UPD8

Here comes the sun

Learning objectives

Pupils should be able to evaluate whether using the Sun's energy to generate electricity is viable in the UK and to evaluate the economic, environmental and social impact of the different methods given.

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Curriculum link

AQA Core - Unit Biology 1b: Evolution and Environment
11.8 How do humans affect the environment?
Unit Physics 1a: Energy and Electricity
13.4 How should we generate the electricity we need?
Edexel 360 core - Topic 10: You're in Charge
Gateway Core Science - MODULE P2: LIVING FOR THE FUTURE
Item: P2a Collecting Energy from the Sun

Running the activity

The Beatles song 'Here comes the Sun' could be played as class enter.

Starter activity (10 minutes)
Show the students the first page which introduces the activity. You could also have a solar cell connected to a voltmeter, with a light shining on it and view the video about the solar furnace power plant from the BBC news website.

Main activity (35 minutes)
The second page explains 3 different ways of converting solar energy into electricity: using solar panels, which use light to produce electricity directly; burning biomass, which is plant matter, and using a solar furnace to produce steam. Teachers may want to point out that there are 2 main types of solar panels which use completely different technologies to make use of the energy from the sun: solar water heating collectors, which absorb the energy from the sun and transfer it to heat water; and photovoltaic or solar electric panels, which transform the solar radiation directly into electricity. This activity only refers to photovoltaic or solar electric panels.

The students have �100 million to fund these projects. They must decide where the money goes. They can split the money e.g. decide �10 million on one, �50 million on another and �40 million on the third. Each group must then write a report to justify their decision from the evidence provided. The next two pages are evidence cards which give information about the three types of electricity generation. There is a mixture of social, economical and environmental arguments.

Students should work in groups to look through the cards. For them to process the information they should be encouraged to categorise the cards e.g. evidence for each method of generation, further categorised into for and against. Higher ability students could group them into social, economical and environmental arguments. At this point a class discussion could be used to go through some of the advantages and disadvantages of each method. A problem with both solar furnaces and solar panels is that energy needs to be stored for use at night. Teachers may want to point out that during the day, excess energy can be used to charge batteries. It is then stored as chemical energy until the battery is discharged.

Plenary (10 minutes)
Each group feedback their allocation of money. This could be recorded so students can see the most popular choice. At this point a good discussion point would be: Is this method of using the Sun's energy really viable in the UK?

Possible extension
Practical activities to investigate the efficiency of photovoltaic cells and solar heating

Web links

News links

BBC

BBC news story about the solar furnace power plant in Spain. Includes a video clip and graphics explaining how it works.

Photovoltaic

Information explaining how photovoltaic cells work. Suitable only for higher level students.

Solar Towers

Another idea to harness the Sun's energy to provide electricity is the use of solar towers. This website explains what this new technology is. Follow the link half-way down the page to see a good video about it.

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