Shedding Light On Energy Lesson Plan Page 3
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4Worksheet 1
Electricity:
What’s Behind the Switch?
Electricity is one of the main ways energy powers your life—from your lights, to your
computer, to a whole range of items you use daily. Where does electricity come from?
Read on to fi nd out more.
(For answering questions, use separate paper and show your calculations.)
Part A:
Primary Sources Used to Generate U.S. Electricity
Electricity is
considered a secondary
source of energy because
Natural Gas
it must be generated from
23.3%
Coal
a primary source. Study
44.6%
the pie chart to the right
Nuclear
to fi nd out where we get
20.2%
electricity from, and then
Other
Gases
answer the questions.
Hydroelectric
0.3%
6.8%
Other
1.
What percentage of
Other Renewables 3.6%
0.3%
Petroleum
U.S. electricity uses
(Wind 1.79%, Biomass 1.37%,
1%
Geothermal .38%, Solar .02%)
fossil fuels as a
Fossil fuels: Include coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gases (propane). These energy sources
primary source?
come out of the ground as liquids, gases, and solids. Formed from the remains of plants and animals
that lived millions of years ago, fossil fuels power the majority of America’s electricity needs.
2.
What percentage of
Renewable sources: Include biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, wind, and solar. While most
U.S. electricity uses
renewable energy goes toward producing electricity, renewable sources are also used to produce
renewable sources as
heat and steam for industrial purposes, and as fuels, such as ethanol, for transportation.
a primary source?
Note: Nuclear power, which is mostly fueled by the metal uranium, is considered neither a fossil fuel
nor a renewable energy source.
Part B:
Electricity is the second leading
How Electricity Is Used in Homes
provider of energy used in homes (41%).
40
Other types of home energy include natural
A. Other Appliances
E. Space Heating
35
gas* (44%), fuel oil, and propane, all primarily
B. Air Conditioning
F. Refrigerators
used for heating. The bar graph shows how
30
electricity is used in homes. Think of the top
C. Lighting
G. Televisions
25
ten items for which you use electricity at home,
D. Water Heating
20
and create a chart on separate paper with a
15
row for each item. Each row should contain:
10
Name of
Number
Usage Category
Item Using
of Hours
from the Bar Graph
5
Electricity
Item Runs
(e.g., Appliances,
35%
17%
15%
9%
9%
8%
7%
Each Day
Air Conditioning,
0
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
(estimate)
Lighting, etc.)
After completing your chart:
4.
Use the information in your table to make a
1.
Total the hours for all ten items.
bar graph.
2.
Total the hours for each category of use.
Now Try This: Using the percentages in Part A,
how much electricity used in homes comes from
3.
Divide the hours for each category (step 2)
coal, nuclear power, and renewable sources?
by the total hours (step 1). Convert each
number into a percent.
What energy sources are used in your home?
*For other natural gas uses, visit
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