Energy Investigations

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Traditional Aboriginal Knowledge

Energy Investigations


© 2002 American Geological Institute. http://www.agiweb.org

Contents: All Activities and Investigations
Investigation 1
Investigation 2
Investigation 3
Investigation 4
Investigation 5
Investigation 6
Investigation 7
Investigation 8




Investigation 1 -- Tracing Electricity to Its Source To learn more about this topic, visit the following web sites: What are fossil fuels? What are the advantages and disadvantages of generating energy from fossil fuels?  What is electricity? How does energy move from the source, through the wire, and into a home or building? What natural resources are needed for a power plant to work? How do turbines work? Back to top
Investigation 2 -- Uses of Energy Resources How do you measure energy? To learn more about the quantities of nonrenewable resources left in reserves, visit the following web sites: To learn more about coal, visit the following web sites: What is coal? Where and how is coal mined in the US? What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with coal use?  To learn more about petroleum, visit the following web sites: What is petroleum? Where are petroleum reserves concentrated in the US? What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with petroleum use? To learn more about natural gas, visit the following web sites: What is natural gas? Where and how is natural gas distributed in the US? In the World? What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with natural gas use?  To learn more about nuclear energy, visit the following web sites: What is nuclear energy? Where is nuclear waste stored the US? In the world? What are the benefits of using nuclear energy? What are the problems associated with nuclear energy use? Back to top
Investigation 3 -- How Fossil Fuels are Formed To learn more about fossil fuels and their formation, visit the following web sites: What are the varieties of coal? How are natural gas and petroleum related? Back to top
Investigation 4 -- Sources and Uses of Petroleum To learn more about the distribution and consumption of petroleum resources, visit the following web sites: Where are the world's petroleum resources located? What are tar sands?
 
Back to top
Investigation 5 -- Exploring for Petroleum What do geologists look for when they explore for oil? Back to top
Investigation 6 -- Solar Energy Explore these web sites to learn about renewable energy sources: Photovoltaic cells Wind What are solar heaters? What are the advantages and disadvantages of renewable energy?  Back to top
Investigation 7 -- Using Energy Resources Wisely To learn more about heat transfer, visit the following web sites: Conduction Convection Radiation To learn more about insulation, visit the following web sites: What are insulators? To learn more about ways to conserve energy, visit the following web sites:
Buildings (http://www.eren.doe.gov/EE/buildings.html)
Transportation (http://www.eren.doe.gov/EE/transportation.html)
Industry (http://www.eren.doe.gov/EE/industry.html)
Power (http://www.eren.doe.gov/EE/power.html)
Transportation Issues Back to top
Resources:
Visit the Energy Information Administration to obtain the following resources (http://eia.doe.gov/) Web Sites:
https://www.saveonenergy.com/how-electricity-works/
Maps: Videos: Magazines: