Global warming is becoming more and more a prominent issue in the world, especially as scientists gather evidence proving the specifics of its threat. Because of this, scientists studying alternative fuels are focused on minimal energy usage combined with minimal emissions to produce a cleaner and economical choice for consumers.
For years NASA has used fuel cell technology to generate electricity and power spacecraft. Fuel cells work by allowing oxygen to react with natural gas, methanol or hydrogen to produce electricity without combustion. The fuel is fed into an electrolyte near the electrodes and an electric current is created. In hydrogen fuel cells, water and heat are the only byproducts.
Fuel cells are poised for a breakthrough into the mainstream, and offer a clean alternative for not only electricity generation, but also powering our automobiles and other vehicles. Both Mercedes-Benz and Toyota both plan to produce fuel cell-powered electric vehicles in the next decade. Such vehicles would have far greater range than today's battery-powered electric cars.
Get this Free Curriculum together with our Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit and build your own car that uses alternative energy. Find out if hydrogen fuel cells can be a possible solution to the problem of global warming.
The Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit was originally designed to be used by one or two children at home, or outside of a formal classroom. The manual that accompanies the kit was written for this audience to use for informal science learning. After its introduction, it became clear that the Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit could be a valuable teaching aid for use in the science classroom. Thus, this curriculum was developed to revise and supplement the manual provided with the Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit so that it is easier to use for both teachers and students in the middle school classroom. The main goal of this curriculum is to provide an engaging middle school physical science course that covers energy transfer, the basics of electricity, and alternative energy technology. The course includes both a lecture component and a lab component using the Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit.
This physical science course is written to be used to instruct students in the areas of electricity, energy transfer, and alternative energy. The course begins by introducing students to key concepts and terminology in these areas. This can be done in a lecture or discussion format and can utilize any physical science textbook for additional student assignments and related activities. An example here might include rubbing a balloon on a student's hair to demonstrate static electricity, or using a toaster to demonstrate the energy transfer of electrical energy to heat energy.
Following the formal instruction, the class is encouraged to address the issues of energy and alternatives to the present sources, especially in the field of transportation. Teachers can raise issues about electric cars and have students research the pros and cons of buying and owning an electric car. Students could also pursue information on other vehicle energy sources such as fuel cells, diesel, natural gas, or even micro-nuclear. The findings could be presented to the class informally or in a formal speech. This would allow all the students to learn from each other's research.
The focus of this course is a series of technology labs. These labs are revised from the lab manual that accompanies the Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit from Thames & Kosmos. Having introduced the students to the concepts of electricity and energy transfer, it is good to reinforce the concepts through the use of these lab activities. The descriptions and images in the Thames & Kosmos lab manual are helpful and could be used as background information (especially for the teacher) for these revised labs.
Labs one through seven contained herein are designed to stand alone, if necessary, as a unit on solar cells and solar energy. In labs one through seven (revised from the Thames & Kosmos lab manual introduction through experiment 10), student groups use a solar panel and multimeter to measure, collect, and analyze data.
Lab one introduces students to the multimeter and how to measure current, voltage, and resistance. In labs two through six, students use the solar cell to relate brightness to electrical output, measure and differentiate solar radiation, and produce an IV (current/voltage) curve for their solar panel. Although based upon the Thames & Kosmos lab manual, these labs (and lab seven: Electrolysis of Water) are written for use in the physical science classroom and do not require purchasing the Fuel Cell kit. Each of the seven labs has a Teacher Notes page that shares with teachers some instructional strategies and also the answers to the questions in the labs.
Studying the hydrogen fuel cell will require the Thames & Kosmos Fuel Cell Car & Experiment Kit including its lab manual. This curriculum includes supplemental worksheets for many of Thames & Kosmos lab manual experiments 11-33. These experiments use a hydrogen fuel cell (included in the kit) to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. Some of the experiments are simply directions for setting up the fuel cell. For example, experiment 12 explains how to fill the fuel cell with water and to correctly attach tubes and wires. Other experiments try to answer a simple question. For instance, experiment 20 asks, "How much water was there in the fuel cell?"
The Thames & Kosmos lab manual also has color illustrations and diagrams that show the fuel cell assembly and the use of the kit components. For each experiment in which students collect and/or analyze data, a supplemental worksheet is included in this curriculum. These worksheets help clarify the directions for the experiments, they provide tables for data collection, they help students work through calculations, and they give the teacher tools for student assessment.
The rest of the activities (Thames & Kosmos lab manual experiments 23-33) involve the students actually getting the fuel cell car to run and using the motor (included in the kit) as a crane. These experiments are very practical and show students how to measure the range of the car, the speed of the car, and the mechanical energy of both the car and the crane. Any of the experiments that involve collecting data or performing calculations have supplementary worksheets provided for use in the classroom.
Following the labs and experiments, the students are asked to pick a topic about energy or energy transfer. They will research the topic, organize an outline, develop a visual aid, and present their information to the rest of the class. This final project can be used instead of a final exam for the course. Through the presentations, each student will become a novice in some aspect of alternative energy. As the students listen to each presentation, they will increase their understanding of energy and its use (or misuse) in the world today.
Example of a color diagram from the Fuel Cell Car & Experiment kit lab manual. The lab manual is needed for proper use of this companion curriculum.
RSS Feed
