Human Energy Systems | Activity 5.2

Display slide 3 of the PPT. Remind students of the third rule: Energy flows! Invite students to share what they think this means. .

• You may want to recall the Four Questions Large Scale Handout from lesson 4.

Display slide 4 of the PPT. As a review, ask students to explain the difference between organic and inorganic carbon.

• This should serve as a reminder that organic carbon stores useful chemical energy in C-C or C-H bonds.

Display slide 5 of the PPT. Have students think of organic carbon they use in everyday life.

• If students are having a difficult time coming up with ideas, have them look around the classroom or think about things they have done or used during the day for more ideas and think back to Activity 5.1.

Tell students they are going to participate in a jigsaw to discuss how we use fossil fuels to give us energy.

• First, they will divide into home groups to discuss the task for the day.
• Then, they will divide into expert In their expert group, they will read a handout and complete a worksheet. They will have 30 minutes to read and complete the worksheet. They should also prepare a summary of their discussion from their expert group to share in their home group.
• Then, they will return to home groups. In their home groups, they will have 15 minutes to share their expertise with the members of their home group.

Display slide 6 of the PPT. Distribute one jigsaw card to each student. See instructions on the first page of the cards for how to work with different class sizes.

• Tell students to divide into their home groups based on the image on their cards. For example, all gas cans should find other gas cans for form a home group.
• Once students have found their home groups, introduce the different topics for the jigsaw readings.
• Tell students that if they have a…
  • Letter A on their cards, they are going to become experts in how electricity use emits carbon emissions.
  • Letter B on their cards, they will become experts in how transportation emits carbon emissions.
  • Letter C on their cards, they will become experts in how buildings create carbon emissions.
  • Letter D on their cards, they will become experts in how food adds carbon in the atmosphere.

Give the home groups a few minutes to ask any questions they may have about the jigsaw.

Display slide 7 of the PPT. Tell students to divide by letter to form expert groups (i.e., all students with the same letter and number on their cards should group together, etc.). They should hold onto their jigsaw cards for later.

• Distribute 2 Group Handouts and 5.2 Group Worksheets (which will vary by group) to each expert group.
• They can use the bottom of the 5.2 Group Worksheets to help them remember the ideas from their expert groups in their summary to the home groups.
• Give students 30 minutes to work in their groups.
• Tell students to think about how to summarize the main ideas from the handoutsI as they prepare to share their expertise in the next round.

Display slide 8 of the PPT. Instruct students to regroup according to the image on their jigsaw cards to form home groups (i.e., students with gas tanks should all form one group, etc.).

• In their home groups, it is each student’s job to provide an expert summary or report of what s/he discussed in his/her expert group (i.e., share his/her expertise).
• Give students 15 minutes to share their expertise.

Tell students that in the last activity, we learned that people who live in different geographical regions in the world use carbon in different ways, and that the way we use carbon can depend on both our individual choices and also where we live. Now students are going to make another set of lifestyle choices based on what they have learned about carbon.

Display slide 9 of the PPT. Return or have each student take out their copy of 5.1 Extreme Makeover: Lifestyle Edition Worksheet.

• Tell students that each station contains four different options and that it is their job to select one at each station.
• They should visit each station, read each lifestyle card at each station, and select a lifestyle from each station (they should record their choices in the table)
• Give students 10 minutes to visit all four stations.
• Students may ask you “How should I decide what to choose?” This time they should make their decision based on what they would do to lower their carbon emissions.

Return or have each student take out their copy of 5.1 Secrets Revealed! Worksheet to each student and tell students to use the information in Table 3 to calculate how much carbon emissions are associated with their lifestyle choices. Give them time to make calculations and share with their neighbor.

• Have a class discussion about what students would need to change in their lives to live out these new lifestyles. Discuss what is possible and impossible to do based on where they live.

Display slide 10 of the PPT.

• Ask students: Which countries do you think are represented by lifestyles A, B, C, and D?
• Give students an opportunity to suggest ideas about this question. You may need to remind them of the characteristics for each lifestyle.
• Ask them what information or experience they used to guess the way that they did. For example: “What information did you use to guess that Lifestyle A is the United States?”

Use Slide 11 to show which country is associated with which lifestyle.

• Ask students if this is what they were expecting.
• Use Slide 12 of the presentation to ask, “Why do you think these countries have different carbon emissions?”
• Invite students to share ideas with the class.
• Students may notice that France has a very low emission rate associated with its electricity use, even though citizens from that country use a lot of electricity per capita. If this comes up, tell students that France generates a lot of electricity using nuclear power generators, which do not emit carbon.

Display Slide 13 of the PPT.

• Tell students to stand up and find a partner.
• Display the first question. Give students 30 seconds to think about their answer, and then 1 minute to exchange their ideas with a partner.
• Invite a few pairs to share their ideas for this question with the class.
• Then, tell students to find a new partner.
• Display the next question and repeat the process.
• Go through the questions on the slide until you have answered all six questions.

Try to make connections between how our individual lifestyles choices can affect others around the world even though some effects of climate change (e.g. sea level) might not affect us directly.

Display Slide 14 of the 5.2 Carbon Emissions Jigsaw PPT.

• Conclusions: How do lifestyles in the United State affect the size of the Earth’s atmospheric CO₂ pool?
• Predictions: How can we choose to change our lifestyles?
• On a sheet of paper or a sticky note, have students individually answer the exit ticket questions. Depending on time, you may have students answer both questions, assign students to answer a particular question, or let students choose one question to answer. Collect and review the answers.
• The conclusions question will provide you with information about what your students are taking away from the activity. Student answers to the conclusions question can be used on the Driving Questions Board (if you are using one). The predictions question allows students to begin thinking about the next activity and allows you to assess their current ideas as you prepare for the next activity. Student answers to the predictions question can be used as a lead into the next activity.