STEM Chemistry

Reviews, ideas, or complete lesson plans. Please include the subject and perhaps the appropriate grade level in your subject line.
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rlmccarthy

STEM Chemistry

Post by rlmccarthy »

My county is implementing a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Program this coming year and I am co-teaching STEM chemistry and algebra 2. I wanted to incorporate energy conservation and transfer into our curriculum via engineering/technology projects. My hope is to inspire the future renewable/inexhaustable energy scientist for our future generations. If anyone has ideas for this "engineering challenges" please email me, rlmccarthy [[at]] smcps.org.
Thank You!!!
shawn
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Location: Cambridge, Mass.

Engineering challenges for STEM chemistry

Post by shawn »

One big chemical engineering challenge for sustainable energy is to make better-performing batteries. Could you have students learn about the manufacturing process, try to make some batteries in the classroom, and discuss how they might turn them into salable items?
shawn
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Posts: 344
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:41 am
Location: Cambridge, Mass.

STEM Chemistry energy transfer engineering

Post by shawn »

You might be able to generate hydrogen from wind using a tabletop turbine and a small fuel cell. At the Massachusetts Science Fair, I reviewed a project where students used a LEGO motor as a generator to power LEDs in series, thus proving the dynamo could provide enough voltage to make it through the diodes. If so, then it could also run a fuel cell backwards to make hydrogen, and you can power the motor with a table top wind turbine.
http://kidwind.org
You would be covering energy transformations, and you could use some simple algebra to combine losses at each step, perhaps.
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