The goal is for the students to understand the environmental design considerations required when generating electricity. The electric power that we use every day at home and work is generated by a variety of power plants. Power plants are engineered to utilize the conversion of one form of energy to another. The main components of a power plant are an input source of energy that is used to turn large turbines, and a method to convert the turbine rotation into electricity. The input sources of energy include fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil) wind, water, nuclear materials, and refuse. This activity focuses on how much energy can be converted to electricity from many of these input sources. It also considers the impact of the by-products associated with using these natural resources, and looks at electricity requirements. To do this the students will research and evaluate the electricity needs of their community, the available local resources for generating electricity, and the impact of using those resources.
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- Knovation Readability Score: 3 (1 low difficulty, 5 high difficulty)