Course: Science
Sustainable Lifestyles
Level: National 2
April 2015
This advice and guidance has been produced for teachers and other staff who
provide learning, teaching and support as learners work towards qualifications.
These materials have been designed to assist teachers and others with the
delivery of programmes of learning within the new qualifications framework.
These support materials, which are neither prescriptive nor exhaustive,
provide suggestions on approaches to teaching and learning which will
promote development of the necessary knowledge, understanding and skills.
Staff are encouraged to draw on these materials, and existing materials, to
develop their own programmes of learning which are appropriate to the needs
of learners within their own context.
Staff should also refer to the course and unit specifications and support notes
which have been issued by the Scottish Qualifications Authority.
http://www.sqa.org.uk
Acknowledgement
© Crown copyright 2015. You may re-use this information (excluding logos) free of
charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence.
To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-governmentlicence/ or e-mail: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information, you will need to obtain
permission from the copyright holders concerned.
Any enquiries regarding this document/publication should be sent to us at
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SCIENCE (NATIONAL 2)
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Contents
Introduction: Sustainable lifestyles
4
Reduce, reuse, recycle
8
Food waste
17
Paper recycling
28
Energy
39
Water
55
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INTRODUCTION
Introduction: Sustainable lifestyles
These materials looks at practical approaches to sustainable lifestyles,
focusing on science in real-life situations such as reducing, reusing and
recycling items that we have finished with, reducing the environmental impact
in our local area, the wider community and our planet.
Science and the appliance of science are central to our economic future and
to our health and wellbeing as individuals and as a society. The learning in this
area of science will help to develop curiosity and understanding of the
environment and the learner’s place in the living, material and physical world.
The practical approaches to learning encompass active learning, the use of
ICT, creativity and outdoor learning. Opportunities for peer education are
dependent on the learners within the class. As with all learning, the
approaches taken are dependent on the learning styles of the learners within
the class and the amount of support given to individual learners to aid their
learning.
The examples given for teaching this unit are only a guide and can be
changed as appropriate for each learner. Parts of the energy section are quite
lengthy in text. This is designed to help more able learners and can be
adapted to suit learners’ needs. In this section an example of how to build a
windmill is given, which practitioners may wish to adapt. This is a kinaesthetic
activity designed to enable learners to appreciate how the blades of a windmill
work and therefore extrapolate how the wind turns wind turbine blades.
Practitioners should consider the differing levels of support required to enable
learners to carry out this activity. The use of different formative assessment
strategies is at the discretion of the practitioner.
Teaching aids could include:




picture exchange (PECS)
use of boardmaker symbols
use of talking mats
any other communication aids that support individual learners within the
class, eg Makaton.
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INTRODUCTION
Practitioners could use word and picture walls inside and outside the
classroom to help remind learners of the meaning of reduce, reuse and
recycle.
Local rangers and waste recycling officers at your council could be invited to
give talks to the children about the care of their local environment.
Approaches to learning and teaching
Learning within the National 2 Sustainable Lifestyles unit should have a
practical approach focusing on reduce, reuse and recycle. The 3Rs, as they
are called, are an important part of today’s society and will only work if we
choose to reduce, reuse and recycle at school, home and in the workplace.
Without implementation of the 3Rs, landfill sites will have to increase, with the
potential for environmental hazards.
This unit lends itself well to some of the topics within the Eco-Schools
Scotland Green Flag award. For further information on how this unit could
assist your school in working towards a Green Flag, please visit the EcoSchools website at www.ecoschoolsscotland.org.
The activities suggested here focus on skills for learning, life and work. The
skills used focus on literacy, numeracy, thinking skills of remembering and
applying, as well as skills relevant to health and wellbeing. The scientific skills
of observation, inquiry, discovery and investigation are also covered. The skills
used should be cross-curricular, transferable and work in partnership with the
experiences and outcomes where knowledge and understanding of concepts
and content are learned.
These materials lend themselves to individual, paired or group working
depending on the learners within the class and amount of individual support
required. A basic action plan is provided as a guide and can be modified
according to the learners’ needs. Where evidence for an activity is required,
photographs could be used.
