The Week of 3/8-3/12

Remember:  Critical Reader due on Friday.  Format sheet is in the Documents section if you lost yours.

• Monday 3/8:  Heat and Temperature video (answer questions during video).  Go over Temperature conversions and work on worksheet (due tomorrow). 
• Tuesday 3/9:  Check off Temperature Conversion worksheet.  Notes on Heat and Temperature.  Specific Heat.  Introduce Heating of Land and Water Lab.  Write purpose, hypothesis, background, variables, procedure, and data table for tomorrow.  Test Corrections.
• Wednesday 3/10:  Heating of Land and Water Lab.  Take data and start graphing.  Hand out Specific Heat Worksheet.
• Friday 3/12:  Turn in Critical Reader.  Heating Curve of Water.  Latent Heat of Fusion and Vaporization.  Specific Heat Worksheet due Monday.  Heat of Vaporization worksheet due Tuesday.

2nd Draft of Heating of Land and Water Lab due Friday 3/19.
Chapter 16 Short Test on Wednesday 3/17.

OK Go's Rube Goldberg music video

Check out this awesome new music video from OK Go. It features a Rube Goldberg machine that they built in a two-story warehouse!

The Week of 3/1-3/5

• Monday 3/1:  Turn in Work and Machines worksheet.  Pulley Lab done in notebook.  Discuss complex machines and machine project.
• Tuesday 3/2:  Turn in Final Draft of Pendulum Lab.  Introduce Machine Project and start building machines.   Hand out Work and Machines Review.
• Wednesday 3/3:  Machine Project Building and Demonstration.  Write up with purpose, detailed drawing, and Mechanical Advantage calculations.  Start work and machines test on Friday.
• Friday 3/5:  Work and Machines Test.  Start temperature conversions.

The Week of 2/22-2/26 (updated 2/24)

• Monday 2/22:  Guest Speaker Amanda Duncan from Intel for Engineers in the School Month
• Tuesday 2/23:  Notes on Work and Power.  Start work and power problems.  Worksheet due Friday.  Pendulum 2nd Draft due tomorrow.
• Wednesday 2/24:  Color-marking Pendulum Lab 2nd draft.  Notes on machines and mechanical advantage.  Lever Lab.  Lever Lab packet due Friday.   Work and Power problems due Monday.
• Friday 2/26:  Efficiency.  Work on Lever Lab (due today) and work and power problems (due Monday). 

• Final Draft of Pendulum Lab due Tuesday 3/2!

The Week of 2/15-2/19

• Monday 2/15:  President's Day.  No School.
• Tuesday 2/16:  Energy conversions and conservation notes.  In-class time to work on rolling ball lab, due Friday.  Reading worksheet- due Wednesday.
• Wednesday 2/17:  Hand in Reading worksheet.  Introduce Pendulum Inquiry Lab.  Write problem statement, background, hypothesis, variables, procedure, and data table.  When this is checked off by a teacher, go ahead and perform your trials.
• Friday 2/19 (shortened class period due to Senior Seminars):  Rolling Balls Lab due.  Energy assessment.  More time to do pendulum lab trials.   If done with trials, process the data, and then write your conclusion.

Pendulum Lab 2nd Draft due Wednesday 2/24 for color-marking.  Final Draft of lab due Tuesday 3/2.

4th period: Energy Debate Notes

Wave

• Potential for wave energy is more so than for wind energy.
• If more research was done on wave energy, it could be developed to the point where it would be consistently and conveniently used. There is a lot more room to expand and develop this technology
• It doesn't take anything away from the ocean, as water is funneled back.
• Wave energy is predictable. Centuries in advance, you can tell from the positions of the moons what the tides will be like.
• Oregon would be the world's leader in wave power because we have good coastlines for the implementation of wave power, and it would bring lots of jobs to our state.
• The turbines/buoys wouldn't be noisier than the actual waves, so people can still enjoy their coastal experience. The can be built 130 feet deep in the ocean, meaning it would have little effect on people's visibility of the ocean.
• Cheaper than building wind turbines or dams, and wave energy has low costs for operation or maintenance.
• Wave energy is a renewable resource.

Nuclear

• Nuclear energy is currently 19% of the world's electricity supply.
• It does not pollute the air, as there are no greenhouse gases or dust emitted.
• Without nuclear energy, two million tons more nitrogen oxide would be emitted as a result of electricity usage.
• Waste is completely isolated from the environment, unlike coal.
• More concern about safety than there should be- .1% of unavoidable exposure to radition.
• Toxicity of nuclear waste decreases over time, unlike byproducts from coal, which never lose toxicity.
• Fusion (joining hydrogen atoms) would create lots of energy without any waste.
• A single power plant produces immense amounts of energy annually and easily pays for itself.
• It is a readily available technology.
• It currently supplies more electricity than oil, hydropower, or natural gas.

