas as a whole class.
Evaluation: Examine
students’ written descriptions to determine their awareness of the purposes of nuclear technology.
Invention:
Objective: Students will describe change in nuclear technology as a
complex process.
Materials per
group :
Pictures
from the Exploration above, picture of older power generation technology (see My
home in the 1740s. . . .your home, today at
http://www.energy.ca.gov/education/ben/ben-html/ben2.html and Energy sources
then and now at http://www.energy.ca.gov/education/ben/ben-html/ben3.html)
Procedure:
A. Have groups sort pictures and place them in
sequence by function. For example, a turbine precedes the power lines because
it generates the electricity that moves through the power lines. Encourage students to make drawings for any
additions needed (for example, a house, school, or light bulb as the end user
of the power generated). Ask students to list the characteristics they used to
place each item in the sequence. Share ideas in class.
B. Give each group a picture representing an
older technology generating power such as a candle, a water mill, a fireplace
with a cooking pot hanging in it, or coal being shoveled into a furnace. Ask
the groups to create a sequence of drawings showing how power is generated by
this technology and its end use. Create a list of characteristics used to place
items or events in sequence. Share ideas.
Note characteristics and differences between older technologies and
newer nuclear technology.
C. Present information, as needed, on nuclear
reactions and technology given at the beginning of this article. Have students
read and discuss the handout on nuclear technology in their groups. Discuss the information relating it to the
student time-technology sequences created above. Focus on: 1) problems that had to be solved, 2) continuing
problems that need a solution, 3) technical limitations in the past and today.
Closure: Work with students to formulate the conclusion that modern
nuclear technology resulted from the efforts of many people who gradually
solved several problems in order to create a technology that was radically
different from earlier technologies.
Evaluation: Ask students to
complete the following, “A problem to be solved in nuclear technology is . . .”
“A problem resulting from the earlier technology of _____ was _____.” Evaluate
responses, determining whether the students have identified an existing
problem.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will
describe technological problems represented by the generation of electricity
using coal and natural gas, nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
Procedure:
A. Ask each group
to construct a three column chart. In
the first column they will identify problems with the use of coal and natural
gas to generate electricity. In the
second column they will identify solutions offered by nuclear fission power
plants. In the third column they will
identify solutions possible should a commercial nuclear fusion power plant be
developed.
B. Have each
student summarize, in writing, the technological problems represented by each
source of power generation.
Lesson
Summary: Briefly describe the lesson’s activities:
creation of drawings of the sequence of technology development, discussion of
information on nuclear fission and fusion technology and comparisons of power
generation technology. Summarize change in technology as a complex process
involving many people and having no simple solutions.
Evaluation: Determine
whether students have addressed technological problems for each power
generation source.
Lesson 2:
Perceived Impacts of Nuclear Reactions
Goal: Students will
investigate the range of perceived impacts of nuclear reactions.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will
describe people’s perceptions of nuclear reactions when used for power
generation.
Materials
per group:
A selection of pictures from Lesson 1 above.
Procedure:
A. Assign
students to groups of four: materials manger, recorder, reporter, and
discussion leader.
B. Discuss key
questions in groups: What do people think about nuclear reactions? How do they react to them?
C. Ask students
to use the technological pictures to decide whether they contain elements that
support their ideas. Have them create a listing of ideas and examples upon
which the group agrees.
D. Share group
ideas with class. Decide whether there are any patterns in the ideas and
examples being presented. If so, record these on the board.
Evaluation: Determine whether students addressed the questions and
utilized relevant examples.
Invention:
Objective: Students will
develop and test hypotheses about perceptions of the effects of nuclear
reactions technology.
Materials: Chart paper, markers, Internet access if
available.
Procedure:
A. Assign groups of students to carry out one
of the following activities as an out-
of-class assignment. Each group
member should do the assigned activity
individually and share results with
the group. Activity one: interview an adult
about his or her knowledge of
whether and where nuclear power plants exist
within the state and within the region
of the country. Activity two: interview an
adult or a fellow student about the
causes of events at Three Mile Island and at
Chernobyl. Activity three: interview an adult
about the benefits of nuclear and
coal-based power plants. Activity
four: interview an adult about decisions
citizens must make in relation to
nuclear and coal technologies. Activity
five:
interview an adult or a fellow
student about problems created by nuclear and
coal power plant technologies. Activity six: interview an adult
about his or her
knowledge of nuclear fusion as a
potential source of electrical power. Have
each group share its findings.
