Department of Energy Academies Creating Teacher Scientists, Department of Energy,
This activity focuses on applying analytic tools such as pie charts and bar graphs to gain a better understanding of practical energy use issues. It also provides experience with how different types of data collected affect the outcome of statistical visualization tools.
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Frequent check-ins while student teams are working on this project would be beneficial.
A solid grounding or background in basic statistics will help learners grasp the analysis used in this activity.
Comments from expert scientist:
Scientific strengths:
- Students are in charge of both collecting and analyzing their own data. I like this -- they get a whole-picture experience, going from no data to full analysis on their own.
- It's also nice that this is a very tangible lab in that students get to see how much power everyday electronics, present in their own lives, draw.
- I also love how the students are in charge of coming up with their own questions, posing their own hypotheses, and then testing them. The full scientific method is employed here, which is awesome!
Suggestions:
- I think it would be nice for the students to develop an understanding of what their findings mean in the context of their everyday lives (and what this may mean with regards to the importance of energy efficiency).
A math activity about energy - students will learn about energy usage. Requires familiarity with certain numerical analysis and data interpretation tools such as Excel that may be more appropriate for higher grade levels.
Students collect data they use in the activity using a powder meter. Data analysis is done with a TI-84 calculator and Excel.
This lesson was written for a high school AP statistics course. The statistical math skills needed to successfully complete the Power Metering activity are clearly outlined. The team-based assessment asks students to apply their skills outside of class time. There are multiple ways students can apply statistical skills learned in this activity to their own home power consumption.
The lesson provides the questions that students can investigate, and then the data collection is up to the students.
Formative assessments and assessment in the form of an analytical report can be added to enrich this activity but should be grounded in an understanding of statistics.
