National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)

Topics:  Biomass, Hydrogen/Fuel Cell

Source:  NETL, which is part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy.  Developed by teachers.

Web Address:  http://www.netl.doe.gov/coolscience/teach.html, under the Lesson Plans Developed for NETL Technologies at bottom of page.  See lesson plans 1, 4 and 6.

Grade Levels:   9-12

Learning Strategies:  Direct question/list making; students apply science knowledge to trace real-world energy flow; cooperative problem solving; open discussion; evaluative questioning; demonstration/experiment; vocabulary development.

Frameworks Connections:

Science and Technology/Engineering

• Earth and Space Science, Grades 9-10

  2. The Earth’s Sources of Energy

• Chemistry, Grades 9-10 ,11

  9. Equilibrium and Kinetics
  10. Thermochemistry

• Physics, Grades 9-10

  5. Electromagnetism

Cost:  Free download

Description: The NETL provides a “Teacher’s Lounge” with different materials, resources, and links for science education.  Three separate lesson plans are included, two of which deal with biomass and one with hydrogen fuel cells.  The lesson plans vary in length and content.  One of the biomass lesson plans is short and focuses on presenting a brainstorming question to students.  The other biomass lesson is more complete. 

The fuel cell lesson plan is long and detailed, taking five class periods, and includes background information, diagrams, procedures, and worksheets.  The latter two lesson plans involve hands-on experiments.