B. Ask each group to generate one or more
hypotheses in relation to the topic of
the activity they were assigned. Then, ask them how they might
go about
determining whether there is
evidence for their hypotheses. The interviews
they have carried out give them
some evidence with which to test their
hypotheses. However, their evidence has been collected
from a limited group
of people. How could they collect additional
evidence? Should they repeat t
the activity with more
people? Is there another source from
which they might
obtain evidence? Encourage them to collect evidence through
surveys,
interviews, and reports of
statistics as appropriate to their topic. Note that
http://www.er.doe.gov is the U.S.
Department of Energy’s web site.
It
contains national statistics and
links to other sites including federally-supported
energy research laboratories. This
site and the energy laboratory sites have
many pages for students.
C. Help groups devise a data gathering plan in
which each group member has a
specified and equal role. Then, assist them in deciding how they might
best
organize their evidence so that it
will help them test their hypotheses and
communicate their efforts to the
whole class. For example, charts and
graphs
may be useful.
D. After students have completed their
investigations and organized their evidence
have them share it with the
class. As a class, decide whether a
clear pattern is
emerging from the evidence. Discuss whether the evidence supports each
hypothesis.
Closure: As a class, develop a statement in answer to
the problem with which each group worked.
Write the problem and the summary statement on separate sheets of chart
paper or transparencies. State the idea: nuclear reactions technology is used
to generate electricity and has had an effect on all of us that is sometimes
good and sometimes questionable.
Evaluation: Consider whether each student fulfilled his
or her role in the group’s work. Ask each student to complete the following
sentence. Nuclear technology has these two effects on me:
________________.
Expansion:
Objective: Students will
develop and report on an interview about perceptions regarding the effects of
nuclear power plant technology on an individual.
Procedure:
A. Assign pairs
of students an interview task.
B. They are to
interview an individual and construct a report describing his or her
perceptions of nuclear power plant technology and its positive and negative
influences on society. Among those who
might be interviewed are school employees such as the: principal, secretary,
media specialist, nurse, cafeteria worker, custodian, coach, teacher, or school
bus driver and other individual’s in the student’s neighborhood or family.
C. Have students
ask the question, What positive and negative effects has nuclear power plant
technology had on people? After you
tell me about an effect, can you tell me about where you get your information? Can you tell me what you think happens in a
nuclear reaction?
D. Have the pairs
of students devise a chart identifying positive effects of nuclear power plant
technology, negative effects and information sources. Ask them to write a summary statement describing their
interviewee’s understanding of nuclear reactions and their evidence.
Alternative: Invite a power
company representative to the classroom for an interview by the class on the
role, use and problems of nuclear power generation. Have students, in groups,
prepare and share questions beforehand to be asked of the speaker. Afterwards,
create a web showing the major themes and evidence discussed.
Lesson
Summary:
Encourage students to make concluding statements that resemble the key idea:
people perceive nuclear power plant technology as having a range of effects on
their lives.
Evaluation: Examine
students lesson summary statement to determine whether students perceive and
report technology as having a range of effects.
Lesson 3:
Issues Today and in the Future
Goal: Students will investigate issues raised by
the use of nuclear power plant technology in society.
Note: The previous lesson may identify issues
that students wish to investigate further. The lesson below suggests some
issues that may be investigated, but others can replace these or be added to them.
Exploration:
Objective: Students will
construct a list of problems that might occur if more nuclear fission power
plants are built.
Materials
per group:
Chart paper and markers or computer access
Procedure:
A. Form small
groups: materials manager, group manager, reporter, and recorder.
B. Review lesson
two with students and summarize the findings that nuclear power plant
technology has had a range of effects on people’s lives. Ask the key question: What problems and positive effects might
result if more nuclear fission power plants were built? Have each group construct a list of its
ideas in response to the question and support each idea with at least one piece
of evidence.
