Electric Lessons – Energy 101

The ski mountain that is about ten miles down the road from where I live has a big array of photovoltaic panels. Their goal is to utilize as much renewable resource as possible. To that end, another solar selection is being built about a mile down the road. When I drove past it, I observed the development earlier this week. That got me considering how many photovoltaic panels will be required and it prompted me to search in my archives for some resources for teaching about how electrical power is generated. Here are a couple of that I selected out. How Do Solar Panels Work? is a TED-Ed lesson that covers the fundamentals of what solar panels are made of and how electrical energy is produced from them. The video likewise looks into some of the social and political barriers to photovoltaic panel setup and solar range developments. How Do Wind Turbines Work? is a TED-ED lesson that covers the basics of how wind turbines harness the power of wind to create electrical energy. The standard math of wind turbine style is also explained to audiences of the video. In general, its a great lesson but not the most in-depth of lessons.Energy Now News is a YouTube channel including videos about energy in the news and educational videos about electricity. Energy 101: Electricity Generation covers the procedure of producing electrical energy and getting it to houses and businesses.Idaho Power uses a brief video introduction of how hydroelectric dams produce electrical energy and the procedure of getting that electrical energy from a dam to a house. Before you show this video to your students, it might be worth explaining to them who produced and why they produced it..