A WEBQUEST ACTIVITYDESIGNED BY MR. ELING

WAYPOINT ACADEMY

Energy and the Earth’s Systems

Congratulations! President Obama has just appointed you as the new Secretary

of Energy!

Your responsibilities as head of the Department of

Energy include reducing America's reliance on

foreign oil, creating new jobs, and spurring

technological innovation.

Are you up to the task?

Introduction

Introduction » Task » Process » Evaluation » Conclusion » Credit

Task

Introduction » Task » Process » Evaluation » Conclusion » Credit

The world’s population relies on energy of all kinds. Energy is the ability to

cause change. Some energy resources on Earth are being used up faster than

natural processes can replace them. These resources are called fossil fuels

and are nonrenewable. Most of the energy resources used to generate

electricity are nonrenewable.

How soon the world runs out of fossil fuels depends on how they are used

and conserved. Fortunately, there are inexhaustible energy resources.

These sources of energy are constant and will not run out in the future as

fossil fuels will. Inexhaustible energy resources include the Sun, wind, water,

and geothermal energy.

The president has requested an update on the status of our nation’s renewable and nonrenewable energy resources! Your task is to have a complete report ready in time

for the next White House summit. Will you be ready?

1. Use the Energy Information Administration and Department of Energy links provided in the credits to research the following energy sources: biopower, fossil fuel, geothermal, hydroelectric, nuclear, solar, and wind.

2. Create a Power Point presentation that shows the pros (advantages) and cons (disadvantages) of each energy source as well as your predictions for the future of each source of energy.

3. Present your findings and analysis to the president at the next White House energy summit.

Process

Introduction » Task » Process » Evaluation » Conclusion » Credit

Evaluation

Group WorkAll group members:

• participate• share ideas

• share tasks equally• complete assigned tasks

(25pts)

Ideas/Content• information is accurate

• relates to overall purpose • includes group members names

•group topic is clear

(25pts)

Language/Mechanics• organization/structure is clear• correct grammar/punctuation

• no spelling errors

(25pts)

Presentation/Organization• minimum of 8 slides

• appropriate, well-placed graphics• all elements contribute to overall project

• back ground and text work together• slides are organized and easy to follow

(25pts)

Introduction » Task » Process » Evaluation » Conclusion » Credit

Oil fields in Texas, like the one shown here, harbor some of the

world’s richest reserves of energy resources.

In this WebQuest activity, you learned about the many different

types of energy resources that humans extract from the Earth.

Know that you are done, hopefully you’ll better appreciate the

importance of conserving those resources – especially those that are extracted faster than nature

can preserve them.

Conclusion

Introduction » Task » Process » Evaluation » Conclusion » Credit

Energy Information Administration

Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government

US Department of EnergyEnergy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Renewable Resources Map

Renewable Energy Technologies Data

Credit

Introduction » Task » Process » Evaluation » Conclusion » Credit