C. Share lists
and record a class list on chart paper or on a computer.
Evaluation: Evaluate group predictions for prior
knowledge and monitor whether each person shares in the activity.
Invention:
Objective: The students
will find and present evidence related to five issues raised by the growth of
nuclear fission and nuclear fusion power plant technology.
Materials: Copies of each of the five scenarios below to be placed in a
work station. (If computers are available for each work station, the scenario
can be presented to students on the computer’s screen.)
Procedure:
A. Remind students
that they have been talking about the effects of nuclear power plant
technology.
B. Ask each group
to visit stations illustrating different problem situations. Tell them each
situation deals with a real problem.
After the group reads the problem situation, talk about your response to
it, then have the recorder record your response on paper (or, if available, on
the computer at the station.)
Scenario one. Nuclear
fission power plants produce about one-fifth of the electricity used in this
country. Congress has passed a law
saying that all the plants must stop operating by December of this year. The
law was passed because of safety concerns and because the power plants are not
producing electricity that is a lot cheaper than the electricity produced by
other fuels. Congressional representatives have pointed out that the public is
concerned over possible accidents at power plants and with how those might hurt
people.
Howard tells
his classmates that his mother says this new law means that prices for electricity
will go up because, for a while, there won’t be enough electricity
produced. She says that when the
electric companies find a way to make enough electricity they won’t drop the
price because people will be used to paying more for it. She also thinks the
air will be dirtier because the electric companies will use the cheapest coal
they can get even if it is dirtier.
They will use the excuse that we need to use the cheapest coal so prices
won’t go up too much. The coal that
doesn’t make the air so dirty is more expensive. Since there is a power
shortage, they will get away with it.
Howard’s
mother also thinks power companies will pass on to consumers the cost of
building another power plant to replace a nuclear plant, so prices will go up
and stay up. Was Congress’s passage of
this new law a wise decision? Support
your opinion with evidence.
Scenario two. My Dad lost his job in a coal mine because
the electric companies don’t want to use the coal he was mining. Now, they are using nuclear power. Lots of people have lost their jobs. I hear about how nuclear power plants are
hard to keep working right. So, why use
them instead of coal? Coal might be bad
for you because its’ smoke can pollute the air. But, a bad problem at a nuclear power plant can hurt people even
far, far away. It seems that making
nuclear power has worse effects on people than power from coal. So, how come my Dad is out of a job? How would you answer this student’s
question? What evidence would you use
to support your answer?
Scenario three: Ushela and
Tom have found out the following information.
Nuclear fission power plants make materials that are radioactive for a
long time, 10,000 years. There is a
problem with what to do with it. But,
there are some choices. First, you can leave it where it is, at the power
plant, until people find something useful to do with it. Second, you can rework it by reprocessing
and end up with less waste material, some new fuel to use to make more nuclear
power and some plutonium which is radioactive.
Third, you can bury it underground for 10,000 years. Fourth, you could launch it by a rocket into
space or the Sun. Fifth, you could drop it in the ocean. Ushela and Tom think
none of these is a really good choice of what to do with the nuclear fission
waste materials. They think each choice
has good and bad points. What are the
good and bad points of each choice? Write down your ideas and give evidence
that supports them.
Scenario four. Juanita and
Amy knew that nuclear fission was used in bombs and in making electricity. They decided to find out how else nuclear
materials are used. They found out that
the radiation from nuclear materials is used to kill cancer cells. They also found out that nuclear power is
used in spacecraft. Another use is in
trying to find out how old something is, through archeological dating. Each of
these uses has some of the same problems, such as radioactivity, that are found
with nuclear power plants. But, each
has a lot of good points, too. Describe
any other uses of nuclear materials you know about. Where would you look for
information on other uses of nuclear materials?
