Note: Preparations for Lesson 3 need to take place one month prior to conducting the lesson. The purpose of Lesson 3 is to help students understand why coal is considered a nonrenewable resource. To prepare, bury half an apple outside about one month before Lesson 3 begins. During Lesson 3, guide students to dig up the apple and record what they see.
- Activity 1: How Long Is Long?
Students will be investigating change over time to an apple. They will be comparing an apple left outside for two days and an apple buried outside one month prior to the lesson. Students are to be placed into groups. Note: If an apple core was buried one month prior, students will use it to conduct this investigation. If an apple core was not buried, a video may be used to demonstrate the change.
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Tell each group they are going to place their fruit in a plastic, resealable bag and label the bag with a group name.
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Have students place the fruit in a sunny undisturbed area of the schoolyard.
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Give students each a copy of View of Two Apples worksheet (S-3-1-3_View of Two Apples Worksheet.doc).
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Have students draw a picture of their apple at day 1 and predict what they think their apple will look like after day 2.
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Tell students they will leave the fruit for one day, then collect the fruit and observe.
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Tell students they will dig up the apple previously buried for one month or view a video showing an apple rotting.
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Have students predict what they think the apple will look like after two days and then after one month.
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Have students dig up the previously buried apple or view the video http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX7b6a5f426f7f5d7d5a7059&t=Time-Lapse-Videos (“rotten apple”)
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Have students draw a picture and discuss what both apples looked like and answer the questions on the View of Two Apples worksheet.
Activity 2: What Is It?
Give each student a piece of peat moss, a lump of coal, and a clear stone similar to a diamond or a picture of a diamond. Have students examine each sample. Give students a graphic organizer titled Similarities and Differences (S-3-1-3_Similarities and Differences.doc). Have students complete the diagram by comparing the various samples. Ask students to share their responses written on the graphic organizer.
Have students identify each item. Ask, “What are all of these items? How are they alike?” Students may or may not know the names of each item. They may not know how each of these items is alike. Ask students if they have ever seen samples like these and where they have seen them.
Hold up the lump of coal. Tell students that this is a lump of coal. Explain to students that coal is mined from below the earth. “Have any of you seen anyone use coal? How was it used? One type of coal is called Anthracite. Anthracite is a type of coal that can be burned to give off heat. All of the anthracite that is mined in the United States comes from the northeastern part of Pennsylvania. When coal is burned we can say it gives us heat energy. Many factories use coal to heat water that produces steam that turns machines called turbines that create electricity. Ask, “Where does coal come from? Students may or may not know that coal is mined from under the ground and comes from fossil fuel. “What do you think of when you hear the words fossil fuel?” Note: Students sometimes have the misconception that fossil fuel comes from dinosaurs, however fossil fuel comes from plants that died and were covered by dirt and under heat and pressure over millions of years. “As we continue this lesson I want you to think about these two questions that I will ask again at the end of the lesson: Where does the heat energy come from? If coal comes from underground, how did it get there?” Display these two questions in the room to be reviewed at the end of the lesson/
Ask students to remember the apple investigation, and think about all these items being related to coal. “Can anyone think how these three objects relate to coal?” Students may be able to now make the connection that these items show coal in different stages of change. “What is a renewable resource? What is a nonrenewable resource?”
Think about the apple investigation that was done. “What did you notice about the two apples? Which apple showed the most change? Did the change to the apple happen fast or slow? Now think about this peat moss changing into this lump of coal. Do you think it happen quickly or slowly? What about this coal changing into this diamond did it happen quickly or slowly? Where did the peat moss come from?”
Share with students pictures of how scientists think coal is formed available at http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=coal_home-basics . “Where did the plants get their energy from?” (the sun) “When the plants were buried underground they had stored energy. It took over a million years for the decayed plants to change into peat moss then into coal. If this lump of coal had not been dug up and left in the ground, after many more years it would change into a diamond.”
“Let’s think about our definition of nonrenewable resources. How was coal formed? Why do you think coal is called a nonrenewable resource? Where does the heat energy come from? If coal comes from underground, how did it get there?”
Give each student a Comparing Apples to Coal worksheet (S-3-1-3_Comparing Apples to Coal.doc). Have students complete the Venn diagram (S-3-1-3_Apples and Coal Venn Diagram.doc).
List the following words on the board or chart paper: sun, water, wood, wind, coal, oil, and fossil fuel. Tell students to copy the word list then determine if the resource is renewable or nonrenewable. Write “renewable” or “nonrenewable,” whichever is appropriate, next to each word.
Extension:
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Students who are going beyond the standards can investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using coal energy.
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Students going beyond the standards can create a timeline and sequence how plants changed into diamonds.
