Curriculum Unit
Electrical Power: A Quantitative and Qualitative Comparison of Energy Resources
Nancy Rudolph
Title Author
KEY LEARNING, ENDURING UNDERSTANDING, ETC.
Energy is a quantitative property of a system that depends on the motion and interactions of matter and radiation within that system. That there is a single quantity called energy is due to the fact that a system’s total energy is conserved, even as, within the system, energy is continually transferred from one object to another and between its various possible forms. (NGSS: PS3.A)
ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) for the UNIT
How is energy transferred and conserved?
CONCEPT A CONCEPT B CONCEPT C
Electricity Generation in Delaware and Neighboring States
Comparing Energy Resources Used to Generate Electricity
Electrical Power
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS A ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS B ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS C
How is electricity in Delaware (and neighboring states) produced?
What are the proportions of renewable and nonrenewable resources used to generate electricity in DE?
What are the similarities and differences in the production of electricity from different resources (oil, natural gas, nuclear fission, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, wind)?
What are the factors that affect power density? Explain how.
What is electrical power?
How is electricity produced?
How does electricity get to our homes?
VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A VOCABULARY A
Renewable, nonrenewable resources, proportion
Nuclear fission, PV cell, solar thermal power, hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass
Fossil fuels, hydrocarbons, electrical power, energy flux, thermal pollution, power density
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/MATERIAL/TEXT/FILM/RESOURCES
Appendices list articles and video resources to support this unit.