Energy Efficiency World Teacher's Guide
Experiment: In this activity, electric current flows from the positive side of the battery to the light bulb and back to the negative side of the battery. Students’ predictions and observations for this experiment will vary. Answers to #4 should include the idea of adding more batteries to supply more electricity for additional light bulbs. Answers to #5 should include the idea that the switch opens and closes the circuit that brings electricity to the lamp. When you turn on a light, the circuit is closed, and when you turn it off, the circuit is open.
Page 7: What Is Energy Efficiency?
Objective: To explain what it means to use energy efficiently.
Background/Discussion: An analogy that may help students understand the efficient use of energy is comparing a motorcycle to a tall, wide monster truck with giant tires. The motorcycle is more aerodynamic, has skinnier tires, weighs less, and has a smaller engine that uses less energy to run. Which of these is more efficient for getting a person from point A to point B? (The motorcycle does a better job of moving a person without wasting a lot of energy on things that aren’t useful—carrying the extra weight of a large truck bed, providing high ground clearance to simply drive on pavement, etc.— so the motorcycle is more efficient at transporting one person.) Which vehicle would be more efficient at transporting a huge pile of rocks? (The truck, because it could move the rocks in one trip while the motorcycle would have to go back and forth.)
Activity: Other examples of efficient people, animals, or machines might include various athletes, birds soaring, aerodynamically designed jets and racecars, etc.
Page 8: Why Save Energy?
Objective: To explain some environmental and financial reasons for saving energy.
Background/Discussion: A lot of the energy we use at home, at school, and for transportation comes from fossil fuels that were created millions of years ago—even before the dinosaurs were here. There is only a limited amount of these fuels, and we are using them up very fast. Using energy more efficiently will allow our fossil fuel supplies to last longer. Using energy efficiently also helps the environment by reducing the amount of pollution that is related to energy use. And, using energy efficiently saves you money. Your family pays for the energy you use, so using less means you have more money to spend on other things.
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