Water As AnEnergy Source

School/program nameDate

Background Information(for facilitator)

• Hydropower is the force or energy or moving water. It has been transformed to mechanical energy for centuries. Water wheels have historically been used to power mills for processing grains, lumber, and mineral ore, among many other things. Now, moving water is used to power turbines, which spin generators to produce electricity. How much electricity is produced depends on the available hydropower. In most cases, hydropower comes from the potential energy of water collected behind dams. The greater the volume or water behind a dam, and the greater the height difference between the intake (above the dam) and outtake (below the dam) of water, the greater the hydropower available. Waterwheels at the bases of dams are spun by the force of the water falling over the dam, or through pipes.

• Hydroelectricity is considered clean energy because it does not produce any harmful emissions such as greenhouse gases. Hydroelectricity is the most commonly used form of renewable energy in the world. However, hydroelectric power has its drawbacks as well. Dam failures have killed thousands of people in catastrophic floods. Dams also have a huge impact on the environment both upstream and downstream of the dam. Large reservoirs form upstream of the dam, and people and cities must be relocated out of the area of flooding. Upstream flooding also destroys and divides habitats. Dams create obstacles for fish such as salmon that must swim upstream to spawn. Dams also trap sediment, which piles up behind the dam and reduces the amount of water that can be stored. Water emerging from a hydroelectric dam may also be warmer than the normal temperature of the river. This can lead to changes for the plants and animals that live below the dam, as well as changing the ability of the river to freeze during winter.

AgendaOpening (30 minutes)

Activity: Well in a Cup (60 minutes)

Setting the Stage (15 minutes)

Activity: Water Power (45 minutes)

Break (15 minutes)

Cyber Investigation: Do Re Meanders Virtual Lab (30 minutes)

Lunch (30 minutes)

Recess: Water Obstacle Course (30 minutes)

STEM-tastic Careers (30 minutes)

Engineering Challenge: Hydropower Challenge (45 minutes)

Mind Snacks (15 minutes)

Engineering Challenge: Continued (30 minutes)

STEM Camp Notebook Reflection (10 minutes)

Wrap Up (5 minutes)

Dive Into Digital Project (60 minutes)

Learning Objectives

To explain how water is used to create

electricity

To determine nature’s way of recycling, i.e.,

hydrological cycle

To explore water effects on the environment

and environmental effects on water

Today’s Vocabulary

Hydropower

Aquifer

Activity:Well in a Cup

Setting the Stage

3 Truths and 1 Lie

1. People have depended on the power of water for a millennia.

2. The water behind a dam has tremendous mechanical energy

3. The water wheel converts the energy of water into mechanical energy.

4. The three gorges dam will be able to generate 18,000 megawatts

Video Segment: Hydropower

3 Truths and 1 Lie

1. People have depended on the power of water for a millennia.

2. The water behind a dam has tremendous mechanical energy

3. The water wheel converts the energy of water into mechanical energy.

4. The three gorges dam will be able to generate 18,000 megawatts

CyberInvestigation:Water Power

Exploration: Water Power

How do we benefit from our water resources?

Reading Passage – Hydropower

Activity: Water Power

Hands-On Activity: Water Power

CyberInvestigation:

Do Re MeanderVirtual Lab

Virtual Lab: Do Re Meander

STEMtastic Careers• What information interested you about this career? Why did it interest

you?• What tools and technology does a water resource specialist use? How

could these tools and technologies important to their job?• What skills, knowledge and abilities do you need to perform this job?

Where their any skills, knowledge and abilities that surprised you?• What type of education do you need for this job? How is education and

training important to having a successful career?• What other information about water resource specialists did you find

surprising or interesting?

Think Pair Share

Engineering Challenge:Hydropower Challenge

Engineering Challenge:Hydropower Challenge

• What is electricity?• What is a circuit?• What is the difference between AC and DC?

Video; What is Electricy?Video: Switches and Circluites Moving Electricity fro One Place to Another

Mind Snacks

Virtual Lab: Getting Connected

Engineering ChallengeContinued:

Hydropower Challenge

Notebook Reflection

Identify at least three ways you are dependent on

freshwater.

Explain what would happen if you had limited access to

freshwater for one of those ways you identified.

What can you do to help ensure access to freshwater for

years to come?

Wrap Up

Lodge McCammon:The Shallows

Song: Lodge McCammon – The Shallows