Energy from Atoms, Biomass and Fossil Fuels

School/program name Date

Background Information(for facilitator)

• Almost all forms of energy require some sort of fuel. A fuel is anything that is used for energy. When we hear the word fuel, we usually think of gasoline, oil, wood, and other substances that burn or combust.

• Most of the energy we use comes from the burning of coal. Coal forms when the remains of plants are partially decomposed and buried under sediments. As more and more sediments pile up, pressure and temperature increases, driving off methane and carbon dioxide. This is part of a process known as carbonization, which eventually leads to the formation of coal. In contrast, oil and natural gas deposits form when microorganisms and plants die in shallow lakes and seas and settle to the bottom. This decomposing organic matter is then buried by sediments and subjected to increased temperature and pressure, eventually forming oil and natural gas.

• The technology for nuclear energy is largely the result of the development of nuclear bombs that began during World War II. the first bombs that were created were fission bombs—they released vast amounts of energy by causing a chain reaction in which the nuclei of heavy atoms were split in a process known as fission. Later, even more powerful bombs were made by causing nuclei of heavy atoms to combine in a process known as fusion. A nuclear power plant uses the same concepts that lead to fission reactions, but at a much slower, controlled rate.

• Wood has been burned as a biofuel for centuries. Wood is an “energy storage device” because trees use and store energy from the sun. Ancient plants and animals store the same type and energy and become fossil fuels. Plant material that is often considered waste can also provide energy when broken down to create steam, or liquid fuel. Ethanol is a form of liquid biomass that is added to gasoline as a way to reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in cars.

AgendaOpening (30 minutes)

Setting the Stage: Why Are Fossil Fuels Important? (15 minutes)

Cyber Investigation: What Are Fossil Fuels? (40 minutes)

Break (15 minutes)

Activity: Drilling For Oil (60 minutes)

Activity: What Is Nuclear Energy? (20 minutes)

Cyber Investigation: Atomic Split (20 minutes)

Activity: Chain Reaction (40 minutes)

Lunch (30 minutes)

Recess: Fission Game (30 minutes)

Setting the Stage: Energy From Garbage (30 minutes)

Cyber Activity: Future Power (30 minutes)

STEM-tastic Careers (30 minutes)

Mind Snacks (15 minutes)

STEM Camp Notebook Reflection (10 minutes)

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

Dive Into Digital Project (60 minutes)

Learning Objectives To understand how fossil fuels formed from heat

and pressure

To explain how different types of fossil fuels are

mined and used

To understand how nuclear fission is used to

generate electricity

To explain how biomass contains energy that can

be used to generate electricity

Today’s Vocabulary

Fission

Half-life

Radioactivity

Fusion

Fossil Fuels

Emissions

Setting the Stage:Why Are Fossil

Fuels Important?

Cyber Investigation

Activity: Drilling for Oil

What Are Fossil Fuels?

Video: What Are Fossil Fuels?

Activity: What is Nuclear

Energy?

What Is Nuclear Energy?

Video: Greatest Inventions With Bill Nye: Nuclear Power

Cyber Investigation

Activity: Chain Reaction

Setting the Stage: Energy from

Garbage

Video: Energy From Olive Pits

Video: Oil From Algae

Cyber Activity: Future Power Virtual Lab: Future Power

STEMtastic Careers

What type of educational background would you need to become a

petroleum engineer?

What type of educational background would you need to become a

nuclear engineer?

What are some of the skills you would need in order to be a good

petroleum or nuclear engineer?

What sorts of tools does each type of engineer use in their job?

What are some interesting aspects of the work that these types of

engineers do?

Petroleum Engineer vs. Nuclear Engineer

Mind Snacks

Notebook Reflection

Describe two things that you learned about either

fossil fuels or nuclear energy that you did not know

before today.

Do you believe it is worth the effort of collecting

biomass from everyday garbage in order to use it for

fuel?

Wrap Up

Think about this…

TRUE or FALSE

The electricity produced by wind

turbines is only available while the

wind is blowing.

Humans have used wind energy for

more than a thousand years.