This e-book provides a comprehensive overview of solar, wind, and geothermal energy.
Students will learn about the cost of installing solar, wind, and geothermal systems, how much energy each system produces, and the best locations for each energy source.
Teaching Tips
Positives
This resource includes responses to the many economic issues and questions that usually arise when discussing clean energy.
Additional Prerequisites
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The first link on page 3, the first link on page 15, the links to state and local resources on page 16, and the links on page 19 do not work.
Differentiation
Teachers can assign students to groups to read the solar, wind, or geothermal energy sections and then share what they have learned with the rest of the class.
Students could make a chart that compares the price, energy production, requirements for use, and maintenance needs for solar, wind, and geothermal energy.
This text explains how solar, wind, and geothermal energy are produced with practical examples. Additional links provided in the article contain relevant data for enhancing energy transition for households, communities, and cities.
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
ETS1: Engineering Design
MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
PS3: Energy
MS-PS3-2 Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
MS-PS3-4 Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
MS-PS3-5 Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Standards
Dimension 2: Economics
D2.Eco.1.6-8 Explain how economic decisions affect the well-being of individuals, businesses, and society.
D2.Eco.1.9-12 Analyze how incentives influence choices that may result in policies with a range of costs and benefits for different groups.
