The Energy Budget Activity

I have found that engaging students in predictions of what form and how much energy will be used in the future is a very successful way to generate enthusiasm and further investigation of physics.  The “Energy Budget” exercise gives students insight to how the human race has used energy in the past half-century and then has them plot out how they would like to see the human race use energy in the next half-century.

The Energy Budget can be used in a variety of formats including a three-hour conceptual- algebra- or calculus-based introductory physics class lab exercises, or one-hour lecture discussions, or as a central component of a full semester Energy and Society class.

In this two-hour Zoom workshop, I will introduce the Energy Budget to you and then break you up into small groups with colleagues to complete the Energy Budget as student groups would.  After that we will get back together and discuss what you learned from the exercise and how this can be tied into your classes.  

This workshop is virtual, and offered free of charge.

Facilitator: Greg Mulder (Linn-Benton Community College)