| Section |
Learning Outcomes |
| Section 1 |
- Compare energy resources used to generate electricity in the United States to other countries.
- Identify the major energy sources used to produce electricity in the United States and your state.
- Identify trends and patterns in electricity generation.
- Understand the difference between electric power and electric energy.
- Describe commonly used methods of generating electric power.
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| Section 2 |
- Classify the rank of coal using physical properties.
- Understand what coal is made of and how coal forms.
- Explain why coal is a nonrenewable resource.
- Investigate the distribution, production, and consumption of coal in the United States.
- Evaluate possible practices to conserve coal resources.
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| Section 3 |
- Understand the origin of petroleum and natural gas.
- Describe the distribution of oil and gas fields across the United States.
- Understand factors that control the volume and rate of production in oil and gas fields.
- Recognize the overwhelming dependence of today’s society on petroleum.
- Graph changes in domestic oil production and foreign imports to predict future needs and trends.
- Understand why oil and gas production have changed in the United States over time.
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Section 4 |
- Examine some of the environmental impacts of using fossil fuels.
- Understand how the use of fossil fuels relates to one of Earth’s major geochemical cycles—the carbon cycle.
- Understand the meaning of pH.
- Understand how weather systems and the nature of bedrock geology and soil affect the impact of acid rain.
- Determine ways that energy resources affect your community.
- Analyze the positive and negative effects of energy use on communities.
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Section 5 |
- Construct a solar water heater and determine its maximum energy output.
- Construct a simple anemometer to measure wind speeds in your community.
- Evaluate the use of the Sun and the wind to reduce the use of nonrenewable energy resources.
- Understand how systems based upon renewable energy resources reduce consumption of nonrenewable resources.
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Section 6 |
- Identify the mineral resources and commodities of the United States.
- Understand how different minerals are formed and which minerals are best suited for particular tasks.
- Construct a model of a mineral deposit and map the relative positions of the deposits.
- Understand how geologists explore for mineral resources by conducting a survey to locate ore deposits in another group’s model.
- Use your survey results to drill for the ore.
- Understand the necessity and benefits of exploratory surveys in locating minerals.
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Section 7 |
- Design a procedure for mining the model used in Section 6 that optimizes time and cost, and reduces environmental impact.
- Analyze the outcomes of mining the model to understand demand and market value, and the costs of labor, refining, transportation, and environmental reclamation.
- Understand the benefits and drawbacks to mineral exploration and mining.
- Analyze the economic importance of mining in your state.
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Section 8 |
- Create and manipulate physical models of surface-water and groundwater supply systems.
- Explain how a change in one part of the water-supply system creates changes in other parts of the system.
- Understand the main ways that a community can increase its water supply.
- Compare and contrast surface water and groundwater systems.
- Analyze the water-supply system in your community.
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Section 9 |
- Design a method for determining how much fresh water your school uses every day.
- Analyze statistics on water use for your county and an adjacent county and explain any differences in per-person water use between your county and an adjacent county.
- Differentiate between uses of fresh water in the United States and identify these uses as consumptive or nonconsumptive.
- Explore methods of water conservation and make suggestions about which methods would benefit your school and home.
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| Section 10 |
- Construct and analyze a physical model of the movement of pollutants in groundwater and determine how the pumping of water from wells influences this movement.
- Measure the level of nitrates in a stream within your community.
- Identify and describe ways that human activity affects surface water and groundwater quality.
- Model and explain key processes and stages in water treatment and filtration.
- Understand how and why water is treated prior to human consumption.
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