– Table of Contents – Unit 4 – Lesson 2 –
In this lesson, students will learn about the different fuels and how they work differently in vehicles in terms of efficiency and performance. They will learn how an electric car and internal combustion work. Then they will complete a puzzle that is a design of a vehicle. They will present their designs to the class, evaluate their vehicles for the effects on society and the environment, and revise their designs if they wish.
The students will:
Mathematics
Science
One or two 45-minute periods
Make enough copies of the car puzzle within the Student Activity Sheets so each group of two or three students will have a complete puzzle. This will be easier for the students to handle if it can be copied onto index stock. The first class to do this activity will need scissors to cut out the pieces. Each group will also need one or two copies of the tables found within the Student Activity Sheets.
Before doing this exercise, remind students of the terms "renewable," "non-renewable," and "sustainable." (See the Transportation and Air Pollution Glossary). Also, be sure they understand such terms as potential, kinetic, chemical, mechanical, and electrical energy, since they will need to use them in doing this activity.
Get your class talking about transportation. It will probably be easy to get them talking about cars, but see what they know about the fuels that keep their cars moving. Tell them that in this exercise they will be designing their own vehicles. Before having your students begin this activity, you may wish to create a sample car for them and show them how to use the reference sheets to examine the car’s features for environmental and social impacts. Go over the graphics of how an electric car works and how an internal combustion (liquid and most gaseous fuels) works.
Ask the students to examine the puzzle pieces and design a vehicle for a specific consumer or environmental scenario. The following rules apply:
Once the cars have been assembled, students will need to follow the path of energy from the source, to a storage medium, to the drive system, and finally to the driver in the form of motion. The optional features will impact how efficiently the energy is used. They will need to identify what form the energy is along the way (chemical, heat, mechanical, electrical, potential, etc.). You may need to review these terms with them before beginning the activity.
Have the students use the reference sheets provided to evaluate their vehicles for the effects they will have on society and the environment. Ask them to provide a summary of their car’s features for each of the following parts: driver, energy source, energy storage, drive system, and options. This could be in the form of a "vehicle specification sheet" for people interested in buying or selling this vehicle, and/or have students present their designs and discuss/debate them with the class. Ask them if they are satisfied with their vehicles. If they are not satisfied, ask them why not, and ask them what they would do differently next time and why. Allow them to choose new pieces, redesign their vehicle, and make up a new vehicle specification sheet.
Students will probably realize that there is currently no complete solution to the environmental problems associated with transportation. Discuss how they might go about solving the energy puzzle we are faced with. Some suggestions are listed in the exercise.
Classroom Materials 
Source: "Getting Around without Gasoline," Chapter 6, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
