+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Hydrogen Oxygen Reaction Lab

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lab exercise exposes students to a potentially new alternative energy source-hydrogen gas. Student teams are given a hydrogen generator and an oxygen generator. They balance the chemical equation for the combustion of hydrogen gas...
+
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Off the Grid

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources. They also learn about our nation's electric power grid and what it means for a residential home to be "off the grid."
+
eBook
Other

Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts: The Energy Report: Wind Energy [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Chapter 11 of a report on the energy industry in Texas. It looks at wind energy, its history, and how it is used. The wind power industry in Texas is described, its economic importance, how it is produced and transmitted, and its...
+
Website
Other

Pembina Institute: Renewable Energy Lesson Plans

For Teachers 9th - 10th
There are a variety of lesson plans here on solar and wind energy, and on sustainable transportation.
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Windmill of Your Mind: Distributed Energy Goes to School

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students research the feasibility of installing a wind-turbine distributed energy (DE) system for their school. They write a proposal (actually, the executive summary of a proposal) to the school principal based on their findings and...
+
Lesson Plan
Council for Economic Education

Econ Ed Link: Fewer Watts and Fatter Wallets

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn about incentives for alternative energy programs and the role played by non-price determinants in energy choices.
+
Graphic
US Department of Energy

U.s. Department of Energy: Wind Program: How Does a Wind Turbine Work?

For Students 9th - 10th
This animated illustration shows how a wind turbine can generate electricity for homes and communities.
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Greenewables

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students form expert engineering teams working for the (fictional) alternative energy consulting firm, Greenewables, Inc. Each team specializes in a form of renewable energy used to generate electrical power: passive solar, solar...
+
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Transportation and the Environment

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Looking at transportation and the environment, students learn that some human-made creations, such as vehicles, can harm the environment. They also learn about alternative fuels and vehicles designed by engineers to minimize pollution....
+
Activity
US Department of Energy

U.s. Department of Energy: Water Power Program: Types of Hydropower Plants

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about the three types of hydroelectric power plants used to capture the energy from water at a hydropower dam site.
+
Graphic
US Department of Energy

U.s. Department of Energy: Fuel Cell Technologies Program: Fuel Cell Animation

For Students 9th - 10th
A series of animated illustrations show how a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell works. PEM fuel cells are the most common type used in flex-fuel vehicles.
+
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Environmental Challenges in China

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students learn about the wonderful and fascinating country of China, and its environmental challenges that require engineering solutions, many in the form of increased energy efficiency, the incorporation of renewable energy, and new...
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: A Case of Innovation

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
A white paper is a focused analysis often used to describe how a technology solves a problem. In this literacy activity, students write a simplified version of a white paper on an alternative electrical power generation technology. In...
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Power to the People

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students read and evaluate descriptions of how people live "off the grid" using solar power and come to understand better the degree to which that lifestyle is or is not truly independent of technological, economic and cultural...
+
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Form vs. Function

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students take a closer look at cars and learn about some characteristics that affect their energy efficiency, including rolling resistance and the aerodynamics of shape and size. They come to see how vehicles are one example of a product...
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Grid

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
The class forms a "Presidential Task Force" for a week, empowered by the president to find answers and make recommendations concerning the future of the national power grid. Task force members conduct daily debriefings with their...
+
Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Environment

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Through 10 lessons and more than 20 hands-on activities, students are introduced to the concept of an environment and the many interactions within it. As they learn about natural and human-made environments, as well as renewable and...
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Corn for Fuel?!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this activity, students examine how to grow plants the most efficiently. They imagine that they are designing a biofuels production facility and need to know how to efficiently grow plants to use in this facility. As a means of...
+
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Cars From the Future

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students learn about air pollution caused by cars and what engineers are doing to try to help with the problem. Students then design their own environmentally friendly car and give a presentation to experience how engineers have to be...
+
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Antimatter Matters

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Antimatter, the charge reversed equivalent of matter, has captured the imaginations of science fiction fans for years as a perfectly efficient form of energy. While normal matter consists of atoms with negatively charged electrons...