Suggested activities cover literacy, numeracy, and health and wellbeing as
well as encompassing active learning, creativity, use of ICT, outdoor learning,
personalisation and choice. Elements of co-operative and collaborative
learning opportunities will depend on the ability of learners within the class and
are at the discretion of the practitioner. The unit bases its teaching and
learning approaches on the four capacities of successful learners, confident
individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.
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INTRODUCTION
Useful websites
Food waste
 www.recyclenow.com: many resources, from whole-school presentations
on food waste to fun games
 Wormery: www.recyclezone.org.uk/az_worms.aspx.html
 Rubbish challenge: www.recyclezone.org.uk/fz_challenge.aspx.html
 ‘Is your Brain full of Rubbish?’:
www.recyclezone.org.uk/fz_brainfull.aspx.html
 www.olliesworld.com/uk/html/recycle.html
 www.bbc.co.uk/schools/barnabybear/games/recycle.shtml: recycling game
Paper recycling





www.glow.org.uk: visit the national site for Purple Mash icon
www.olliesworld.com/uk/html/clubhouse.html
www.recycling-guide.org.uk
www.recycleworks.org/kids/buy_recycled.html
www.theteachersguide.com/Recyclinglessonplans.htm
Energy
 www.energyzone.net
 www.benefits-of-recycling.com/alternativeenergyforkids.html
 www.kids.esdb.bg/index.html
Water






www.sepa.org.uk/water.aspx
www.scottishwater.co.uk
www.bbcbitesize.com
www.oxfam.org.uk
www.hippo-the-watersaver.co.uk
www.glowscience.org.uk: films about water.
Other resources
 Boardmaker for symbols/pictures
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INTRODUCTION
Outcomes covered
The outcomes for science that these materials may support are:
 Planet Earth
 Energy sources and sustainability: SCN 1-04a, SCN 2-04a, SCN 2-04b,
TCH 2-02b
 Processes of the planet: SCN 0-05a/SCN 1-05a, SCN 2-05a
There are a number of cross-curricular links with home economics,
technology, literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing.
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Learner information
Learning intentions
1.
2.
To find out what reduce, re-use and recycle mean.
To find out what can and cannot be recycled.
All raw materials are provided by our planet – the Earth.
The Earth provides raw materials like iron that we use in the production of
steel to make bridges, cars and buildings. We use trees to make paper and we
use the power of the Sun and the wind to make energy.
Reducing, reusing and recycling materials reduces the amount of materials
that we have to take from the Earth.
Where have you seen this logo?
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Tick (√) the pictures that show items that you think would display this logo.
Large blue bin
Green bin
Blue bin at home
Plastic bottle
Mirror
Pizza box
Aerosol
Newspaper
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Most of the items that we throw away in our bins at home are made from
materials that are slowly running out and are not easily replaced.
It is important that we Reduce, Reuse and Recycle items as much as we can
– sometimes these three words are known as the 3Rs.
To reduce means to limit the waste that you throw out.
To reuse means to use the item again or turn it into something different, for
example to reuse newspaper to make paper maché.
To recycle means to make something new out of items that we have finished
using.
Make a list or draw or stick in pictures of items that you think can and cannot
be recycled.
What can be
recycled?
What cannot be recycled?
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
What cannot be recycled?
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
What can be recycled?






Most metals
Most glass
Most plastics
Most paper products
Most garden products, like leaves, fruit and vegetable peelings
Most electronics
Find pictures of the items above and find five pictures of other items that can
be recycled. Design a poster using your pictures to let other people know
which items can be recycled.
Visit your local recycling centre. Make a video of the day to remind yourself of
all the items that can be recycled – you will be amazed at how many there are.
Watch these three videos on recycling to help remind you of all the items that
can be recycled. The first two videos are set in America to show you that other
countries recycle items too, not just the UK.
http://www.ehow.com/video_5113349_recycling-center.html: recycling centre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62c3Celegq8: from the curb to the recycling
centre
www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/recycling-whats-the-best-way-to-sortwaste/2470.html
Can you now add anything to your lists, drawings or pictures of items that can
be recycled?
