Plugged in to CO2

Summary:
Students investigate various appliances and electronics, discovering how much energy each uses and how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released to produce that energy. Materials:
  • Kill-a-Watt meter
  • Power strip and outlet
  • A collection of small appliances and lamps (may include toaster, microwave, hairdryer, lamp with CFL, lamp with incandescent bulb, cell phone and charger, laptop and charger, iPod and charger, CD player, TV, DVD, video game player, blender, nightlight, vacuum, coffee maker, fan)
  • Pencils

Worksheets:

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Source:
A Windows to the Universe activity by Lisa Gardiner based on From Grid to Home, an activity developed by Marie Johnson, Jonathan Hoffman and Lisa Gardiner at the 2009 NAGT workshop "Teaching About Energy in Geoscience Courses"
Grade level:
 6-10
Time:
Part 1: 30 - 40 min depending on how many appliances and electronics are measured
Part 2: 20 - 40 min depending on extent of discussion
Student Learning Outcomes:
  • Students will use a meter to measure the energy use of appliances and electronics, record and analyze the data.
  • Students will learn that different appliances and electronics use different amounts of energy.
  • Students will learn that energy is generated in a variety of way, primarily with fossil fuels which contribute greenhouse gases such as CO2 to the atmosphere.
  • Students will calculate the amount of CO2 emitted by use of an appliance over a year.
Lesson format:
Collecting and analyzing data, interpreting charts, utilizing math skills (calculations)

Standards Addressed:

National Science Content Standards: Grades 5-8

  • Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry: Use appropriate tools and techniques to gather, analyze, and interpret data; use math in all aspects of scientific inquiry
  • Content Standard B: Transfer of Energy - electricity
  • Content Standard E: Understanding about Science and Technology
  • Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: populations, resources, and environments, science and technology in society

National Science Content Standards: Grades 9-12

  • Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry: use technology and mathematics to improve investigations and communications
  • Content Standard E: Understanding about Science and Technology
  • Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: natural and human-induced hazards, science and technology in local, national, and global challenges

Standards for School Mathematics:

  • Data Analysis and Probability Standard: Grade 6-8

DIRECTIONS:

Preparation

Introduction

  1. Introduce units used in energy science: A watt is a unit of power. 1000 watts is called a kilowatt. On many appliances and light bulbs the wattage is listed. Watt-hours and kilowatt-hours (1000 watt-hours) are used to describe how much power is used over an amount of time.
  2. Provide an example to foster student understanding of energy units: A 60 watt incandescent light bulb pulls 60 watts of electricity out of an outlet when it is on. If that light is on for an hour, it has used 60 watt-hours. If you forget and leave the light on next to your bed all day from 6:00 am until midnight (18 hours) it would have used (60 x 18) 1080 watt-hours of electricity. That's 1.080 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity.
  3. Give an overview of this activity: Not all electronics use the same amount of electricity. Some need more watts to operate than others. In Part 1 of this activity you will investigate how much electricity different appliances need. In Part 2 of this activity you will calculate the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is produced by using these appliances. Introduce the significance of greenhouse gas emissions including their role in recent global warming.

PART 1

  1. Set up the appliances, electronics, power strip and Kill-a-Watt meter at the front of the room
  2. Introduce students to the Kill-a-Watt meter. The meter allows us to assess how much electricity an appliance is consuming. It plugs into an outlet and then the appliance plugs into it. It measures the flow of electricity coming from the outlet to the appliance in watts.
  3. Select two appliances and ask students to guess which uses more electricity.
  4. Have a student measure both appliances with the Kill-a-Watt meter and share results with the class. Have students record the data in the first and second columns of the table on Worksheet 1. (Note that the watts measured on the meter may not completely stabilize at one value. Help the student making the measurement to choose a reasonable number.)
  5. Take one of the two appliances and ask students to choose another from the collection. Ask students to guess which uses more electricity.
  6. Have another student measure the new appliances with the Kill-a-Watt meter and share results with the class. Have students record the data in the table on Worksheet 1 (1st and second columns).
  7. Continue this process until all appliances and electronics have been tested. There is space on the worksheet for nine appliances, but you may decide to test more or less with your students.
  8. As a class, estimate how long each appliance is used each day. Fill in that information in Worksheet 1 (3rd column).
  9. Calculate how many kWh per day and per year each appliance uses. (If time is limited, consider having pairs of students work on this calculation for a single appliance and then sharing data.)
    1. Multiply watts by hours per day to get watt-hours (4th column).
    2. Divide watt-hours by 1000 to get kWh per day (5th column).
    3. Multiply kWh per day times 365 to get kWh per year (6th column).

