Curated OER
Transforming Energy
Sixth graders study about alternate energy sources and discuss with their neighbor how alternative energy sources affect environmental conditions so that an entire species could be affected.
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Solar Cell Power Output vs. Temperature
Solar cells provide a clean way of making electricity directly from sunlight. In this project you will build a simple circuit and experimental setup to investigate whether the power output of a solar cell changes with ambient temperature.
Energy for Sustainable Development
Esd Bulgaria: Kids & Energy: Solar Energy
Explains what solar energy is, how it differs from photovoltaic energy, and how it is harnessed to produce electric power for humans.
![State Energy Conservation Office: Solar and Electric Cars [Pdf] Handout](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "State Energy Conservation Office: Solar and Electric Cars [Pdf] Handout")
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Solar and Electric Cars [Pdf]
Learn the differences between cars powered by different fuels. Looks at solar, electric, hybrid and gasoline-powered cars.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Pointing at Maximum Power for Pv
Student teams measure voltage and current in order to determine the power output of a photovoltaic (PV) panel. They vary the resistance in a simple circuit connected to the panel to demonstrate the effects on voltage, current, and power...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Maximum Power Point
Students learn how to find the maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic (PV) panel in order to optimize its efficiency at creating solar power. They also learn about real-world applications and technologies that use this technique, as...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Concentrated Solar Power
Students learn how the total solar irradiance hitting a photovoltaic (PV) panel can be increased through the use of a concentrating device, such as a reflector or lens. This is the final lesson in the Photovoltaic Efficiency unit and is...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Solar Speedway
Solar power is hot these days. Gleaming, black solar panels soak up rays on more and more rooftops of homes and businesses providing a clean, alternative source of heat and electricity. You might guess that different times of the day...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Cold Room? Heat It Up With a Homemade Solar Air Heater
Humans need food, water, and warm shelter to survive. But a lot of humans depend on fossil fuels to supply gas and electricity to heat our homes. But burning fossil fuels to create energy is harmful to the environment. In this science...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Renewable Energy Living Lab: Power Your School
Students use real-world data to calculate the potential for solar and wind energy generation at their school location. After examining maps and analyzing data from the online Renewable Energy Living Lab, they write recommendations as to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Organic Solar Energy and Berries
Students learn about how a device made with dye from a plant, specifically cherries, blackberries, raspberries and/or black currents, can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy. They do this by building their own organic...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Exploring Solar Power
This unit provides students the opportunity to explore methods engineers have devised for harnessing sunlight to generate power. Students will initially explore heat transfer and heat storage through the construction, testing, and...
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Electricity From the Sun [Pdf]
Discusses forms of renewable energy that rely on the sun. For example, wind is created when solar energy heats the air, and biomass is solar energy that has been stored in plants.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design a Solar City
Students design and build a model city powered by the sun! They learn about the benefits of solar power, and how architectural and building engineers integrate photovoltaic panels into the design of buildings.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Photovoltaic Efficiency
Through a series of four lessons, students are introduced to many factors that affect the power output of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Factors such as the angle of the sun, temperature of the panels, specific circuit characteristics,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Off the Grid
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."
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: How Do Solar Panels Work?
The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That's 10,000 times more power than the planet's population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Why Aren't We Only Using Solar Power?
Solar power is cheaper and more sustainable than our current coal-fueled power plants, so why haven't we made the switch? The real culprits here are the clouds, which make solar power difficult to control. Alexandros George Charalambides...
NOAA
Noaa: National Weather Service: The Sun and Its Effect on the Earth [Pdf]
The Space Environment Center (SEC) put together a slide show for use by teachers on Space weather. Begin with discussing solar emission and the sun itself. Then end with a summary of climatic effects of space weather, and a note on space...
Climate Literacy
Clean: State Electricity on Google Earth: How Many Solar Panels Would It Take?
This activity addresses the Energy Awareness Principle by having students calculate electricity use by state, and also determine how much land would be required to replace all sources of electricity with solar panels considering costs...
Other
First Energy: The Electric Avenue: Energy Fun Factory
Here, students can learn all about energy sources and electricity. Activities include games and calculating energy costs in their homes.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Power Plants
Photovoltaic technology is compared and contrasted to the natural phenomenon of photosynthesis. The means by which photocells harness solar energy is described and explained.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: From Sunlight to Electric Current
The lesson will first explore the concept of current in electrical circuits. Current will be defined as the flow of electrons. Photovoltaic (PV) cell properties will then be introduced. This will lead to the principle of "Conservation of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Renewable Energy Living Lab
Students become familiar with the online Renewable Energy Living Lab interface and access its real-world solar energy data to evaluate the potential for solar generation in various U.S. locations. They become familiar with where the most...