Yes
No
If ‘Yes’ go ahead and stick them in!
If ‘No’ visit www.recyclezone.org.uk to find out more.
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Collect items over a week or longer from other classrooms that can be reused,
reduced or recycled. Make a collection and discuss whether they can be
reused, reduced or recycled. Make a display of the items that you have found.
Items collected
Reuse
Reduce
Recycle
Are there any items that you could reuse?
How could you reuse them?
What could you do to improve the recycling of items at your school/college?
 Take a large bag filled with recyclable and non-recyclable items into
another class and see if they can guess the items correctly!
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Which items at home are made of plastic? See if you can find 10 plastic items.
Write down or draw or stick
pictures of your items in here.
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
How do you recycle plastics at home? …………………………………..………
……………………………………………………………………………..………..
How can you recycle plastics at school? …………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………...…….
Can you make
a model out of
the plastic
items you have
collected?
What will you
need?
How will you
collect the
items?
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REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Work in pairs and draw a picture of your design or find a picture you would like to
copy. Stick or draw it here.
How long will the project take? ………………………………………….………
Did you like the project? …………………………………………………..……..
Use your models to remind other learners and staff about recycling by sticking
recycling tips on them. Display them where everyone will see them!
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FOOD WASTE
Food waste
Learning intentions
1.
2.
To identify how food waste can be recycled.
To identify what makes compost.
Recycling food waste is important at home and at school/college. If you do not
recycle your food waste, it will fill up landfill sites, leaving less space for other
rubbish. The main way of recycling food waste is to make compost. You can
use a compost bin to make compost. This can take between 4 and 12 months,
depending on the amount of food waste that you have. Once your compost
has been made, it can be put onto a garden to help fruit and vegetables to
grow. The compost could also be used in hanging baskets, to plant seeds or
to fill flower tubs.
You can make your own compost bin/heap by following the guide in link:
www.recyclenow.com/schools/compost
Alternatively, you can ask your education waste recycling officer at your
council to bring in large compost bins for outdoor garden use or small bins for
use around the school to collect items for composting.
Play this game to find out what you can put into compost bins:
http://compost4fun.recyclenow.com.
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FOOD WASTE
Make a list, draw a picture or stick pictures into the correct column for items
that can and cannot be composted.
Items that can be composted
Items that cannot be composted
To look closely at what happens when compost is made you can set up a
wormery. This is a quick way to look and see how worms eat our fruits,
vegetables, grass and leaves. These are known as organic material.
A worm
Where do you think worms live? Tick (√) one box.
In a house
In the soil
In a tree
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FOOD WASTE
How to make a wormery
1.
Collect a 2-litre colourless bottle such as a fizzy drinks bottle.
Wash the bottle thoroughly. Cut the top off to make a cylinder and
cover the edges with sticky tape to prevent injuries. Make a few
small holes in the bottom.
2.
Fill the bottle with different levels of materials, creating bands of
colour. You could use compost, sand, gravel, and fruit and
vegetable peelings. Lay leaves on the top. Mark each level with a
pen mark on the bottle.
3.
Collect worms from the garden. To find the worms try stamping on
the ground, use a fork to lift the soil or water the ground using a
watering can. Collect the worms carefully and remember where
you collected them from. Collect about 10 worms.
4.
Make sure the worms are put into the soil layer near the top.
Keep the wormery damp but not waterlogged and cover it with
black paper to keep the light out.
5.
After a couple of days look to see if the worms have eaten
anything – they should have! Look at the pen marks to see if the
layer levels have changed. Keep the worms for up to 2 weeks but
no longer and make sure you put the worms back where you
found them! Remember to be responsible and careful.
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FOOD WASTE
What do you need to make a wormery?
List your ideas or use pictures or drawings.
Who lives in the wormery?
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FOOD WASTE
What do you think the worms eat?