Scenario five. Michael and
Wilson knew that nuclear fusion could produce energy. They had read that the Sun had nuclear fusion going on in
it. So, they started looking for
information on nuclear fusion. After
studying it, they decided that nuclear fusion power plants might be built in
their lifetime. They decided to do a survey to find out if people knew much
about nuclear fusion. They found out that almost everybody surveyed knew very
little about it. Just a few people had heard about it. These people thought it
was supposed to be a cheap power source that would solve all of the world’s
energy problems. They did not know why nobody had built a nuclear fusion power
plant. How would you answer the
following questions that Michael and Wilson asked? 1) What is nuclear fusion?
2) How is nuclear fusion different from nuclear fission? 3) What is a problem we have to solve to
build a nuclear fusion power plant? 4)
If a lot of nuclear fusion power plants were built, what problems might result?
What information did you use to decide how to answer the four questions?
After they
have completed the stations, ask students to share their ideas. Which scenarios were the most difficult for
them? What additional information would
help them respond to the scenario questions?
Point out that these are all issues that have been created by modern
nuclear technology.
Assign one
group to each scenario. This scenario
represents an issue they will investigate.
Each scenario has information in it which may or may not be well
supported by evidence. Each group
should try to find ways to obtain more evidence relating to the problem posed
by the scenario.
In scenario
one, a student worries about what will happen if a law makes all nuclear power
plants shut down. Students might find
out how many nuclear power plants are operating and at what capacity. They could contact the office of their
Congressional representative to ask whether he or she would support such
legislation and the reason for their stance. They could use the Internet to
access materials from the pro-nuclear fission power American Nuclear Society
(an example site is http://www.nuc.umr.edu?~ans/) and the less positive Leo
Sziland HomePage (http://www.peak.org/~danneng/szilard.html). This information
probably will not help them come up with a much improved answer to the issue,
but it will bring the issue into clearer focus and should highlight the
difficulty of resolving such issues. As
each group shares its work with the class, the impact of nuclear technology on
society should become more evident to students.
The following
suggestions are presented to guide student evidence gathering for the other
scenarios. Students and teachers may wish to pursue alternative means of
gathering evidence. In scenario two, the issue raised is that of job loss from
the replacement of coal fueled power plants with nuclear fueled power plants. A
second issue is the impact on people of coal and nuclear processing to produce
power. Students might examine U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics job statistics and reports of trends of job loss and job
availability for workers with skills in nuclear technologies. The Bureau can be accessed at
http://stats.bls.gov. Students might talk with a representative of an
environmental organization to discuss the pros and cons of each power
generation source.
To gather
evidence relating to scenario three which focuses on storage of nuclear fission
waste products, students might interview adults about their views regarding
each option. They also might examine
reports of research being carried out at Los Alamos, a Department of Energy
laboratory, to determine how best to handle nuclear waste. Such inquiries may
help them determine risk factors for the currently available options.
Scenario four
describes uses for nuclear materials other than bombs and power production.
Students might talk with a medical professional who uses nuclear materials The Seattle Times Internet site identified
above discusses a bright side to the uses of nuclear technology.
In scenario
five, knowledge about nuclear fusion is explored. Students could survey family
members to determine the amount of their knowledge. They could examine the
Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Home page for nuclear fusion
information and use its links to other sites (http://www.ofe.er.doe.gov/).
Closure: Nuclear power
production technology has created issues that are not easy to solve. It effects
our incomes, laws and health. There are
lots of decisions that have to be made by individuals, businesses and
governments because of nuclear technologies.
Evaluation: Ask each student to
make a web or outline of one of the issues another group worked with and the
evidence indicating it was an issue needing to be addressed.
Expansion:
Objective: The students
will predict how the issues identified as resulting from nuclear technology
would be affected by the further development of nuclear fission and fusion
reactors.
Procedure:
A. Review
information on work scientists and engineers are doing to create nuclear fusion
reactors and more efficient and safer nuclear fission reactors. How might such developments make the issues
in the scenarios less worrisome? Which
of these issues, if any, might be solved if nuclear fusion power plants make
electricity cheaper?
B. Discuss these
questions in groups and share with the class.
Lesson
Summary: Technology has an effect on people and their
lives. It raises issues that the
society must address. There are many
such issues. An issue should be
investigated and evidence of its effects collected if it is to be solved.