Wind

• Wind can always work because there is wind everywhere and every day. There are many vast open places where we can put wind farms, and currently 31 states have wind farms. The most popular places are Texas, California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. Windmills have also been placed in the ocean by countries such as Denmark and The Netherlands.
• Wind is a clean fuel, as the power plants produce no air or water pollution because no fuel is burned to generate electricity.
• 2008 wind machines in the US generated a total of 52 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, which is currently only about 1.3% of total US electricity generation. The technology is rapdily advancing, however, and will make wind energy more cost efficient.
• There are negative effects on bird populations and landscapes (such as birds flying into the blades or noise produced by the turbines).

Hydropower/Hydroelectric

• It is the most used source of renewable energy (60% of total US electricity and 67% of renewable energy in 2008).
• It is completely renewable, as it uses the water cycle to generate electricity.
• Non-polluting.
• Ther are low maintenance costs associated with hydropower. Dams are fairly resistant to wear and tear, making them last decades.
• Most dams aren't built to produce electricity. (not sure what you guys mean here)

Geothermal

• No notes turned in.

Biomass

• It's economical: it is wide-spread and anybody can have access to the raw materials needed to create biofuel. Biomass production provides 66,000 jobs across the US.
• Environmental: It does not emit any greenhouse gases when you're using it, it is a completely renewable resource, and reduces solid waste.
• Safety: no safety issues.
• Ethical: no obvious ethical issues.

2nd period: Energy Debate Notes

Hydropower/Hydroelectric

• Because swiftly running water in vast amounts produces a lot of energy, fuel is not needed. Thus, almost no carbon dioxide or other pollutants are released.
• The cost is consistent and inexpensive because of water's constant renewability. It does cost a lot of money to build a dam, but it provides many jobs and lasts a long time. For example, the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River produces electricity and water for surrounding cities including Las Vegas.
• It is a constant energy supplier and can be sued during high workloads. Currently in the Pacific Northwest, approximately 70% of the electricity generated comes from hydropower. With the amount of hydropower facilities in the US now, 28 million households can be powered (which is the equivilent of 500 million barrels of oil).
• Aside from providing the US as well as international communities with power, dams also provide more jobs and irrigation throughout the US.

Nuclear

• It is the only form of energy that we already have the technology to create enough power to replace fossil fuels. Currently, coal and nuclear power together provide 70% of our energy supply.
• It is a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels, and it requires very little land to produce.
• The cost of nuclear power is only 1.87 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is cheaper than almost all other types of energy. This affordability will keep energy companies competitive.
• Many people are scared that nuclear energy is unsafe, but many advances have been made recently. All staff of nuclear power plants go through background checks and rigorous training. Only about 24 incidents occur in transporting nuclear waster each year, which is 0.4% of all car accidents per year. Every power plant also has extensive security to keep intruders out.

Biomass

• Biomass is organic material made from plants and animals that can be converted into an energy source. Biomass can be made from a variety of sources such as cornstalks, spoiled grain, tree limbs, scrap paper, garbage, straw, wood chippings, rice husks, coconut fiber, manure, sugar cane, seaweed and other crops or generally useful materials.
• Crops grow fast and can be harvested using modified equpiment so that it does not cost a lot of money.
• Biomass contains energy from the sun because plants absorb the sun's energy during photosynthesis. This uses up carbon dioxide and almost equals the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere when processing biomass. Therefore, it does not pollute.
• It can be converted to many other forms- for example solids can be burned in a fireplace to provide heat, and liquid fuels such as biodiesel can be used for transportation.
• The processing, generating, and transportation needed to make biomass energy can create jobs.

Wave

• It is the most renewable source of energy available.
• Wave energy operates on its own and is solar powered.
• It uses zero electricity.
• Wind energy has higher risks for wildlife and less available space than wave energy.

Wind

• The price is cheap at 5 cents per kilowatt, which competes with the price of coal and oil. It is also expected to drop more in the future.
• It transforms the kinetic energy of the wind into electrical energy.
• Wind supplies 17,000 megawatts worldwide, which is enough electricity for 10 million homes.
• The overall process is clean, safe, and economical. The wind itself is free.

Geothermal

• Heat from the earth can be used as an energy source in many ways, from large and complex power stations to small and relatively simple pumping systems.
• Many regions of the world are already tapping geothermal energy as an affordable and sustainable solution to reducing dependence on fossil fuels and the global warming and public health risks that result from their use.
• More than 8,900 megawatts of large utility-scale geothermal capacity in 24 countries is now producing enough electricity to meet the annual needs of nearly 12 million typical US households.
• Geothermal plants currently produce 25% or more of electricity in the Phillipenes, Iceland, and El Salvador.
• The US has more geothermal capacity than any other country with more than 3,000 megawatts in 8 states. 80% of this capacity is in California, where more than 40 geothermal plants provide nearly 5% of the state's electricity.
• In thousands of homes and buildings across the US, geothermal heat pumps also use the steady temperatures just underground to heat and cool buildings cleanly and inexpensively.
• It is the least hazardous and most clean form of alternative energy- it is as efficient as fossil fules but with 35 times less carbon dioxide.
• Cost is only 4.5 to 7.5 cents per kilowatt hour, and it will pay back its original starting cost within the first 15-20 years of use.