Global Systems Science:  Energy Flow, 2002

Topics:  Energy, Energy Sources

Source:  National Institute for Global Environmental Change (NIGEC), National Science Foundation (NSF), and NASA

Web address: http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/gss (for more information and ordering books)

Grade Levels:  MS/HS

Learning strategies:  Readings, reflection, some hands-on activities

Frameworks Connections:

Science and Technology/Engineering

• Earth and Space Science, Grades 6-8

  Heat Transfer in the Earth System

• Earth and Space Science, Grades 9-10

  1. Matter and Energy in the Earth System
  2. The Earth’s Sources of Energy
  3. Earth Processes and Cycles

• Life Sciences, Grades 6-8

  Living Things and Their Environment

Cost:  Books $7-12 each, (.50 license fee), CD-ROM’s $19 each

Description: Energy Flow is a guide about the way energy flows through the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living things. Lawrence Hall of Science of the University of California, Berkeley, explores the concept of energy flow through the topics of erupting volcanoes, the causes of thunderstorms and tornadoes, and the causes of El Nino.  The text includes background readings about the topics involved in energy flow with checkpoint questions throughout the readings.  With these supplementary readings and activities to enrich and engage, students are asked to think about how the flow of energy through earth systems affects their daily lives and how life might be different in the future.  For example, to understand the earth’s inner core and the heat within, students build on an investigation on convection currents while examining density and the carbon cycle. 

As a follow-up to the booklet, students are asked to reflect on the information they have reviewed and make connections to their own lives and the relevant topics by which they are affected.  The booklet contains further references and several websites that can be used to complement the information within the booklet.