Eco-Motion
Overview
Overview
Keywords: energy transformations, food (chemical) energy, material characteristics, motion energy, propeller boat, rotational energy, sailboat, sun energy, swimming and sinking, tension energy, wind energy
Subjects: science, physics
Age group: 7-9 years old
Difficulty level: ● ● ○ (medium)
Authors: Semih Esendemir (TR), Rute Oliveira (PT)
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About this topic
The experiments on the topic "Eco-Motion" revolve around the question how we can move a boat using eco-friendly energy sources. For a sustainable future and to reduce climate change, it is very important to use renewable energy sources and to protect our world.
Through easy and fun activities, children are introduced to the physics concept of energy transformation.
You can use the introductory story "Lilu's big vacation experience" to introduce your students to the topics of nature and sustainability.
This short story leads to the individual experiments on the topic of energy.
Lilu and Alina were on vacation on their favourite island. It was the end of their vacation, and they wanted to return home. The next day, school would start again, and they were excited to see their friends again.
When they were packing their things, they realized that they had no fuel for their motorboat. How could they get back home from the island? As they were thinking about this, they saw wind turbines far off the shore and had an idea. Could the wind move their boat?
Yes, of course! Lilu and Alina decided to make a sailboat. They wanted to use waste materials that had been washed up the beach to build it. Excited, they ran to the beach. They collected corks, sponges, foam, wooden sticks, old paper and other things, and started working on their boat.
Lilu and Alina had designed a wonderful sailboat to return home from the island. When they tried to sail their boat for the first time, it moved. But there was a problem: The wind was not blowing consistently. When the wind was not blowing, the boat would not move and would stop. Lilu and Alina did not want to get stuck in the middle of the water. So, they had to find another way to move the boat.
That's when their eyes fell on the propeller on their motorboat on the shore. The engine turned the propeller. But could the propeller be moved without an engine, without using fuel? They wanted to find out. Using pieces of wood and rubber bands they found in the water, they built their own boat propeller. Lilu and Alina were excited by their idea. Could their propeller work?
It worked! Lilu and Alina cheered. They could move with their propeller boat – but soon it became very tiring to rotate the propeller, and the weather was hot. The boat was also not moving fast enough. They wished that someone stronger would help them move the propeller. Exhausted, they looked up to the blue sky. The sun was shining bright. This gave Lilu and Alina an idea: They could use solar energy.
For this, they needed a solar panel and a motor. Lilu and Alina moved their boat back to the shore. They visited the farmers on the island and borrowed a solar panel and a motor from them. The two of them were excited that they could use solar energy for their boat and go home safely.
How does a Sailboat Work?
In this activity, the wind, a renewable energy source, makes a sailboat move. The aim is to discover how energy transfers, causing the movement of the sailboat.
Does the sailboat float or sink? Which materials can be used and why? What is wind and how does it form? The activities offer students the opportunity to explore the structure of a sailboat through floating and sinking phenomena and to think deeply about the materials used in sailboat design and the energy source that keeps the sailboat moving.
How does a Propeller Boat Work?
In this activity, a propeller boat is designed. Students will observe how muscle power makes the boat move. It is aimed to discover the energy transformations that occur in the process that starts with the movement of the propeller boat.
The video offers students the opportunity to reflect on the materials used in the design of boats that move without the use of fossil fuels in everyday life and the energy sources that enable these boats to move.
About the authors of this unit
Main responsible person:
Semih Esendemir (TR)
- How does a Sailboat Work?
- How does a Propeller Boat Work?
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