Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
Concentrating on the Sun!
Law of Refection/Solar Energy
Katie Miller
7/17/14
INFORMATION ABOUT THE LESSON
Grade Level and Subject Area
Grade 7-9
Physical Science: Law or Reflection, Solar Energy
Time Frame
5 class periods
45 minutes class periods
Objectives: Upon completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Students can explain how the Law of Reflection can be used to concentrate light.
Students will measure voltage of a solar panel using a voltmeter
Students will be able to design a system that concentrates the light to improve output of a single solar panel.
Next Generation Science Standards
MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
[Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both light and mechanical waves. Examples of models could include drawings,
simulations, and written descriptions.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to qualitative applications pertaining to
light and mechanical waves.)
MS-ETS1-1 .Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution,
taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit
possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and
constraints of the problem.
Standards for Technological Literacy
STL Standards: Design
8 – Students will understand the attributes of design
9 – Students will understand the engineering design
10 – Students will develop an understanding of the role of research, development and experimentation in problem solving
Common Core State Standards in Mathematics
MP.2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively
MP.4 Model with mathematics
7.RP.A.2 Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
Common Core State Standards in English and Language Arts
RST.6 8-1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
WHST.6-8.9 Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Prior Learning
Students have used voltmeters in prior grade to learn about energy and power.
Students have experience with heat that comes from the sun and how dark objects will make them feel warmer.
Students have knowledge of how to use a protractor to measure angles.
Materials
Article on how solar power works: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-does-solar-power-work/
Video showing how solar panels work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dngqYjHfr98
Laser pointer
Plane mirrors
Flashlight
Heat lamp
Ice cubes (ice cream sundae)
Solar Powered car
Materials for testing reflection/absorption (foil, black sheet, white sheet, sandpaper, etc..)
mini PV panel
alligator clips
wires
voltmeter
cardboard, a 2 ft x 2 ft (.6 m x .6 m) piece
scissors
protractor
aluminum foil
LESSON IMPLEMENTATION
Lesson 1
Objective: Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Students will learn about the Law of Reflection
Students will understand how solar panels collect energy from the sun
Students will understand how heat is transferred to different materials
Pre-Assessment
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
KWL – have students fill out “K” column of their chart to identify what they already know about solar panels
and how they are used. Students will fill out the “W” column to identify what they would like to learn about
solar energy and how it could be used to help them.
Procedures
1 class
period
45 mins.
Start lesson with demonstrating how a car drives on solar energy
(ideally, having a working model to use)
Use presentation on energy from the sun where students can gain
knowledge needed in the following lessons.
Remind students from their prior lessons on electricity, how the
voltmeter measures output of solar panels.
Give students an
understanding of
solar energy and how
energy from the sun
is captures and
transferred.
Set up classroom demonstration of heat transfer with heat lamp and ice
cubes (ice cream sundae)
Students can watch the video or read the article on how solar panels
work.
Formative Assessment
Multiple choice questions on what causes light to be absorbed and reflected from objects. Questions about why
energy transfers between materials.
Could also answer questions from the selected video/article.
Closure
KWL have students will in the “L” column of their chart with information about solar panels, light and heat
transfer.
Summative Assessment
To be assessed after lesson 4
Lesson 2
Objective: Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Students will use a plane mirror to understand the Low of Reflection
Students will test different materials to see how they reflect/absorb energy
Pre-Assessment
Students use a laser pointer to reflect light through a series of mirrors to hit the target to demonstrate if they
understand the Low of Reflection
Procedures
Time
Law of Reflection Activity
1 class
period
Use 60, 45, 30, 0 degree angles to create the Angle of Incidence on a
diagram.
Shine a flashlight on the predetermined angles and mark the reflections.
45 minute
Measure the angles of reflection and fill in table with all data.
Students will
understand the Low
of Reflection.
Students will identify
which materials are
the best for reflection.
Discussion/presentation on the Low of Reflection
(students must understand that the angle of incidence always equals
the angle of reflection and the activity could account for some errors)
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
Formative Assessment
Did the students successfully reflect the light at the predetermined angles and found the reflection angles to be
equal to the incidence angle?
