Renewable or Non-Renewable: that is the question….that kicks off a packed session of exploring non-renewable fossil fuels.  After brainstorming meaning and classifying energy sources, students quickly get down to the nitty gritty of fossil fuels.  Students see non-renewable resources in action as we use ‘energy’ (baking powder and vinegar) to light up a light bulb (yellow balloon) to understand how fossil fuels are not renewable. Giggling abounds as we learn that coal, oil and natural gas are a product of fossilized animals and plants from thousands of years ago.  We learn about the process of finding coal, oil and natural gas and explore this concept in a fun scavenger hunt.  Using the ‘fossil fuels’ we find, we graph our results, learning that as we use fossil fuel there are less resources to be found. Our graphs expertly showed the dwindling numbers. As our search for fossil fuels continues there are increasing consequences. As part of our exploration of fossil fuels we explore some of the cons, including the environmental impact of oil spills. When exploring the cons of fossil fuels, students experimented with different sorbents to clean up an oil spill to find effective and ineffective qualities of each.

Enjoy a glimpse into this session by looking at the ‘prezi’ that guided our work: http://prezi.com/k9moaevres6i/fossil-fartsi-mean-fuel/

Enjoy some photos from Filipiniana!