Evaluation: Ask each student to list or web the steps
found to be important in helping to make an issue clearer and more
understandable.
Additional
Lessons
There are many other possible
lessons. These lessons focus most strongly on the use of nuclear reactions to
create electrical power and other non-military usage. Lessons also could address the military use of nuclear fission.
The use of nuclear bombs in World War II could be discussed as could the more
recent nuclear tests occurring in India and Pakistan. Public policy and national and international control of weapons
technology and of standards for nuclear power plants can be investigated.
Nuclear technology has had an enormous impact on societies around the
world. That impact, and the issues
raised by it, can be expected to continue.
References
Hoffman, J. V.
(November, 1996a). Pictures on some
aspects of fusion. Part 1: Energy.
(http://www.ipp.mpg.de/w7as/jvh_html/fusion/fusion1.html.
Hoffman, J. V.
(November, 1996b). Pictures on some
aspects of fusion. Part 3: Magnetic confinement. (http://www.ipp.mpg.de/w7as/jvh_html/fusion/fusion3.html.
Kaw, P. K.
(1992). Fusion power, who needs it?! Artsimovich Memorial Lecture, 14th IAE
Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, Wurzburg, Germany.
Office of
Fusion Energy, Department of Energy. (1998). About fusion energy. http://wwwofe.er.doe.gov/
Sunal, D., C.
Sunal, C. Smith, C. Dawson,
and L. LeBlanc. (1996). Energy
literacy: teaching and learning for the 21st century. Tuscaloosa, AL: The
University of Alabama.
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Nuclear Technology Notes Handout
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In
1954, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Lewis Strauss noted that about
two pounds of plutonium give off energy equal to 30 million pounds of TNT. So, it seemed that atomic energy made by
nuclear fission could produce lots of energy and electrical power. Today, there
are 109 U.S. nuclear fission power plants. This is more than any other country.
They produce 22% of electricity. No new nuclear fission power plants have been
ordered since 1978. Twenty older nuclear fission power plants have shut down.
These have been replaced by power plants using coal and natural gas.
Two
U.S. power plants have raised important concerns about safety and cost that
influenced decisions about whether to expand the use of nuclear fission power
plants. The Three Mile Island,
Pennsylvania plant had a major accident in 1979. It was caused by equipment
failure and workers who had not been trained to understand that a problem was
happening. So, about half of the fuel in the reactor melted. About 700,000 gallons of radioactive water
used to cool the reactor spilled on the floor of the reactor and other
buildings. A small amount of radioactive material was released into the outside
air. Safety is considered when a nuclear fission power plant is designed and
built. A thick steel and concrete building is constructed and the amount of
nuclear material is kept low. Workers, today, are trained often on safety
measures.
The
Hanford, Washington plant has one generator that can be used and has found it
hard to make electricity as cheaply as it can be made using coal or natural
gas. It has raised issues about whether
a nuclear fission power plant can make electricity more cheaply than plants
fueled by coal or natural gas. As it has turned out, nuclear fission power
plants are complicated to build and hard to keep running. The Hanford, Washington plant has 1,300
employees plus others used for jobs such as maintaining the reactor when it is
shut down. Some plants have 90 miles of piping and over 1,000 miles of
electrical cable. Making repairs and refueling the power plants means they are
not running some of the time. Many power plants have reported running between
54% and 75% of the time.
In
1986 in Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union an accident resulted from a flawed
power plant reactor design and many people suffered injuries. Radioactive materials were carried a long
distance into other countries. The power plant design used in Chernobyl has
never been allowed in the U.S.A. Since
nuclear fission power plants raise worries about safety, they will not be used
widely unless they are a cheaper way to produce electricity.
The
nuclear age began on December 2, 1942 with the first controlled chain reaction
started by Enrico Fermi. In 1945 a
nuclear fission chain reaction was used in bombs to destroy much of Hiroshima
and then Nagasaki, Japan. In 1951,
enough electricity was generated in an experimental nuclear fission reactor to
light four light bulbs. By 1954, the first commercial nuclear power plant was
begun in Shippingport, Pennsylvania.