Did students correctly measure angles with a protractor?
Closure
Use knowledge of Law of Reflection to predict which materials will have the greatest reflective properties.
Students will complete a table ranking the reflective properties of ordinary materials to identify which would be
good for concentrating light from the sun.
Summative Assessment
Can students successfully maneuver the light through a series of mirrors to hit the target to demonstrate that
they understand the Low of Reflection?
Lesson 3
Lesson adapted from:
http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities/cub_pveff/cub_pv
eff_lesson04_activity1.xml
Objective: Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain why a concentrated system can increase the output of solar panels.
Explain how certain angles between a solar panel and reflecting surface increase or decrease the panel's output
Use the engineering design plan to create a concentrated solar system.
Pre-Assessment
Assess student comprehension by having each student individually write his/her answers to the following
questions:
Why would an engineer design, build and test a concentrating solar system?
Who could benefit from a concentrating solar system?
What sort of materials would be the best for designing a reflector?
Have students swap papers with another student and discuss whether their answers are similar or different.
Then ask several students to share their answers with the class.
Procedures
2 class
periods
45 mins.
Students will have 2 class periods to design and create a concentrating
solar system using their knowledge of reflection and solar energy.
Give the students an opportunity to ask any questions they may have
on the process for the activity and competition.
Divide the class into groups of three students each.
Review the main steps of the engineering design process: brainstorm,
design, analyze, build, test and re-design to improve. Then discuss the
project constraints and requirements.
Students will use the
engineering design
process and their
knowledge of Law of
Reflection to create a
concentrated solar
system.
Aluminum foil must be wrapped on the cardboard; it cannot be used
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
separately. The purpose of the foil is to provide a reflective surface for
the sturdy cardboard.
Have teams brainstorm and draw design ideas.
Have the groups make plans for testing a few aspects of their designs.
Have the students gather the allotted materials and begin designing
Students can also bend and change other aspects of the reflector to find
the design they believe will work the best concentrated solar system.
Formative Assessment
Talk with each group as they work on their experiment set-ups to be sure they understand the concepts and are
correctly recording data. Let teams who have their experiments set up correctly visit and help other groups with
their set-ups
Closure
Students will create their concentrated solar system to test with a heat lamp.
Summative Assessment
To be assessed in final test.
Lesson 4
Lesson adapted from:
http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities/cub_pveff/cub_pveff_lesson
04_activity1.xml
Objective: Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:
Students test their concentrated solar systems to see if their design increases the output of a single solar panel.
Pre-Assessment
Procedures
1 class
period
45 mins.
Bring the students together and review the process for conducting the
final design.
Hand out the worksheets for the students to record data from the
experiments and make their current output estimate for each group.
Students will find if
their design plan
works.
Have the first team present. Have each group give a short presentation
on their design before testing, and answer a few questions posed by
other students.
Measure the current output of the panel. Then turn off the lamp.
Tell the students: "Apply your new knowledge of solar reflecting
techniques by guessing the current output of each panel and reflector
system before it is tested. After a group presents their design, guess the
current output you think it will create, and record this value on your
worksheet. Your goal is to have the most accurate estimates, showing
that you are now an engineer who understands the basics of how solar
concentration systems work."
Have a few students share their estimates with the entire class. (This
helps keep students interested and engaged.)
Place the reflector over the solar panel and turn on the lamp.
Have students record the current output on their worksheets.
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Science Learning Community: Science and Engineering Lesson Plans
Repeat all steps for all groups. Make sure students do not bump or
move items during the competition.
Have the students complete the calculations on their worksheets.
Discuss the results of the competition as a class and ask the students to
describe what they have learned from this activity.
Formative Assessment
Check to see that groups followed their design plan and have used reflection to try and concentrate the solar
energy onto the panel.
Closure
Students will display their design systems and classmates can go around to view other groups designs and ask
questions.
Summative Assessment
Students designed and created a concentrated solar system that used low of reflection to increase the output of a
single solar panel.
Final exam on knowledge of Low of Reflection and solar energy.
Funded by an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title IIb Wisconsin Improving Teacher Quality Grant in
Partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Stout
Page 6