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FOOD WASTE
Action plan for making a wormery
What do I need?
Where do I get the
items I need?
Have I got
everything?
 - No
√ - Yes
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FOOD WASTE
My diary
Record what you did and what you observed in the table below over a 1- or 2week period.
Day
What I did
What I saw/heard/felt
Use an A4/A3 sheet of paper and make a picture timeline of what you saw
happen each day.
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FOOD WASTE
My results
Did the worms eat
the fruits/
vegetables/ leaves?
What happened to
the fruits/
vegetables/ leaves?
What could you do
to make the
wormery better?
Did you like this activity? Colour in the circle: green for yes, yellow for unsure
and red for no!
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FOOD WASTE
Making compost
How is compost made?
Visit the activity zone on this website to find out how to make compost:
www.recyclezone.org.uk.
How do you collect compost?
Put small recycling bins around your school/college. Decorate the bins with
bright pictures of fruit and vegetables to remind others what should go in them.
Mini recycle bin
Set up a recycling bin rota in your school/college and count how many bins
are filled each week.
Look at what happens in your bin with the compost buddies game at:
www.recyclezone.org.uk/az_composting.aspx.html
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FOOD WASTE
Action plan
Class/person
Date/day of
collection
Which class's bin
are you collecting?
Total
number
of bins
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FOOD WASTE
Make a pictograph of the numbers of bins collected each week.
My results
Number of
bins
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
What has happened to the number of bins collected over time?
Other activities
 Take Falkirk Council’s food waste challenge This is a quiz you can take
home to monitor and reduce food waste:
www.falkirk.gov.uk/wastewatchers
 Reuse yoghurt pots to plant seedlings using your home-made compost.
 Reuse old CDs and bottle tops to scare away birds.
 Plant fruit and vegetables in your school/college gardens or in pots to use
in cooking either at home or at school/college. Sell your produce at a
school/college sale.
 Plant strawberries in hanging baskets to flavour yoghurts or use in cooking.
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PAPER RECYCLING
Paper recycling
Learning intentions
1.
To identify ways in which paper can be reduced, reused and
recycled.
The Egyptians were the first people to make paper, over
4000 years ago. They made it from a plant called papyrus.
We now make paper from wood chip made from trees. The
making of paper can have a damaging effect on the
environment.
Facts about paper recycling
75% of each tree that is cut down for paper is not used in a paper product.
98 tons of various resources are required to make one ton of paper.
Paper made from recycled paper uses 70% less energy
Over 73% of all newspapers are recovered for recycling. About 33% of this is
used to make newsprint and the rest is used to make paperboard, tissue or
insulation.
A little more than 48% of all office paper is recycled. This is used to make
writing papers, paperboard, tissue and insulation.
As of 2008, Australia leads the world as the number one recycler of
newspapers (www.benefits-of-recycling.com).
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PAPER RECYCLING
Watch how paper is recycled on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tiZEtvLsjE
Record two things you remember.
1.
.............................................................................................................
2.
.............................................................................................................
What can we do to stop so much paper being used?
Tick (√) the boxes you think are correct.
Recycle
Reuse
Put it in a recycling bin
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PAPER RECYCLING
What other ideas can you think of for reducing our use of paper, and recycling
and reusing it?
Create a wall in your classroom of all the different paper and cardboard items
that you come across at home and in school/college. Here are some ideas of
the items you might find:
Egg box
Cereal box
Wrapping paper
What other items can you think of?
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PAPER RECYCLING
Paper activities
 Using old paper, newspaper or magazines make paper maché items such
as monsters, animals or anything else of your choice. You could also try
making a money bank or a musical instrument such as maracas.
 Help your school/college to recycle paper by decorating old boxes and
labelling them for scrap paper. Put a box in every classroom.
 Make seasonal decorations using cardboard or used paper.
 Bag up shredded paper from school/college and sell it as animal bedding.
 Make paper from pulp:
http://www.recyclezone.org.uk/az_makepaper.aspx.html.
 Watch a video of recycled paper–making: www.activitytv.com/595recycled-paper.
