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Tell students that Activity 1 (Constructing an Argument) of the lesson What are our Energy Choices? introduces the structure of the scientific argumentation they will be asked to do in the rest of the lesson. Tell students that Activity 1 will give them practice with analyzing a data set and making a good scientific argument from the evidence. Encourage students to review the questions and example best answers provided in Activity 1 before starting on the current activity.
Subjects & Disciplines
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- create a good scientific argument in the context of energy
Teaching Approach
- Inquiry-based learning
Teaching Methods
- Self-directed learning
- Self-paced learning
- Writing
Skills Summary
This activity targets the following skills:
-
Critical Thinking Skills
- Creating
What You’ll Need
Materials You Provide
- Computers with Internet connection
Required Technology
- Internet Access: Required
Background Information
Prior Knowledge
- None
Recommended Prior Activities
- None
Vocabulary
to state as the truth.
dark, solid fossil fuel mined from the earth.
set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and flow of electric charge.
capacity to do work.
data that can be measured, observed, examined, and analyzed to support a conclusion.
power generated by moving water converted to electricity. Also called hydroelectric energy or hydroelectric power.
equal to 1,000 kilowatt hours (Kwh), or 1,000 kilowatts of electricity used continuously for one hour. One megawatt-hour equals one million (1,000,000) watt-hours or 3,600,000,000 joules.
energy obtained from sources that are virtually inexhaustible and replenish naturally over small time scales relative to the human life span.
Media Credits
The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.
Researchers
Dr. Hee-Sun Lee, The Concord Consortium
Amy Pallant, Principal Investigator, The Concord Consortium
Writers
The Concord Consortium
Sarah Pryputniewicz, The Concord Consortium
Editor
Elaine Larson, National Geographic Society
Copyeditor
Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing
Factchecker
The Concord Consortium
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Partner
Funder
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1220756. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.