Curated OER
Orienting a Photovoltaic Cell
Students explore the optimum angle for orienting a solar collector relative to the rays of incoming sunlight. They review equinoxes, solstices, and various locational ideas before students investigate using meters, light sources, and...
Curated OER
Series or Parallel?
Physics classes that are studying electricity connect photovoltaic cells into both series and parallel circuits. Inquiry and critical thinking come into play as learners try to determine which circuit is more productive. They associate...
Curated OER
How Photocells Work
Give small groups of physical scientists tokens that represent electrons in a photovoltaic cell. They play a dice game in which they move the tokens around, representing the flow of electrons through the p-n junction of a semiconductor...
Curated OER
Photocells II: The Photoelectric Effect in Photocells
It's not easy to find fabulous physics lesson plans, but School Power Naturally has put together a series of them. In this particular lesson, high schoolers learn about the structure and functioning of photovoltaic cells. They construct...
Curated OER
Solar Car Races: Build and retrofit for speed
If you have solar car kits for your junior high schoolers, they can experiment with photovoltaic cell angle, light intensity, and aerodynamic design to discover what makes their car move more quickly. This is a classic activity to use...
Curated OER
Solar Car Series: during What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power Be Collected?
In preparation for solar car races, middle schoolers attempt to discover what time of day the most solar energy can be collected. Begin by demonstrating the use of a voltmeter for measuring solar cell output. Take them outdoors to take...
Curated OER
Energy Solutions; A Brochure
By creating an energy brochure, teams of science learners inform others about the advantages of using alternative energy sources. An instructions page for your class and a grading rubric are provided. The lesson focuses on photovoltaics,...
Cornell University
Characterizing a Solar Cell
Young classes are sure to get a charge out of this lesson! Learners experiment with circuits of a solar cell. They practice determining current, voltage, and power for the circuit and maximize the voltage and current of the cell.
Curated OER
Allocating Energy from a Photovoltaic System
How much electricity do you use in a day? Physics fanatics calculate their energy use by consulting a chart of the watts required to run typical household appliances. They compare power to amounts of electric energy used or generated....
Curated OER
Schools Going Solar
If your school has a photovoltaic system, you can use this lesson plan to guide learners through an investigation of the factors affecting performance. Familiarize yourself with the data acquisition system, and then provide data for your...
Curated OER
Optimization
For this optimization of satellites worksheet, students read about the Octagonal IMAGE satellite and solve 4 problems related to the size and shape of the satellite and the solar cells used to power the satellite. Students find the mass...
Curated OER
Hinode Satellite Power
In this Hinode satellite worksheet, students find the area of the solar panels that cover the Hinode satellite to provide power. They determine the amount of power produced by the solar cells and if it is enough to keep all the...
Bonneville
Solar Cell Manufacturing Field Trip and/or Guest Speaker
Appreciate the chance to get out of the classroom. Scholars take a field trip to a solar cell or solar panel facility to learn about the manufacturing aspect of the business. They also hear from a guest speaker and ask questions about...
Bonneville
Copper Oxide Cell Data Sharing
Sharing is caring—and good for learning, too. Learners share data from the experiment in the previous lesson by engaging in a gallery walk. They then consider and discuss the conditions under which a solar cell will have its maximum...
Curated OER
Experiments with Photovoltaic Cells
Pupils explain how sunlight is converted to electricity. In this series of physics lesson, students study how varying the characteristics of the light source affect photovoltaic cells. They research their different uses in other countries.
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
Space Awareness
The Engine of Life
There is a specific zone, or distance from a star, that a planet must be in order to have water in a liquid form. The activity demonstrates how flux density depends on its distance from the source. A photovoltaic cell gets power to...
Curated OER
How Solar Cells Work: Converting Sunlight to Electricity
Students examine how to convert sunlight to electricity. In this renewable energy sources lesson plan students explain how solar cells are used and use a voltmeter to measure the energy produced by a solar panel.
Curated OER
Maximum Power Point
Students investigate energy using a photovoltaic cell. In this electricity lesson, students collect data from current-voltage and power-voltage curves to determine if photovoltaic systems have an advantage over conventional electric...
Curated OER
Maximum Power Point
Young scholars investigate how to optimize the power output of a photovoltaic cell using a home-made gnomon stand. They use data collected to create current-voltage and power-voltage curves and determine the "maximum power point," (MPP)...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #15 - Solar-Powered Electrolysis of Water and the Hydrogen Economy
An outstanding lesson awaits your physics fledglings! After reading about how hydrogen can act as an energy carrier, they examine the electrolysis of water using solar power. They test the gases produced for flammability and will...
Curated OER
Solar Cells
Students are able to answer basic questions about the process of turning light energy into electrical energy. They are introduced to the basic physics and chemistry behind the operation of a solar cell. Students explore how a single...
Curated OER
Avoiding Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Burning Fossil Fuels
Chemistry and earth science meet in a lesson on carbon dioxide emissions. After reading about atmospheric problems caused by using fossil fuels, science stars balance equations for the burning of different alkanes. They compute the...
Curated OER
Solar Car Series: Angle/Energy Amount
Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...
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