Materialas for Physics lesson.

 Topic: Alternative Sources of Energy.

Subject: Physics Lesson, according to the project:
Live Healthily in a Healthy Environment within the short-term exchange of groups of pupils.

Polish teacher: Irena Kulka

 

The first part:
1. Checking the students presence.
2. Explaining the topic, its objectives and introduced methods.
3. Introduction to the topic of the lesson.

v Brain- storming- define the sources of energy and giving examples for using energy in everyday life.

Energy - is the capacity of a physical system to perform work. Energy exists in several forms such as heat, kinetic or mechanical energy, light, potential energy, electrical, or other forms.
 

 Introduction to the Topic

Within human society when complexity increases there is a matching rise in energy use and, as we can see around all around us, modern civilization is becoming more complex by the day. With increased energy use mankind has more power to alter the environment around him, to produce more food, build bigger and better shelters, and devote more time to leisure.

Near the end of the 18th century, in a wave of unprecedented innovation and advancement, Europeans began to unlock the potential of fossil fuels. It began with coal. Though the value of coal for its heating properties had been known for thousands of years, it was not until James Watt's enhancement of the steam engine that coal's power as a prime mover was unleashed.
The steam engine was first used to pump water out of coal mines in 1769. These first steam pumps were crude and inefficient. Nevertheless by 1800 these designs managed a blistering output of 20 kW, rendering water-wheels and wind-mills obsolete.
By the end of the 20th Century, industrial states were almost fully adapted to fossil fuels. Coal and natural gas provide the majority of power generation; oil remains king of transportation, and is essential in many industrial processes like making plastics and fertilizers. Nuclear power, biomass and hydro-electric power all made inroads into the complete dominance of fossil fuels in the world economy, but taken together, along with all other renewables like wind and solar, they amount to less than a quarter of global energy use.

The second part of the lesson

The sources of energy:
 

 

 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ENERGY SOURCES

(Prepared by Sandra Vasa-Sideris, PhD, Southern Polytechnic State University,

for use by students)

NATURAL GAS

Advantages
 Burns clean compared to cola, oil (less polluting)
70% less carbon dioxide compared to other fossil fuels
helps improve quality of air and water (not a pollutant)
does not produce ashes after energy release
 has high heating value of 24,000 Btu per pound
inexpensive compared to coal
no odor until added
Drawbacks
not a renewable source
finite resource trapped in the earth (some experts disagree)
inability to recover all in-place gas from a producible deposit because of
unfavorable economics and lack of technology (It costs more to recover
the remaining natural gas because of flow, access, etc.)

Other information
5,149.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserve left (more than oil but
less than coal)
23.2% of total consumption of natural gas is in the United States

 WATER POWER

Pros
Provides water for 30-30% of the world’s irrigated land
Provides 19% of electricity
Expands irrigation
Provides drinking water
Supplies hydroelectric energy (falling water used to run turbines)
Easier for third world countries to generate power (if water source is
available)
It is cheaper
Cons
Destabilizes marine ecosystems
Water wars (up river and down river; e.g., the water war between
Georgia, Alabama, and Florida is ongoing)
Dam building is very costly
People have to relocate
Some dams have to be torn down (Some older ones are not stable.)
Restricted to areas with flowing water
Pollution affects water power
Flooding of available land that could be used for agriculture
CRUDE OIL
Advantages
Oil is one of the most abundant energy resources
Liquid form of oil makes it easy to transport and use
Oil has high heating value
Relatively inexpensive
No new technology needed to use

Disadvantages
Oil burning leads to carbon emissions
Finite resources (some disagree)
Oil recovery processes not efficient enough—technology needs to be developed to provide better yields
 Oil drilling endangers the environment and ecosystesm
Oil transportation (by ship) can lead to spills, causing environmental and
ecological damage (major oil spill near Spain in late Fall 2002)

Issues

The world consumes more than 65 billion barrels of petroleum each day.
By 2015 the consumption will increase to 99 billion barrels per day.
Fossil fuels such as oil take billions of years to form.
In 1996, the Energy Information Administration estimates of crude oil reserves were 22 billio nbarrels. In 1972, the estimate was 36.3 bilion barrels.
Cost of oil has dropped since 1977. It was $15 per barrel then. It was $5 at the time the authors wrote the book.

 NUCLEAR POWER

Pros
Clear power with no atmospheric emissions
Useful source of energy
Fuel can be recycled
Low cost power for today’s consumption
Viable form of energy in countries that do not have access to other forms of fuel

Cons

Potential of high risk disaster (Chernobyl)
Waste produced with nowhere to put it
Waste produced from nuclear weapons not in use
Earthquakes can cause damage and leaks at plants
Contamination of the environment (long term)
Useful lifetime of a nuclear power plant
Plant construction is highly politicized

WIND POWER

Advantages
Continuous sources of energy
Clean source of energy
No emissions into the atmosphere
Does not add to thermal burden of the earth
Produces no health-damaging air pollution or acid rain
Land can be sued to produce energy and grow crops simultaneously
Economical
Benefits local communities (jobs, revenue)

Disadvantages

 For most locations, wind power density is low
Wind velocity must be greater than 7 mph to be usable in most areas
Problem exists in variation of power density and duration (not reliable)
Need better ways to store energy
Land consumption

COAL

Pros

One of the most abundant energy sources
Versatile; can be burned directly, transformed into liquid, gas, or feedstock
Inexpensive compared to other energy sources
Good for recreational use (charcoal for barbequing, drawing)
Can be used to produce ultra-clean fuel
Can lower overall amount of greenhouse gases (liquification or gasification)
Leading source of electricity today
Reduces dependence on foreign oil
By-product of burning (ash) can be used for concrete and roadways

Cons

Source of pollution: emits waste, SO2 , Nitrogen Oxide, ash
 Coal mining mars the landscape
Liquification, gasification require large amounts of water
Physical transport is difficult
Technology to process to liquid or gas is not fully developed
Solid is more difficult to burn than liquid or gases
Not renewable in this millennium
High water content reduces heating value
Dirty industry—leads to health problems
Dirty coal creates more pollution and emissions

Other Two types of coal—low rank (pollutes more), and high rank

Type of energy	Advantages	Disadvantages
NATURAL GAS
WATER POWER
CRUDE OIL
NUCLEAR POWER
WIND POWER
COAL