KEEP Basic Energy Concepts: Web Sites



Basic Energy Concepts Web Sites

The following websites provide information about basic energy concepts that may be helpful to KEEP ad hoc instructors, KEEP course participants, teachers, and students. A brief description of the contents of each website, along with grade level information, is included.

1. Science in Focus: Energy



A video series from the Annenberg Foundation produced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in 2002. The series provides a survey of energy concepts through a series of one-hour long video “workshops”. The series was developed for K-6 science teachers, but is appropriate for anyone who wants a comprehensive review of basic energy concepts. Each topic includes simple classroom demonstrations, many of which can easily be recreated by viewers. Highly recommended. All the video workshops can be streamed directly to a computer for viewing. Topics include:

1: What is Energy?

2: Force and Work

3: Transfer and Conversion of Energy

4: Energy in Cycles

5: Energy in Food

6: Energy in Systems

7: Heat, Work, and Efficiency

8: Understanding Energy

2. The Mechanical Universe



Another video series from the Annenberg Foundation that covers most of the topics found in a one-year upper level high school and college level physics curriculum. Some episodes discuss energy topics directly, while others relate energy concepts to other physics phenomena. The video topics use everyday examples, computer graphics, and physics demonstrations effectively to teach physics and energy concepts. Many topics also feature higher-level mathematical analysis that supports the concepts. It is not necessary to understand the math to learn about the topics (although it is sometimes fun watching equations magically solve themselves step-by-step as the narrator discusses a solution to a problem). The Mechanical Universe was produced by the California Institute of Technology and Intelecom in 1985. Strongly recommended. All the video workshops can be streamed directly to a computer for viewing. Recommended video topics that discuss energy and energy-related concepts include:

Conservation of Energy (episode 13)

Potential Energy (episode 14)

Voltage, Energy, and Force (episode 31)

The Electric Battery (episode 32)

Electric Circuits (episode 33)

Alternating Current (episode 38)

Engine of Nature (episode 46)

Entropy (episode 47)

3. U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Kids: What is Energy?



This section of the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Energy Kids” Web site investigates basic energy concepts through topics such as Energy Basics, Energy Units Basics, and Forms of Energy. The Energy Calculators section allows users to convert from one energy resource unit to another. The Web site provides a good starting point for both teachers and students to begin learning about basic energy concepts, but does not provide as comprehensive an understanding of energy as some of the other Web sites and tutorials do. Recommended.

The Energy Kids Web site also features a History of Energy page that includes an “Energy Timeline” and “Famous People”: bibliographic entries of people who contributed to the science of energy and the development of energy technology



4. University of Colorado: PhET (Physics Education Technology) Interactive Simulations



This Web site provides a set of interactive simulations that demonstrate physics and other science concepts, including some that investigate energy and environmental phenomena. Numerous simulations exist, with new ones being added over time. The simulations are set up for users to learn science concepts directly by using the simulations themselves, instead of by reading a set of instructions beforehand. Most simulations include lesson plans created by teachers for all grade levels, many of which provide instructions and background information that users may find helpful. Recommended energy and energy-related simulations include:

Battery-Resistor Circuit Energy Skate Park

Battery Voltage Generator

Circuit Construction Kit (AC + DC) John Travoltage

Circuit Construction Kit (DC Only) Nuclear Fission

Eating and Exercise Ohm’s Law

Electric Field of Dreams The Ramp

5. The Physics Classroom: Work, Energy, and Power



Part of a high school-level physics tutorial, the “chapter” on work, energy, and power provides information about these concepts, with some mathematics explanations added. The tutorial also includes chapters on electricity. Recommended for those who want to explore work, energy, and power concepts more thoroughly.

6. How Everything Works: Explaining the Physics of Everyday Life



University of Virginia physics professor Louis A. Bloomfield takes a “how does it work” approach to explaining physics and energy, one which some may find preferable to learning energy concepts first and then applying them later on. Bloomfield’s Web site includes supplements from his textbook “How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life” that discuss the workings of technologies such as batteries, electric power distribution, elevators, nuclear reactors, oil refineries, and thermometers and thermostats. The Web site also includes answers to physics and energy questions sent by readers, textbook information, links and videos. Bloomfield’s Web site and books provide a wonderful compliment to Web sites and other sources that address basic energy concepts.

7. The NEED Project



The National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, an energy education organization based in Manassas, Virginia, provides teaching materials covering a wide range of energy topics. Two energy guides that cover basic energy concepts are the ”Science of Energy [Grades 4-8] and the “Secondary Science of Energy [Grades 9-12]”. Both guides bundle lesson plans, demonstrations, and experiments with summaries of some basic energy concepts. The guides provide an adequate starting point for learning about energy, but do not provide as comprehensive an understanding of energy as some of the other Web sites and tutorials do.

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