Energy Basics

Grades11, 12, APChemistry, Physics, Earth and Space Sciences

Provided by Stanford Understand Energy

What it is

This upper-level resource introduces the basics of energy, power, thermodynamics, and energy transmission through a fast-facts article, links to a related video and texts, and a lecture video.
Topics covered include the laws of thermodynamics, energy quality, the origins and forms of energy, stock vs. flow resources, converting energy resources to energy services, uses of energy, and efficiency.

Positives

The written text and lecture slides include many infographics and images.
The lecturer uses analogies to help explain difficult concepts and address common misconceptions.

Prerequisites

The lecture video is divided into sections with a provided table of contents.
An ad may play before the lecture video.
There is a five-minute "Essential" video that students may need to watch before watching the lecture.

Differentiation & Implementation

Honors or advanced high school science courses can use this resource.
This is a great resource for a flipped classroom environment where students can watch the lecture before class. Then teachers can use class time for discussion, experimentation, a project, efficiency calculations, etc.
To make the lecture more interactive teachers can pause the video periodically and add short collaborative activities like a quick discussion with a partner or a card sort activity for the key attributes of primary energy resources.
Teachers can use the links to related resources as a jigsaw activity before watching the lecture, with each group assigned one resource to explore and report back their key learnings to the class.

This article offers a primer on energy and power. All information within is accurate and cited and is recommended for teaching.

Hosted on understand-energy.stanford.edu

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Standards alignment · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1 + 6 more

Common Core English Language Arts Standards (CCSS.ELA)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.1Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

HS-PS3-2.Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motions of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative position of particles (objects).
HS-PS3-5.Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.
HS-ESS3-2.Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
HS-PS3-D.3.Although energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful forms—for example, to thermal energy in the surrounding environment. (HS-PS3-3), (HS-PS3-4)
HS-ESS3-A.2.All forms of energy production and other resource extraction have associated economic, social, environmental, and geopolitical costs and risks as well as benefits. New technologies and social regulations can change the balance of these factors. (HS-ESS3-2)