 Compost shredded paper. This is especially good if your compost bin is wet
or a bit smelly!
 Set up mini-compost bins outside for all different types of waste, including
paper. Each week measure how much the paper has degraded. Create a
poster about the importance of recycling.
 Go to the Purple Mash website to learn how to create a two-dimensional
poster: www.glowscotland.org.uk .
 Take all the recyclable items that your school/college produces to your local
recycling point on a weekly basis.
 Put up large pictures of black, brown and blue bins and list the items that
can and cannot go in them.
 Set up a magazine-swapping area at school/college.
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PAPER RECYCLING
Activity – Recycling
Action plan
Make a list, or draw or stick on pictures below of all the things that you think
are recyclable.
Items I think I can recycle
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PAPER RECYCLING
Ask your class if they have any items that can be recycled. Collect these items
in a box. List, draw or stick pictures of the items below and put a mark next to
the ones made from paper.
Class………………..
Items collected
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PAPER RECYCLING
How could you reduce the use of or reuse or recycle the paper items you have
marked?
Below are some ways of reducing the use of paper. Can you add ways of your
own to reduce the use of paper?
Reduce use





Use both sides of a piece of paper.
Use scrap paper.
Send an email.
Scan and attach documents.
Use a board at school/college for
Valentine’s day or Christmas instead of
sending a card.
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PAPER RECYCLING
Reuse
 Use scrap paper not new
paper.
 After shredding, pulp the
paper and make your own.
 Make seasonal
decorations.
 Re-use cardboard boxes in
school or compost them.
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PAPER RECYCLING
Recycle
How do you recycle
paper at home?
?
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PAPER RECYCLING
Choose your favourite idea for reducing paper waste and write about it or draw
or stick a picture showing it in the box.
Choose your favourite idea for reusing paper and write about it or draw or stick
a picture showing it in the circle.
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PAPER RECYCLING
Discuss with your class the best ideas you have had for reducing paper use,
and reusing and recycling paper, and carry them out.
If you are collecting bags of recycled paper weigh each bag from each class
weekly or use tally marks to count the number of bags collected each week.
What idea(s) worked the best in your school/college?
………………………………………………………………………………………
What ideas did not work so well?
………………………………………………...…………………………………….
Did you like this activity? Colour in the circle: green for yes, yellow for unsure
and red for no!
Quick reminder!!
Tick (√) the box beside the correct container(s) for recycling paper.
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ENERGY
Energy
Learning intentions
1.
2.
3.
To identify fossil fuels.
To understand what renewable energies are.
To identify how to conserve energy in our homes.
Fossil fuels are coal, oil (made into petrol and diesel) and natural gas. They
are found in the Earth and need to be dug out and drilled from the land and
sea. Fossil fuels are made up of animals and plants that died millions of years
ago. They are predicted to run out in 50 years’ time and therefore we will need
to find replacement fuels to make energy.
Watch the short video on Glow
(www.glowscience.org.uk/mindmap/#!/earth_science/earths_resources/nonren
ewable_energy), ‘Fossil fuels: Formation’ (under Earth science – Earth
resources – Non-renewable energy).
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ENERGY
What are fossil fuels?
Tick ( ) the boxes beside products obtained from fossil fuels.
Petrol
Coal
Oil
Gas
Paper
Wood
Some fossil fuels are extracted from the North Sea, which is off the north-east
coast of Scotland. Companies such as BP (British Petroleum) and Exxon
Mobil build oil rigs to drill out the oil and gas underneath the sea.
Let’s look at why we need energy.
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ENERGY
Why do we need energy?
Where do you use energy
in your home?
Write your answers in the
boxes, eg under ‘Kitchen’
you could write ‘toaster’,
‘kettle’, etc.
Living room
Kitchen
Bedroom
Outside
Now match up the fuels in the box below with the items you have written
above.
Electricity
Gas
Fuel
Oil
Wood
Coal
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ENERGY
Watch the video on Glow again
(www.glowscience.org.uk/mindmap/#!/earth_science/earths_resources/
nonrenewable_energy).
