Appliance science
The EU has imposed limits on the power ratings of vacuum cleaners, and further limits on other appliances could soon be in place. In this activity students consider a further (fictional) future restriction, on home electricity use. Students calculate the energy transferred daily by the appliances they use. They are then set the challenge of deciding how to cut their personal electricity consumption - do they go for a shorter shower or banish blow-dries?
Learning objective
- Solve a problem using scientific knowledge of the power ratings of electrical appliances and the energy they transfer.
Blueprint curriculum link
- Unit: Home electricity
- Concept: Power: Power is a quantity that measures how quickly energy is transferred. The power of an electrical device depends on the potential difference across it and the current through it.
- Skills: Algebra: Substitute numerical values into algebraic equations using appropriate units for physical quantities
- Learning stage: Analyse
Activity contents
- Teachers guide
- PowerPoint file
The activity is delivered as a zip file. After you checkout, you will be sent an email with the link to download it.
Weblinks
The news story that the activity was based on.
Draft proposal which outlines possibilities for future restrictions on electrical appliances.
I modified this activity to be done as an IPAD activity and got outstanding for my lesson observation. Students followed the powerpoint and did all the calculations independently and each child worked at their own pace. Happy to share my modified version.
Related activities
You may also like:
Santa 2055
You may also like:
Eat insects at Xmas
You may also like:
One Father Christmas
You may also like:
Starter: Our Black Hole
You may also like:
Starter: Life from Space
You may also like:
Energy savers
I modified this activity to be done as an IPAD activity and got outstanding for my lesson observation. Students followed the powerpoint and did all the calculations independently and each child worked at their own pace. Happy to share my modified version.