Type:
Instructor Manual
Resource:
Energy and the Environment
Edition:
2nd Edition
Author(s):
Robert A. Ristinen Jack J. Kraushaar
1
Chapter 1: Energy Fundamentals, Energy Use in an Industrial Society Lecture Lead-Ins Get to Know Your Students Besides handing out syllabi on the first day of class, pass out note cards so students can provide some brief information about themselves. In addition to the basic information (name, major or anticipated major, areas of interest), the cards could also be used to ask about any concerns the students may have regarding the class, such as past hardships with science classes, or if they have any specific questions that they hope will be addressed during the course. By allowing the students to complete this exercise and then collecting and reading the cards anonymously, their concerns and questions can be addressed in the context that other student may have the same potential issues. By further reading the cards in more detail after class, the interests of the students can be determined, providing an opportunity to identify any repeating points the students make that can then be addressed throughout the semester. Things to look for would be if they mention that they like group exercises, guest speakers, videos, etc. The first day of class is also an opportunity to gather information that you feel will help the semester be successful for you and the students. It should be noted that it can be interesting to review the cards at the end of the course with the students to see if the questions from the first day have been addressed. Another item that can make the first day of class more fun is to develop an extra credit question that will provide an ongoing discussion throughout the semester. For example, have the students predict what the price of gasoline will be at a local station on the last day of class, with the two students that are the closest to the actual price getting the extra credit point. Class discussion can also be promoted by providing extra credit to students who submit and discuss newspaper articles related to energy issues, with a limit of two or three articles per student. This is always a good way to get the class started each day, demonstrating that the issues discussed during class are relevant to the everyday lives of the students.
U.S. Energy Sources A good introduction to the course is to discuss with students the five main categories of energy sources that fuel our society. Talk with them about coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear energy, and renewables. What percentage of U.S. energy consumption do the fuel sources compose? Table 1.1 on page 17 outlines this. Discuss where the sources come from, in terms of domestic versus foreign, and how that affects the future of that energy source in America. This discussion is a good baseline for the text and the class.
2 Active Learning Ideas Energy of the Future Have students pair off or get into small groups to discuss what, realistically, the world will look to as a reliable, abundant, inexpensive source of energy once fossil fuels are mostly exhausted or become to expensive. There are many renewable technologies currently available that offer some opportunity, but must come down in cost to be economically feasible on a large-scale. Students should take into account energy sources that occur in certain areas, i.e., wind on the plains, solar in the southwest, geothermal in the Rocky Mountains, etc. Watch for the most appropriate and logical answers by having them answer the following questions: 1.
What type of energy sources will be used to produce power in the future?
2.
Will there be a centralized grid for electrical power or will homes/neighborhoods run individually using decentralized power generation?
3.
What types of fuels will be used by automobiles and other transportation vehicles?
Energy Lights Exercise A commonly used expression in American culture is “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Present the photo of the Earth at Night, which can be found at the link below (the photo is also found on the cover of the textbook). This photo represents the lights that would be present in the world if the entire planet experienced night at the same time. Have the students get into small groups and answer the following questions regarding what can be interpreted from the photo: A website link for the picture is: http://www.solarviews.com/cap/earth/earthlights.htm 1.
What was your initial reaction upon seeing this photo?
2.
What does this photo indicate about energy usage on a worldwide basis? Compare and contrast each of the major continents, as well as some of the major countries such as the United States, China, India, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, etc.
3.
Based on this photo, how is geography related to energy usage?
4.
What would this photo have looked like 200 years ago?
5.
What will this photo look like 200 years from now?
6.
Does this photo create any causes for concern or optimism?
7.
What was the biggest surprise in looking at the photo?
3 Lecture Extenders Automobile Trends Gasoline prices have risen sharply in the recent past and experts predict no return to past prices. This is due to many things: rise in global demand from rapidly industrializing nations such as India and China, geopolitical uncertainty in key oil producing regions such as Nigeria, Venezuela, and the Middle East, and the plethora of issues associated with the limited number of refineries in the United States. Despite the rise in oil prices, consumers in the U.S. have shown a resiliency to changing their preference for the SUV and light truck category vehicles (i.e. the minivan). Indeed, people complain about high gasoline prices, but during the first half of 2005 when prices increased significantly, sales of SUVs remained strong. The interesting trend to note is that while foreign auto producers recognized the rise in oil price and associated gasoline prices and altered their product line to shift to more fuel efficient vehicles, the major American auto companies kept their production skewed towards the SUV and light truck lines. Discuss the following questions with the class: 1. Why is it that Americans still prefer larger vehicles even though the gasoline prices continue to rise? 2. Why do American auto companies still rely so heavily on SUVs and light trucks instead of shifting production to more fuel efficient cars and trucks as foreign manufacturers are doing?
The Future of Energy The United States relies on fossil fuels for the majority of its energy consumption. Present the table below and have students think about what the future energy production in the United States will look like. Do students foresee a shift from fossil fuels to nuclear and or renewables in the future or a continued reliance on fossil fuels? What percentages use do they estimate in 20 years for the energy sources listed below? Source Coal Natural Gas Petroleum Nuclear Renewables
Present Use 22.3% 24.1% 38.1% 7.6% 7.9%
In 20 Years ? ? ? ? ?
4 Answers to Questions and Problems 1. The two major problems created are: (1) the fossil fuel resources are limited, and (2) unintended environmental consequences result from the extensive use of the fossil fuels; this leads to atmospheric pollution that causes health problems and possible world climatic change. 2. Biking, running, walking, closing a door, studying, eating etc. 3. 10 lbs x 10 feet = 100 ft lb or 100 ft lb x 1.36 joule/ft lb = 136 joules 4. The energy has become heat energy caused by the friction of moving the cart along the surface. The energy came from your muscle, from food you ate. 5. It had kinetic energy after just being thrown, potential energy at the top of its flight, and it had potential energy just before being thrown and after being caught. 6. Some possible ways include nuclear energy, biomass, hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and wood. 7. 93.81QBtu / 265 million people = 0.354 QBtu per person ; 1 QBtu of coal equiv. = 47.8 x 10^6 tons of coal ; 47.8 x 10^6 QBtu x 0.354 = 16.92 tons of coal/yr 8. 1 watt = 1 joule/sec ; 80 watts = 80 joules/sec ; 5 min = (300 x 80) = 24,000 joules ; 4.184 joules = 1 Calorie ; 1 joule = 1 / 4.184 Calories ; 24,000 joules = 24,000 / 4.184 = 5,736 Calories 9. It is added to the background energy of the universe. 10. 1 watt = 3.41 Btu/hr ; 3.41 x 1000 = 3,410 watts/hr x .90 = 3,069 Btu/hr 11. 1 lb = .12 gal ; 40 gal = 40 / .12 = 333.3 lb ; 1400 watts x 3.41 Btu/hr = 4,774 Btu/hr ; 333.3 lb x 50 F = 16,665 Btu ; 16,665 Btu/hr / 4,774 Btu = 3.5 hours 12. 93.81 x .01 = 0.9381 QBtu would have to be added. This is equal to 161,353,200 barrels of oil (172,000,000 x .9381) and 44,841,180 tons of coal (47,800,000 x .9381).