PART 2

  1. Tell students that in this part of the activity they will figure out how much carbon dioxide is produced with the use of each appliance. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas is emitted into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned. The release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is the primary cause of recent global warming. In the United States, most of our electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas.
  2. Introduce students to the pie charts on the Different Regions of the Country Use Different Fuel Mixes . This data, from the US Department of Energy, shows the mix of energy sources found in different parts of the country. Find your region's pie chart and discuss as a class how your energy sources are similar to, or different from, other parts of the country. Instruct students to complete steps 1 and 2 on Worksheet 2.
  3. Have students work in pairs or small groups, focused on an appliance or electronic device from Part 1 (step 3 on worksheet 2)
  4. Have each pair/group calculate how many kWh per year of electricity used by their appliance come from each energy source. These values should be recorded in column 2 of the table.The general calculation is:

    [kWh] x [% of energy converted to decimal] = kWh from fuel source.

  5. Tell students that the amount of carbon dioxide released to generate electricity depends on how much comes from fossil fuels. Use your kWh calculations from the previous step with the information in column 3 of the table on Worksheet 2 to calculate the amount of CO2 released by each fossil fuel. The general calculation is:

    [kWh from fuel source] x [Lb of CO2 per kWh] = Lb of CO2 produced

  6. Students should add the three amounts of CO2 together to get the total pounds of CO2 sent into the atmosphere by using the appliance or electronic device over a year.
  7. Have student groups share their results with the rest of the class.
  8. Discussion:
    • Did the appliances that use the most energy according to the measurements made with the kill-a-watt meter the ones that produce the most CO2? Why or why not?
    • How can we reduce the amount of CO2 emitted to the atmosphere while still using these appliances

EXTENSIONS:

Investigate phantom loads. Is it plugged in when not in use? Does that use electricity? Test the appliances and electronics when turned off to see which use electricity.

Do an energy audit for your school using Kill-a-Watt meters to measure energy use for copiers, computer labs, and other devices that plug in and then calculating energy use from lights, heating, and other electronics and appliances that do not have plugs.

Do the CO2 How Much Do You Spew activity, which allows students to get a larger perspective on individual energy use.

Investigate CO2 by doing the activity Carbon Dioxide Sources and Sinks

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

killawattAnything with a plug (appliances, electronics, lamps) draws power through an electrical outlet. Many of these items are left on all day and night. Other items draw some electricity even when they are turned off (called a “phantom load”). In Part 1 of this activity, a device called a Kill-a-Watt meter is used to measure the power consumption of appliances and other devices. The meter gives instantaneous measures of volts (voltage) and amps (a measure of current) as well as the watts of power being used (Note: watts= volts x amps). The meter also gives a measure of the amount of power used over time in kWh if you leave the device in place for a length of time (from just a couple minutes to weeks or even months). See the Consumer Reports Test of Energy Monitors (March 2009) for more information. Kill-a-Watt meters sell for $20-$25. They are also available at some public libraries.

Electricity is generated in different ways in different regions depending, in part, on local natural resources. The pie charts on the map used in Part 2 of this activity show how the mix of electricity sources varies with region of the United States. On average, within the United States, about half of electricity is generated using coal. Natural gas and nuclear power account for about 20% each. Nearly 10% of electricity is from renewable sources, with the bulk of that produced at hydroelectric dams. Petroleum makes very small fraction of US electricity. Coal, natural gas, and petroleum are fossil fuels. Burning these fuels emits carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, as well as other air pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Electricity generation produces about 40% of the greenhouses gases emitted in the United States. Other nations have different energy mixes. If you are not from the US, contact your country's department of energy for information on the energy mix.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases trap infrared energy emitted from the Earth’s surface and warm the atmosphere. This is a natural process that is being amplified by the additional greenhouse gases added to the atmosphere mainly through burning of fossil fuels. These additional gases are causing the greenhouse effect to grow stronger, causing global warming. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide in our atmosphere was at approximately 280 ppm (parts per million). As of 2009, carbon dioxide in our atmosphere are approximately 386 ppm and growing steadily upward.

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Last modified November 16, 2009 by Lisa Gardiner.

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA