Middle School Activity Guide 3/22/04 11:33 AM Page 1 TABLE of CONTENTS
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Middle School Activity Guide 3/22/04 11:33 AM Page 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents INTRODUCTION a.Welcome to the World of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells!....................................................................1 b. Knowledge Inventories i. Pre-Knowledge Inventory ......................................................................................................3 ii. Post-Knowledge Inventory ....................................................................................................5 HYDROGEN a. Introductory Activity — Mystery Scientist: Henry Cavendish ..................................................7 b. Hydrogen Mini-Lesson ..............................................................................................................11 c. How Do We Produce Hydrogen, Deliver, and Store Hydrogen? ..............................................15 i. Slide Show Activity Sheet......................................................................................................19 ii. Slide Show Activity Answer Sheet ......................................................................................21 iii. Slide Show Slides and Script ..............................................................................................23 iv. Electrolysis Experiment ......................................................................................................45 v. Electrolysis Experiment Activity Sheet ..............................................................................51 vi. Electrolysis Experiment Activity Answer Sheet ................................................................55 vii. Chemical Equations Slides and Script ..............................................................................57 d. Hydrogen Safety — Hindenburg Activity ................................................................................63 i. Hindenburg Questionnaire ..................................................................................................71 ii. Hindenburg Extension Activity ..........................................................................................73 FUEL CELLS a. Introductory Activity — Mystery Scientist: William Grove ......................................................75 b. How Do Fuel Cells Work? ............................................................................................................79 i. Activity Sheet ........................................................................................................................85 c. Fuel Cell Applications ..................................................................................................................87 i. Student Readings ..................................................................................................................89 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER – THE VISION OF A HYDROGEN ECONOMY a.The Vision ....................................................................................................................................95 i. Activity Sheet ........................................................................................................................99 APPENDICES a. Extension Ideas..........................................................................................................................101 b. Web Resources ..........................................................................................................................103 Table of Contents Middle School Activity Guide 3/22/04 11:33 AM Page 2 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the World of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells! The U.S. Department of Energy is pleased to present this Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Activity Guide, created to help interested teachers bring the exciting world of hydrogen and fuel cells to their students. Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity, with only water and heat as byproducts. Hydrogen — abundant, clean, and efficient — can be derived from diverse domestic resources such as natural gas and water. Hydrogen fuel cell technology offers the promise of a world in which energy is abundant, clean, reliable, and affordable. Hydrogen and fuel cells are topics not often covered in classrooms or traditional textbooks. The U.S. Department of Energy has designed this guide to include the following concepts: 1. In a “hydrogen economy,“ hydrogen is used to power our cars, homes, and businesses. 2. Hydrogen can be made from abundant and diverse resources found in the United States. 3. Fuel cells use hydrogen to create electricity with the only byproducts being water and heat (no pollutants or other emissions are released). 4. Fuel cells can be used to power almost anything from laptops and phones to cars and homes. 5. Just like gasoline and other fuels, hydrogen can be used safely. Note to Teachers: Teachers and students may recognize a few of the activities found in this guide. Great efforts have been made, however, to adapt traditional lessons to follow an inquiry-based approach and actively engage students in the subject material.This activity guide uses several techniques to encourage students to document their thoughts, ideas, and questions. Class discussions follow most activities, which allow students to discuss and share their thoughts — and learn from each other. Common misunderstandings may emerge in these discussions, and teachers can address them at that time or in follow-up lessons.Traditional activity sheets are also provided for most lessons as an alternative to using inquiry-based science journaling or note-taking techniques described in the extension section at the end of this guide. The Pre-Knowledge Inventory provided in this guide is intended for students prior to instruction to gauge their baseline knowledge (and should not be graded).The Post-Knowledge Inventory should be administered after completing the lessons to measure what has been learned.Teachers may wish to use this as a formal graded assessment. This guide maps to the National Research Council’s National Science Teaching Standards, as well as National Standards in Language Arts and Social Studies. 1 Welcome to the World of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells! Middle School Activity Guide 3/22/04 11:33 AM Page 3 INTRODUCTION Four basic sections comprise the guide: I. Introduction II. Hydrogen III. Fuel Cells IV. Putting It All Together — The Vision of the Hydrogen Economy This CD contains the multimedia support files referenced in this guide.Where PowerPoint slides are indicated, the actual PowerPoint files are located on the CD. Notes pages with thumbnails of each slide and its accompanying text are included in this guide for your reference. For display purposes, you can either show the slides from the CD or print transparencies from the CD. We hope that you will share our excitement in educating young people about hydrogen and fuel cells and encourage you to share this guide with colleagues and others. Additional copies are available free of charge from DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Information Center at 877-EERE-INF(O) and can be downloaded from DOE’s hydrogen and fuel cell web site, www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/education.html. We would appreciate your feedback regarding the usefulness of this activity guide, suggested changes, and results from the pre- and post-knowledge inventories.To share your comments and to remain on our mailing list, please visit www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/education.html. 2 Welcome to the World of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells! Middle School Activity Guide 3/22/04 11:33 AM Page 4 INTRODUCTION Pre-Knowledge Inventory Directions to students: This knowledge inventory is designed to help you and your teacher understand what you already know about hydrogen and fuel cells.This will not be graded.You will have another opportunity to answer the same questions and demonstrate what you have learned after completing this unit. 1.What is meant by the hydrogen economy? Circle the best answer. a. Stocks rise and are said to be “lighter than air.“ b. Paper money can be produced using hydrogen as its main ingredient. c. Hydrogen will be used to provide our power needs. d. Shares of hydrogen will be traded on the stock market. 2. How is hydrogen produced? Circle the best answer. a. By using electricity to separate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. b. Naturally, using certain types of algae. c. By extracting it from natural gas, coal, and other fossil fuels. d. All of the above. 3.What are the benefits of using hydrogen as a form of energy? Circle the best answer. a. Hydrogen can be found in the U.S. in pockets concentrated in the Pacific Northwest. b. Hydrogen can be used to create electricity cleanly — with only water and heat as byproducts. c. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells have moving parts that wear out very quickly. d. Hydrogen is currently cheaper to produce than gasoline. True or False ________ 4. Fuel cells have been used by NASA to provide power aboard the Space Shuttle. ________ 5. When handled properly, hydrogen is safe to use in our personal vehicles. ________ 6. Hydrogen is the heaviest element on earth. ________ 7. Fuel cells produce electricity. ________ 8. Hydrogen is a gas and does not exist as a liquid. ________ 9. There are many kinds of fuel cells. ________10. Fuel cells have no moving parts and operate completely silently. 3 Pre-Knowledge Inventory Middle School Activity Guide 3/22/04 11:33 AM Page 5 INTRODUCTION 11. Circle all of the following items that could be powered safely by hydrogen fuel cells. a. Cars b. CD players c. Vacuum