9. Hybrid and Electric Cars
This module reviews the history of the automobile and its varied power sources, culminating in the latest versions of hybrid and electric cars.

6. Energy from and to the Earth
This module compares the spatial availability of geothermal resources for heating and cooling and evaluates different ground exchange systems for practical application. The operation of enhanced geothermal systems ...

5. Passive Designs
In this module, we consider how the actual design and placement of buildings can be important considerations for energy efficiency, thereby optimizing winter heating and summer cooling needs. One of the simplest ...

8. Efficiency and Conservation
Household energy use accounts for a significant portion of the nation's energy use; therefore, an important aspect of energy conservation is having buildings that are energy efficient. In this activity, ...

2. Using Wind to do Work
This module shows students how wind (atmospheric circulation) is produced from solar radiation, gravity, and the spinning of Earth. It then develops the history of how humans have harnessed the power of the wind, ...

1. Electricity, Work, and Power
This module is designed to prepare students to better understand the other modules in the course. It is a review of basic high school-level physics, reminding students of the fundamentals of energy, work, power, ...

Unit 4: Fossil Fuel Formation
Students will explore various aspects of fossil fuels by examining the various ranks of coal and the processes by which coal, oil, and natural gas form.

Design an electric utility resource plan for 2025 and beyond
Students will design the integration of renewable or carbon neutral energy sources into the electricity generation mix of an example utility. The structure is a budget or a design or maybe even a puzzle where all ...

How Households in 4 Different U.S. States Use Energy
Students use energy information from the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2009 (most recent household compilation) in a jigsaw activity. Each student examines usage in a particular state and then the group ...

Powering the Future
This paper introduces a card exercise which allows students to make decisions about how best to provide electrical power to their country. Students must make choices between renewable and non-renewable electricity ...

Using 2-liter Bottles to Represent % of Energy Consumption by Source
Students will create a physical representation of a chart of "U.S. Energy Consumption by Source" using plastic 2-liter bottles and water. Students calculate % of source use to ounces and cups, measure ...

Energy and the Poor - Black Carbon in Developing Nations
In this activity, students will explore impacts of the use of wood, dung and charcoal in developing countries for fuel, producing black carbon. In-class discussion will generate a list of several broad topics, ...

Power Source
In this lesson-opening activity, students or groups are tasked to make concept sketches that track the source of electrical power as far back as they can conceive. The concept sketches reveal students' prior ...

Exploring the Link between Hurricanes and Climate using GCM Results
This activity requires students to examine global climate model output available online and consider the potential impact of global warming on tropical cyclone initiation and evolution. As a follow-up, students ...

Where does your energy come from? Analyzing your energy bill
Students use utility bills to determine the cost and sources of energy in their households.

Climate Change and Atlantic Hurricanes: A GIS Inquiry
Students make hypotheses about how hurricane numbers, locations, or intensities have been changing, and then use hurricane tracks, wind speed, barometric pressure, and dates to test their hypotheses.

Poleward Heat Transport Jigsaw
Based on great plate tectonic exercise by Sawyer et al. (2005 JGE), this small-group exercise with maps of data about earth's energy balance helps students visualize poleward heat transport.

Student Lead Discussions: Articles from the Literature and Final Writing Assignment
This is a two-stage assignment. The first stage is a student-led discussion of a set of closely related articles selected by the instructors from the climate change literature. The second stage is an 8-12 page ...

Are Clean Tech Startups Sustainable and/or Circular?
Students apply what they have learned from the common exercise to a clean tech startup company. They map out the lifecycle of the product or service, identify potential impacts in each phase, and evaluate the ...

Petroleum Use Jigsaw Activity/Homework
Students get one of 3 homework assignments. They then gather in groups, one that has completed each homework to answer questions as a group. The exercises estimate current oil usage, reserves, and amounts available ...