An Introduction to Solar Energy, Force,
and Motion
©Christine G. Schnittka, Ph.D.
Unit Overview

The goal in Save the Seabirds is to get
the students to make connections
between the plight of the sea birds, oil
spills, energy consumption, alternative
sources of energy for transportation, the
role of engineering in society, and the
engineering design process.
Science Concepts
Energy can be converted from one form to
another
 Energy can be utilized in different ways
such as high voltage for high speed and
high current for high torque.
 Motors convert electrical energy into
mechanical energy.
 Friction has constructive uses and
predictable behavior.

Engineering Concepts
Engineers use a design process to solve
real world problems.
 Engineers work within constraints (time,
materials, space, money) and use
scientific knowledge and creativity to
design solutions to problems.
 Engineers design, test, re-design and
re-test.
 They build prototypes based on their
test data and document their designs
and tests.

Pre-Assessment
 Save
The Seabirds is funded in
part by the National Science
Foundation. Therefore, we are
required to pre- and post-test for
this training. Thank You for
participating!
What is Engineering?

Same presentation that was in Save the
Penguins.
ENGINEERS, WHAT IS WRONG WITH
THIS PICTURE?
Heron in Barataria Bay, Louisiana.
Photo credit: Gerald Hebert
Source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/oil_reaches_louisiana_shores.html
WHAT HAPPENED HERE?
Photo credit: Charlie Riedel
Source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html
Photo credit: Charlie Riedel
Source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html
DO YOU REMEMBER THE 2010 OIL
SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO?
Photo credit: US Coast Guard
Source: http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=836285
WHAT HAPPENED?
An oil rig named Deepwater Horizon exploded
in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010.
Eleven people working there died.
The explosion caused oil to begin leaking out.
It leaked for 87 days.
WHAT ARE OIL RIGS?
An oil rig is a structure built in the ocean to support
pipes and drills used to remove oil from underground
wells. There are many gas and oil rigs in the Gulf of
Mexico. How many?
3858 – 1 (the one that exploded)
= 3857
Image credit: NOAA
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gulf_Coast_Platforms.jpg
Image credit: Caroline Higgins
Source: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/oil-rig-explosion-off-the-coast/
HOW MUCH OIL LEAKED?
160 of these PER DAY
A total of 800,000 gallons of oil
PER DAY
In total, it leaked an
estimated 94,000,000
to 184,000,000 gallons.
That is the equivalent of 35,000 swimming pools.
WHERE WAS THE LEAK EXACTLY?
The explosion and leak occurred 40 miles from the
Louisiana coast and 1 mile underwater.
Located here
Image credit:
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501oil-spill-tracker.html
This image shows where
in the Gulf the oil leaked.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spilltracker.html
WHY DO WE NEED OIL?
To power all of this…
MORE SPECIFICALLY, WE USE IT TO
POWER THE COMBUSTION ENGINE.
HOW DOES OIL MAKE AN ENGINE RUN?
So, we use oil for transportation …
Is this the only way for us to get
the energy we need?
WHAT ABOUT GETTING ENERGY FROM
THE SUN? AN ENDLESS SOURCE OF
CLEAN ENERGY?
Solar energy can only
power small vehicles,
though.
RIGHT?!
WRONG!
This is a solar bus in Australia called Tindo. It is
currently being used for mass transportation!
But, it can’t go very fast. Right?
Wrong!
This is a train
engineers are
proposing to use in
Arizona. It will be
powered by solar
cells and will cut a
trip through the
desert that usually
takes 2.5 hours down
to a 30 minute zip!
It will be called “The
Bullet.”
WHAT ABOUT WATER TRAVEL?
NO PROBLEM!
In Australia, they
are currently
using this fully
solar powered
ferry!
WHAT DO AUSTRALIA AND ARIZONA
HAVE IN COMMON?
Very little cloud cover. That makes them great
candidates for solar technology.
What about the rest of the world? Can
you still get energy from the sun with
clouds in the sky?
YES!
In Belgium, which has a climate very similar
to Canada, engineers have designed 2 miles of
solar panels. With this, they can power 4000
trains!
SUMMARY:
If we change the way we get the energy we need to move
people and things… to a clean energy source, such as
solar energy, we can keep this…
…from ever
happening
again.
Photo credit: Charlie Riedel
Source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html
SO ENGINEERS, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO
Storyboard
Team
name
What is the problem?
Matchbox Car






What will happen when a shine a light on
these cars?
What is happening to the car that moved?
Where does it get the energy to move?
Either explain solar panels to the students
or show a video clip.
What kind of energy conversion is
happening in the car?
What happens when the car moves up the
ramp?
During all of these conversions, was any
energy lost?
Storyboard
Make a storyboard entry about the
solar car and the energy transformations
that you observed.
 Choose one more topic to storyboard.
Suggested topics:

 picture of how a combustion engine works
 seabirds and the oil spill
 define different kinds of energy