RET at UC

Research Experience for Teachers (2017-2018)

Battery Blues

Tiara Anderson's Poster
Author:Tiara Anderson
Unit Title: Battery Blues
Grade Level: 9
Subject: Integrated Math I
Estimated Duration: 2 weeks
Unit Activities:

The Big Idea (including global relevance)

Conservation of Electrical Energy
Electricity is generated from coal as the source of chemical energy storage. Coal, along with other fossil fuels are of limited supply and the demand for the reliable energy they provide is high and increasing. We all have the responsibility to be conscious consumers of non-renewable energy. We can do this by being mindful of our electrical energy use and finding practical ways to conserve it.


Essential Questions

How can we use math to conserve electric energy and reduce the use of fossil fuel?


The Hook

  • Watch YouTube Video: "What will happen when the oil runs out?"

  • In a shared google doc, students write one sentence to describe the message this video is trying to convey.
  • Ask students to share what they wrote and then ask more probing questions:
    • What two quantities are being compared on the x and y axis? Notice the units.
    • What happened at the peak of the graph?
    • What does the end of fuel mean for our way of life, as we know it?
  • In the same google doc, give students 8 minutes to browse the internet for information on anything related to the topics conveyed in the video. This could include information about fossil fuels, wind and solar power, conversation efforts, etc.
  • Watch the YouTube Video: "How Power Plants Work"

    showing that fossil fuel power plants to provide electricity. Essential Question: What can we do to be better consumers of electricity?
  • After students have chosen essential question, introduce challenge with the following YouTube video "How it Feels When Your Phone is Dying"

  • Allow students to share times when their phone lost power at the most inopportune time.


The Challenge

Use mathematical evidence to develop and support two strategies to conserve phone battery life using a specified template.


Guiding Questions

  • How does “low power mode” conserve phone battery life?
  • Which applications on the phone use the most battery life?
  • Which applications on the phone use the least battery life?
  • How can we track the loss of battery life over time?
  • How effective is charging the battery while using it? (Extension: System of Equations)
  • Is there an “optimal battery percentage” time to use high draining applications?
  • What is the relationship between battery percentage, time and the application used?
  • What applications on the phone does the student population use the most?
  • Which cell phone brand conserves battery life the best: iPhone or Android?
  • Is there an optimal battery percentage time to charge your phone?
  • Is it best to allow your cell phone to charge without using it?
  • What mathematical models can we use to predict how long a battery will last?


ACS (Real world applications; career connections; societal impact)

Conserving battery life of a cell phone is relevant to high school students’ real world. It is evident students use cell phones for their everyday dealings and are interested in conserving their battery life.

Students will learn that electricity is produced from coal. Coal, and other fossil fuels are of limited supply and are diminishing quickly, yet the demand for energy continues to grow. Students will recognize that we all have the obligation to be responsible consumers of energy and that something as simple as conserving cell phone battery life may have a great impact.

Mechanical Engineer, Chemical Engineer, Material Scientist , Construction Worker (Clean Energy), Project Manager

Misconceptions

  • Students may confuse a linear model with an exponential model, not understanding that a linear model has a constant rate of change (adding factor) and an exponential model has constant growth rate (multiplying factor).


Unit Lessons and Activities

  • Lesson 1: Gathering Information (5 days)
    Students will research and discuss issues surrounding limited fossil fuel serving as the motivation of the challenge. Students will then create a survey to gather information concerning phone usage. Students will choose a sample of the student population, create unbiased questions, execute the survey, organize data using matrices and analyze the results using frequency tables, histograms, and bar graphs. These results will drive the direction of the challenge.
    • Activity 1: Introduce the Big Idea – Conserve! (1 day)
    • Activity 2: School Wide Survey – Create Survey, Collect Data, and Analyze Data (4 days)

  • Lesson 2: Regression Models (8 days)
    Students will explore how height relates to shoe size by creating a linear model. Students will use the line of best fit to calculated interpolated and extrapolated data points. Students will learn to make predictions of the line of best fit by hand and by using Desmos Graphing Calculator. Students will use the combination of survey results and linear and exponential regression models to complete the challenge.
    • Activity 3: Regression Models – Height vs. Shoe Size (4 days)
    • Activity 4: The Challenge (4 days)
  • Evidence of CBL: Lesson 2, Activity 4
  • Evidence of EDP: Lesson 1, Activity 1; Lesson 2, Activity 4


Additional Resources