Draw or stick on pictures of three
items connected to fossil fuels that
you remember.
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ENERGY
What forms of transport use fossil fuels?
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ENERGY
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is also called ‘clean energy’ or ‘green power’ because it
doesn’t pollute the air or water.
Look at the renewable energy items below. How many can you find in school
or around the local community? Take some photographs of any that you find
and display them around your school.
Where did you find these renewable sources?
If you can visit a wind turbine farm, make sure you video your day!
Visit
www.glowscience.org.uk/mindmap#!/earth_science/earths_resources/renewa
ble_energy to view the video on Wind Power
a large or small
wind turbine
solar panel
Do you think wind turbines are a good idea?
Yes
Unsure
No
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ENERGY
Wind power
The Sun’s rays cause air to move around our planet
in circles. Wind is moving air and wind is a
renewable energy, as is solar energy. Wind power
can produce electricity.
Wind turbines are a bit like
windmills.
The blade of the turbine is moved
by the wind’s kinetic energy
(energy of movement) and
creates a lifting effect.
The blades connect to a rod,
which turns an electric generator
that produces energy
Watch the wind power video on
www.glowscience.org.uk/mindmap#!/earth_science/earths_resources/r
enewable_energy (Science – Earth science – Earth’s resources –
Renewable energy).
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ENERGY
Who invented the first wind turbine?
The first electricity-generating wind turbine was a battery-charging machine
installed in July 1887 by Scottish academic James Blyth. A few months later,
an American inventor called Charles Brush built the first automatically
operating wind turbine for producing electricity.
Make your own windmill
You will need:
 square piece of paper
 scissors
 hole punch
 paper fastener and bead
 pencil.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Take a square piece of paper and fold it along the diagonal to
form a triangle. Then fold it in half to form a smaller triangle.
When you unfold the paper, you will see two diagonal creases on
the paper.
Cut along the creases, stopping 2 centimetres bef ore you reach
the centre.
Make a hole in the centre of the paper with a sharp pencil. Then
make a sharp hole on one side of each corner.
Gently fold each corner toward the centre of the paper so that the
holes are in line with the centre hole. Push the paper fastener
through all of the holes.
Add a bead to the end of the paper fastener.
Make a hole in the side of the straw and attach the straw to the
end of the paper fastener. Now fold the sides of the fastener
back.
Can you find a suitable place for a mini wind turbine in your school/college?
Visit this link to get ideas of where to put the mini-turbine:
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk.
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ENERGY
Solar energy
Solar energy is energy (heat or light) that comes from the Sun.
 What makes a solar calculator work? Light from the Sun.
 What makes plants grow? Light from the Sun.
 What makes a bike hot to touch on a warm day? Heat produced by the light
of the Sun.
This light is called solar energy.
Solar energy is not new – it arrived on our planet 5 billion years ago when the
star, our Sun, was born. The Sun has been heating the Earth ever since.
The first greenhouses were built by the Romans. The glass in a greenhouse
allows the Sun’s rays to enter the space inside. The heat of the Sun is
captured inside the greenhouse, allowing fruit and vegetables to be grown all
year round. We still use greenhouses to do this today!
Solar thermal energy is heat energy from the Sun that we can capture and use
to warm our houses and heat water.
We can use the Sun’s energy to turn light into electricity using solar panels
called ‘photovoltaics’ (‘photo’ means light and ‘voltaics’ means panels).
Photovoltaic panels are made of silicon, which we get from sand – there is a
lot of this on Earth! Making the panels is very hard and takes a long time. The
silicon is heated to a high temperature and made into thin layers.
When sunlight hits the silicon very tiny dust-like particles jump around and
produce energy.
With some friends, stand in a line shoulder to shoulder like tiny dust particles.
If one person bumps into the other the movement carries along the line,
producing energy – just like electricity moving along a wire.
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ENERGY
Potential activities for practitioners to develop – Building solar panels
You may need some help building these items. Perhaps you could ask some
other learners in the school/college to help you!