This plant was operating in 1957.
Through the early 1960’s new nuclear plants were designed. By 1963, Jersey Power and Light Company
decided to build a nuclear power plant that it thought would provide cheaper
electricity than coal-powered plants. By 1967, 13 nuclear reactors were
operating and by 1973, there were 40 plants generating 4% of the U.S.A.’s
electricity. New designs have been
approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These promise to be much safer
and to be more easily maintained than today’s nuclear fission power plants.
Nuclear
fusion is still in an experimental stage.
There is not yet a successful design for a fusion power plant. A major
problem is how to produce the high temperature needed for nuclear fusion and
keep it safely contained. There are two
major ideas on doing this: one is to contain the material used in a magnetic field
and the other is to use a fuel pellet and bombard it with a laser or electron
beam. If the technology can be designed and built to produce large amounts of
electricity, nuclear fusion power plants will be used. Their fuel would not be as dangerous as is
the uranium used in nuclear fission power plants. Also, the fusion plant would produce little radioactive material
while the fission plant produces plutonium whose radioactivity lasts for many
centuries.
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[Back to
Table of Contents]
Sample Lesson for Grades 7-9
Valesca E. Lopez
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Alternative
Conceptions Addressed by the Lesson Plan: It takes heat energy to melt ice.
Grade level and subject: 7th grade physical science
Lesson Goal: To allow students to investigate and develop inferences about the energy used to melt ice.
EXPLORATION
Objectives: Students will observe and make predictions about the energy used to melt ice.
Materials: For each group:
Data and results sheet
Pencil and/or pen
Graduated beaker
Ice cubes
Procedure:
A. Before beginning the activity, place students in cooperative learning groups and assign roles of a material manager, a reporter, an observer and a recorder. These roles can rotate over time.
B. Instruct students to send their materials manager to pick up a graduated beaker filled with ice cubes.
C. Instruct two students to hold an ice cube in their hands.
D. Ask students to express and describe their observations as a group.
E. The teacher then asks
appropriate key question to check students' prior knowledge: What is melting?
F. Teacher expresses that ice-cream will be made in class, then ask:
How was ice-cream made
when there was no electricity?
G. Extra sub-questions are given in case there is a need to challenge a group of students.
What does it mean for ice to melt?
What happens to temperature when ice is melting?
What happens when ice cubes are placed in one's hand?
What is the purpose of the rock salt in making ice-cream?
What is ice-cream made of?
Evaluation: Each group should have a complete description of their hypothesis, procedure, data and results. Class participation is essential at this point.
INVENTION
Objective: Students will relate their findings in the exploration phase and will be able to give a scientific statement on how ice-cream is made.
1 Tbs. of sugar
1/2 Cup of Half-and-Half or milk
1/4 Tsp. of vanilla
6 Tbs. of rock salt
1 pint-sized zip-type bag
1 gallon sized zip-type bag
Thermometer
Measuring cup
Measuring spoons
Data and results sheet
Procedure:
A. Pass out the materials to the materials manager.
B. Instruct students how to make ice-cream as follows:
Fill the large bag half full of ice and add three Tbs. of rock salt.
C. Instruct students to put 1/2 cup of milk, vanilla, and sugar into the smaller bag and seal it tight.
D. Place the small bag inside the larger one and seal it tight.
E. Instruct groups to take turns among their members to shake the bags until the mixture freezes. The calculated time for this to happen is of about five minutes.
F. When the mixture has turned into a semi-solid, open the large bag and take out the ice-cream bag. Wipe off the salty water from the outside of the bag. Carefully spoon out the mixture. Enjoy eating it.
G. Circulate throughout the room observing student cooperation and reasoning and remind the students to use the information from the prior experiment activity.
H. Have students discuss their results one group at a time and allow questioning of results for validity.
I. Have students write a brief summary to share with the class.
Evaluation: Collect data and results sheets and the brief summaries written by the groups. Monitor group activity and determine if the groups understand the material that is being presented by asking practical questions such as:
What is ice-cream?
How is ice-cream made?
What is temperature?
How do we measure temperature?
What is the d