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Fossil Fuels Teacher Resources
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Incorporate fossil fuel issues into your curriculum with these lesson plan ideas.
Junior geologists work through three mini-lessons that familiarize them with the formation and location of fossil fuels. Part one involves reading about petroleum and where it comes from via a thorough set of handouts. A lab activity follows in part two, in which investigators experiment with the sedimentation of different sized particles. In part three, they will examine maps of the distribution of oil deposits throughout the New York region. Use any one or all three terrific activities as part of your earth science curriculum.
More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and permeability of different sediments. In part three, they consider the need for geologists to use topographic maps. The fourth part can only be used if your school has a data analysis system that you can access for relevant data. These are top-notch activities that can be used individually, together, or in addition to "Fossil Fuels (Part I)," also available via the Lesson Planet website.
Learners participate in an activity in which they explain the difference between renewable and nonrenewable sources of energy. They discover why the supply of fossil fuels is limited and practice using new vocabulary.
Here is a good visual for demonstrating the nonrenewable quality of fossil fuels and our dependence on them: pass around an opaque bag of candy, allowing pupils to take as much as they want. You will have prepared the bag to not have enough candy for everyone. Learners compare how much each individual received. Then they relate the activity to the use of fossil fuels, considering their daily activities and the amount of energy that they consume. Use this activity as an anticipatory set when introducing energy use to your class.
As the title suggests, this is a simply summary of fossil fuels. There are no questions to answer or problems to solve, just notes about fossil fuels. The notes cover how fossil fuels are formed, how we extract it, what humans use it for, and what is produced as a waste product. Keep this for your own use as a guide to your lecture on fossil fuels.
Students discuss the relationship between the burning of fossil fuels and transportation. Various methods are used to reinforce this lesson.
Students identify the different sources of fossil fuels. In this environmental science lesson, students research about how these impact our environment. They explore renewable energy sources that could replace fossil fuels.
Young scholars examine the relationship between energy and the environment. In groups, they participate in experiments to discover the law of thermodynamics and the differences between potential, kinetic and mechanical forms of energy. They examine the different types of fossil fuels and determine which alternatives would be best for the environment.
Learners calculate stoichiometrically the amount of carbon dioxide that would be emitted from burning a mole of varios alkanes that comprise fossile fuels. If the energy released from burning a mole of these alkanes is known, then the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of energy produced can be determined.