Student Worksheet

Tune In: How much electricity did you use today?

Instructions: In this activity you will be working out how much energy you use on average over one day. Follow the instructions to fill in Table 1.

Step 1:

Write down the name of the appliance in column A. Write down the watts used for that appliance in column B. You also have a general guide to the wattage of many appliances. Only use the wattage printed on the appliance if you can easily see it without poking around.

Estimate how many hours you used the appliance for and write that figure down in column C.

Step 2:

In column D work out the units of electricity used. To do this:

Multiply the watts by hours used (column B x column C)
Divide by 1000
Write the answer into column E

Step 3:

In column F, write the cost by multiplying the units used by the price per unit.

You can find the unit price on the electricity bill. It is usually represented as rate c/kWh (cents per kilowatts). If you prefer, do your calculations on a spreadsheet application.

Act: Enviroweek Sparky Project Action Planning

In groups, you are to design your Sparky Action. The aim of the Sparky Action is for students to explore their day-to-day energy use and reduce it by switching off or dressing appropriately. Think outside the box but ensure that the details of your project are aligned with the SMART project design principles: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound.

Project Action Plan

Group Members:

Share

In small groups, students are to develop an informative multi-media presentation to convince the school community to use energy more wisely. The aim is to encourage people to reconsider how much energy they use and offer them alternatives.

Step 1.

Select a text type to produce from this list and the medium you will use to present your work:

Advertisement
Essay
Letter to the editor
Report
Speech

Consider these structural features of an informative text:

Introduction
Inclusion of a statement that summarises the main issue
Paragraphs that begin with topic sentences
Inclusion of supporting evidence

Step 2.

Draft the written content of your piece, then plan the multi-media element you wish to include.

This may be images, artworks, animations, diagrams, graphics, a sound or video recording or a combination of these elements using digital media.

Step 3.

Present your piece to an audience of your choice.

Enviroweek - Switching Off Impact

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