Build a solar-panelled fan
Build a solar-powered car
Build a solar-powered boat
Have a race with the solar-powered cars over a certain distance. Time them to
see whose is the quickest!
You might have to put on lights to power the cars if it isn’t a sunny day!
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ENERGY
Type of
vehicle
Distance used
(cm)
Time (s)
Place
What happens when you change the course – does the same car win?
Which design was the fastest – can you think why?
Did you like this activity? Colour in the circle – green for yes, yellow for unsure
and red for no!
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ENERGY
Other sources of renewable energy
Hydropower
A hydrostation converts the energy of flowing water into
electricity.
Geothermal energy
There are many sources of heat in the Earth. Rocks and water can reach
between 40 and 200°C depending on how far down into the Earth’s crust you
go. Many discarded barrels of hot water are produced whilst digging for oil –
the heat from this water could be used as energy to heat homes.
Marine energy
The power of the waves in the ocean and seas can be used to make
electricity.
Scotland has one of the most ambitious targets for renewable energy in the
world, by 2020 it aims to be using 100% renewable energy (Scottish
Government Renewables Action Plan 2009).
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ENERGY
Alternative fuels for transport
Many petrol stations now provide alternative fuels, for example some BP
stations have around 7% biofuels in their diesel. Biofuels are renewable
sources of energy made from sugar cane, beet, corn and oilseed (such as the
bright yellow rapeseed, which you can see growing in fields in summer).
On the Glow science website ( www.glowscience.org.uk) watch the videos
on biofuels.(type ‘biofuels’ into the search box). You can also watch videos on
other alternative fuels.
Activity
Grow some sugar cane, beet, corn and rapeseed in tubs around your
school/college or in a garden area.
What are
you
going to
grow?
When
are you
going to
plant it?
Where
are you
going to
plant?
What
do
you
need?
What do I
need to
do to keep
my plants
growing
healthily?
Did the
plants
grow? If
they
didn’t
what else
could you
try?
Take photographs and measure the height of your plants every few days.
Make a graph of how your plants have grown over time for everyone to see.
Can you use anything you have grown to make something in home
economics?
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ENERGY
Conserving energy
Draw a picture of a house:
Where do you think draughts can come in?
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ENERGY
What can we do in our homes to conserve energy?
See if you can work out the answers.
Hint
Answer
1.
Put something behind the
radiators.
2.
What needs to be put in the
loft to keep the house warm?
3.
Something along the door.
4.
What you must do after
leaving a room.
5.
This item controls the heat in
your house.
6.
If you are watching the TV and
go into another room you
should do this.
Can you think of any other ways you can conserve energy in your house?
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WATER
Water
Learning intentions
1.
2.
To identify the different states of water.
To find out about ways of conserving water.
The water on Earth is millions of years old. The temperature range on Earth is
just right for water to exist in three different states.
As a solid
What is this? ……………………………………………….………………………
Where would you find ice on Earth? ………………………………………..
As a liquid
What is this? …………………………………………………….…………………
Where would you find water on Earth?
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
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WATER
As a gas
What is this? ………………………………………………………………………
Where would you find water vapour on Earth?
……………………………………………………………………………….……..
………………………………………………………………………………………
Watch the video on Glow (www.glowscience.org.uk) about the water cycle
(type ‘water cycle’ into the search box).
Did you like the video? Rate the video below.
Very good
10
Not very good
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
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WATER
The water cycle
Match up or cut out and stick the correct labels on the picture. (Practitioners
may wish to increase the size of this picture to A3 to accommodate the labels.)
A
B
Clouds rise
above the hills
and mountains.
D
C
Evaporation
takes place
and water
vapour rises.
Rivers flow
back into the
sea.
E
Rain falls,
creating rivers.
F
Water vapour
forms clouds.
1
Heat from the
sun warms the
water.
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WATER
Experiment
Let’s look at melting ice and boiling water.
1.
Collect some ice cubes and put them into a beaker.
2.
Place the beaker on a tripod covered with gauze and gently heat
it with a Bunsen burner. Alternatively, place the beaker in a tray
of hot water.
