Phenomena: Chimney Stack Effect
Lessons will build on the concepts necessary to understand the chimney stack effect. Supplementary phenomena include; Swedish candles, radiometers, convection cell in water demonstration, and paper spiral and lamp.
Next Generation Science Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
| NGSS Performance Expectations | How is this assessed? |
| 4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents. | Students will be assessed on this knowledge for each engineering challenge they complete, both in classroom discussion as well as final presentations. They must be able to relate the basic structure of their design to principles involving the observed energy transformations from different phenomena in the classroom. |
| 4-PS3-3. Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide | Students will be required to make predictions about how the turbines they create will interact with air molecules trying to move past them, additionally asking questions as part of a design process in order to determine how they can optimize these structures. |
| 4-PS3-4. Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another. | In discussions, students will consistently be asked how devices they designed, whether it be the wind turbine or solar updraft tower, pull from principles observed in the classroom energy transformation phenomena. Additionally, with their final project, this process will be included in their presentation of solar updraft towers |
| 4-ESS3-1. Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment. | Students present research conducted on various types of energy resources. In this research, they will discuss the environmental impacts of certain fuels through a pros/cons investigation. |
| 3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. | Students will determine criteria for success and constraints surrounding the use of 4×4 pieces of paper to design a turbine blade that will spin fast enough to light the “Firefly” when held up to a fan. Students design, build and test their projects using initially prescribed materials before determining the usage of other beneficial supplies. |
| 3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. | Students will generate, test and compare multiple turbine blade designs based on how well they perform by lighting the “Firefly.” Students identify aspects of various designs determined to be successful relative to their constraints and objectives. They will identify multiple design routes, stating the pros and cons of each. |
| 3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved | Students will plan and carry out fair tests, being careful to change only one variable at a time, such as blade design, number of blades, and the tilt of the blades. Students will create a project that will have movement powered by radiation from the sun. |
Lesson 1: Informative Writing: Where Does Energy Come From?
This lesson is a non-fiction research and writing project, which includes a differentiated choice menu and list of ideas for publishing the completed project. Each student will choose one of ten energy sources to research, including coal, natural gas, petroleum, propane, uranium, biomass, wind, geothermal, hydropower and solar. They will write a report on the chosen energy source, complete 3 differentiated projects on the energy source, choose a way to publish the research, and participate in an Energy Celebration to present their findings in a creative way to classmates, parents, school and community members.
Lesson 2: Where Does Energy Go?
This lesson consists of six demonstration activities that show examples of ways in which water and air absorb heat to transfer energy from one place to another. These demonstration activities act as unique phenomena in which students can generate questions to lead subsequent investigations with each activity in learning centers. Through gaining content from investigations with these phenomena, students will gain insight into how energy conversions work in a solar updraft tower.
Lesson 3: Wind Power: A Hands-on Experience
This lesson challenges students to work in teams to design successful turbine blades for the “KidWind Firefly”. The firefly has an LED light that lights up when the students have designed turbine blades that spin effectively. This lesson provides students with hands-on experience in designing turbine blades. This will scaffold them nicely into Lesson 4 when they design their own paper turbine for a Solar Updraft Tower toy.
Lesson 4: Let’s Build Our Wind and Solar Energy Toy
Students will combine what they learned in previous lessons using their investigations of convection-related phenomena to design a device that will convert light energy from the sun into thermal energy and utilize the resulting convection currents. Their primary objective will be to design a device that uses energy from the sun when placed on a sidewalk to spin a turbine similar to the one they designed for their Firefly in the previous lesson.
Lesson 5: Learning About Solar Updraft Towers
This lesson helps students learn about solar updraft towers being planned and built around the world to help solve the energy crisis by using unlimited power from the sun. This will provide real world context to the engineering challenge they engaged in during the previous lesson. A video is shown to the class; then students are encouraged to spend time searching the internet and writing about what they learn on an individual KWL chart.
Featured Image Description
A graphic which shows how a solar updraft tower works. At the base of the tower are turbines which pull air in underneath collectors. The air then goes up the tower. On the right of the graphic is a zoom box that shows the collectors with solar lines bouncing and being absorbed during the day with some thermal lines being released and some being collected. Below is a Night box that shows the thermal heat being released.