SCI-Talks Fall 2013

Energy
Title: We Used How Much Electricity?

Materials:
Electric Meter at Facility
Data Sheet
Graph Sheet

FOCUS Question: How much electricity does the after school facility use over the course of a
week?
GETTING READY
This investigation will take approximately 60 minutes. It is important to decide the span of time
for data gathering, preferably a week but a minimum of four days.
Electricity is brought from the source where it is generated through wires attached to tall poles.
Wires branch off from these main wires and go to each facility or house. They may be above
ground or underground. At most facilities or homes, the wires split into several different
circuits. The electric meter records the amount of energy used by all the electrical circuits in a
building. The energy is measured in kilowatt-hours, 1000 watts of power for one hour of time.
The formula for kilowatt-hours is (watts x hours)/1000.
There is increasing concern about conserving electricity, both for financial reasons and because
the supply of electricity is limited. The amount of electricity used is affected by climate; hot
summers, for example trigger the need for air conditioning. The number of persons in a
household affects the amount of hot water needed for bathing and washing clothes as well as
the use of cooking appliances. Personal diligence in turning off unneeded lights, decreasing hot
water use, buying energy-efficient appliances and adjusting the thermostat contributes to
conservation efforts.
Content/Inquiry ideas to be developed in the lesson:
Students will:
Become aware of the electrical energy consumption at the facility by reading the
electric meter
Learn ways to conserve
This lesson will involve Physical Science (electricity) as well as Environmental Science
(conservation). In addition, math skills in the form of graphing and whole number operations
(subtraction) are utilized.
WORD BANK ENTRIES to post in the Folder Charts:
Conservation

ENGAGE
Ask the students how much electricity they believe is used at their home.
Record some of their estimates on the white board in the room.
Ask the students how they could determine the exact amount of electricity used at their
home (meter).
Discuss ways they could help reduce the electric bill at their home.
Assess understanding and answer any questions that the students have.
EXPLORE
Explorable or FOCUS Question: How much electricity does the after school facility use over
the course of a week?
After students have discussed the question, as the FOCUS Question and write it
somewhere in the room for students to see. Have students write it in their notebooks
along with the date.
Ask the students to record an estimate of the amount of electricity used at the facility in
their notebook.
Field Trip!! Students are taken outside to the location of the electric meter. The
workings of the meter are shown and each student will be able to determine the current
reading to record.
After returning from the field trip, students will be given the Data Sheet to record the
information from todays meter reading. To facilitate subtraction, the students will
record todays reading on the top line of the chart.
Students will be provided additional data that has been gathered the previous week.
This data will be inserted into the chart.
Students will calculate the Difference column and the total kilowatt hours (kWh) used.
The students will also be encouraged to find the average usage per day.
Students will then be given the Graph Sheet. They will be guided by asking these
questions:
1. What labels do we need?
2. What shall we count by to label the kilowatt hours axis?
Students will be instructed to complete their graphs.
EXPLAIN
Students will study the results of their Data and Graph Sheets and write two statements
about the information.
How much electricity does your facility use per week? Do you think it will be about the
same next week? Explain.
How does weather affect electricity use? Do you think the amount of electrical usage
will increase, decrease or stay the same over the next couple of months?
What could be done to help the facility conserve electricity?
ELABORATE/EXTEND
Ask the students to explain how the owner of the facility can find the cost of the
electricity used?
What if data were gathered at 4pm one day and 7pm the next day? Does it make a
difference when figuring the daily usage?
If you were given the data from the nearby church, could you determine their energy
usage?
EVALUATE
Ask students if they could utilize the information they obtained today to determine the
electricity usage at their home.
What might cause differences in the electricity used from family to family?
In what ways are you (or could you) and your family trying to conserve electricity at
home?
Students should record their answers to these questions in their notebook.
Conclude with a SCIENCE TALK. Encourage students to share their answers to the above
questions with the class.

Reference:
This lesson was adapted from a lesson entitled Meter Readers, which was developed by the
AIMS Education Foundation, Fresno, California in 2007.