Science Performance
Grade - 9-12
Topic – Power Grid, Economics, and Emissions
Title
Power, Money, and Emissions
Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS):
HS-PS3 Energy
HS-PS3-1 Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the
change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
Performance Expectation (Learning Targets):
I can show how a power grid functions and balance the cost of energy and emissions.
Prior to visit/Background information
 Using computers in the classroom, students will visit the site http://tcipg.mste.illinois.edu/applet/pg and use the
site’s applet.
 After students become familiar with the applet, they are to complete challenges 1-5 at the bottom of the page.
 While completing the challenges using the applet, students will document their solutions/answers in their science
notebooks. Student will also need to support their solutions/answers showing diagrams when appropriate.
Student Performance
Completed while onsite at the Westar Energy's Education Station
Gathering Information
Students will answer the following questions in their science notebook while exploring the substation:
 What is a substation? What does it do?
 What does a circuit breaker do and how does this relate to the substation?
 What does a power switch do and how does it relate to the substation?
 What does a transformer do and how does it relate to the substation?
Reasoning
Prior to the visit to this substation, students used a power grid applet which incorporated multiple substations.
Through onsite research, students will need to determine what specific role this substation plays in their local
community and general region.
Science Essentials
Science Practices
Crosscutting Concepts
Create a computational model or simulation of a phenomenon, design device,
process, or system.
Models can be used to predict the behaviors of a system, but these predictions
have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximation
inherent in models.
Energy is a quantitative property of a system that depends on the motion and
interactions of matter and radiation within that system.
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is
always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.
Connections
Common Core State Standards
Math – Calculate energy use and emissions
Art – Create a visual that demonstrates how you solved the applet challenges and
relate your understanding on various topics
After the visit
 Using computers in the classroom, students will visit the site http://tcipg.mste.illinois.edu/applet/eco and use the
site’s applet.
 After students become familiar with the applet, they are to complete challenges 1-4 at the bottom of the page.
 While completing the challenges using the applet, students will document their solutions/answers in their science
notebooks. Student will also need to support their solutions/answers showing calculations used when appropriate.
 Students will construction an informational poster relating the following topics together: The power grid,
substations, and power economic and emission. The target audience of the student posters will be
elementary/middle school students.