3.
What happens to the ice cubes inside the beaker?
4.
What do we call the state of water now?
5.
Continue to heat the water until it begins to boil.
6.
What temperature does the water boil at?
7.
What is being produced?
8.
Hold another beaker above the steam and watch the steam turn
back into water droplets.
Have some fun experimenting!
How long does it take frozen vegetables or fruit to boil?
…………………………………………………………………………………..….
How does the size of the frozen fruit or vegetable affect the boiling time?
………………………………………………………………………………………
What happens if you put salt on ice? Listen carefully!
……………………………………………………………………………………....
How long does it take water to freeze?
………………………………………………………………………………………
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WATER
Make some snow
You will find links to instructions on how to make fake snow on the internet.
Water is very precious all around the Earth. Some countries, like Scotland,
have a lot of rain and therefore plenty of water. Other countries, like Ethiopia
in Africa, do not have much water. We have to look after the water that we
have.
Here are some ideas that you might like to try to reduce, reuse and recycle
water:
1.
Cut off the bottoms off some empty plastic bottles and make sure
the bottle tops are on. Tie the bottles to a fence upside down and
over a week measure the amount of water collected. You could
reuse the water collected to water plants. You could measure the
amount of water collected over different months and make a
graph for the year.
2.
Use water butts to collect any water that runs off the roof of your
school/college.
3.
Measure the amount of water collected from a dripping tap over
an hour, day or week, and display your results.
4.
Visit www.scottishwater.co.uk and take their water calculator test.
Ask your parents and carers these questions too!
5.
Create a poster asking people to be careful with their water .
Display it in your school/college and in the local community. Ask
another school/ college and local supermarkets if they would
display your poster too.
6.
Install a water hippo in the toilet cistern to save water. Visit
www.hippo-thewatersaver.co.uk/about_hippo/mediafiles/education_facts.pdf for
more information and look at the water sheet facts.
7.
Link up with a school/college in another country and find out how
they conserve water. Visit
www.oxfam.org.uk/education/resources/water_for_all/water/soluti
on/index.htm and find out how this charity provides fresh water to
those who don’t have it.
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WATER
Find out more facts about water
1.
Visit a water-treatment plant to see how and where the water that
goes down your plughole gets treated.
2.
Visit the Scottish water site at www.scottishwater.co.uk/you-andyour-home/water-quality/where-does-water-go to find out how
waste water is treated and have some fun with the games!
3.
Visit the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency website
(www.sepa.co.uk) to find out how they monitor our burns, rivers
and lochs for pollutants. Try out their games at
www.sepakids.com.
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WATER
Water where you live
Check out your local community for burns and ponds that might be polluted.
Contact your local ranger to find out the best way to help clean them up.
What did you find?
How did you clean the area?
Did anyone else help you?
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WATER
How can you keep
this environment
clean?
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WATER
Activity – Collect a water sample from a pond or river
What does the sample look like – dirty or clean? (circle one)
If it is clean, test the pH of it with Universal indicator paper.
What number did you get?
Do you think the water is acidic, neutral or alkali? (Circle one.)
Is this what you expected?
If the water is dirty you can filter it using a filter funnel and filter paper. Does
this clean the water?
Now test the pH again.
How do you think the water gets into the pond or river in the first place?
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Activity
Choose one of the above ideas (on page 59) and make a plan of what you are
going to do, for example, measuring rainfall using an empty plastic bottle.
Action plan
Write down, draw or stick on pictures of what you might need.
What items will I need to make a plastic
bottle water collector?
What steps do I need to take?
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My results
How much water was collected?
Each day, measure the water collected in the bottle with a measuring cylinder
(remember to put the water back in).
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Total
rainfall
Were you surprised at how much water you collected?
Try measuring the rainfall over several weeks and plot a graph of your
findings. If you measure the rainfall over several months can you find any
trends for different seasons of the year?
Remember to reuse your water – don’t throw it away!
Did you like this activity? Colour in the circle – green for yes, yellow for unsure
and red for no!
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