VCE Environmental Science

This week (starting 30th April) you have several tasks to complete. Firstly, a Conservation case studies worksheet (due Friday). Secondly, complete the Simpson’s Index activity in your textbook, “Issues of Sustainability” (due Friday). Also you need to start SAC 3: Case study of the Orange Bellied Parrot (First draft due Monday, 7th May). This is a multimedia presentation (Slideshow, poster, video with script etc), so it needs to include photographs, maps, diagrams and, of course, your references.

I have recently registered with SpeakPipe, an application that allows users to set up a voicemail widget on websites or
add the voicemail application to their Facebook page. I am still working out how to add the tab on this blog, but in the meantime you can leave comments or questions at Britt Gow’s Voicemail page. Unfortunately, it uses javascript, so you cannot access this from iP*ds or other IOS devices.

Nicky’s video on You Tube is a great example of a multimedia submission for SAC 1B – Comparison of a fossil and non-fossil energy source. If you are considering this kind of project, make sure all the images are your own – or licensed by their owner to reuse with a “creative commons” license. You should also submit your script for assessment.

• Global: Over a decade ago, most countries joined an international treaty — the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) — to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. The Kyoto Protocol is an international and legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (1997, came into force in 2005). The Bali Roadmap (2007) and Copenhagen Climate Change Summit (2009) were more recent meetings and workshops to discuss our global responses to climate change.
• National: Julia Gillard has been trying to introduce a “carbon tax”, after Kevin Rudd’s “Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme” failed to gain support.
• State: The Victorian government climate change website and the Environmental Protection Authority have good information and resources about greenhouse gas emissions, adapting to climate change and predictions for the future climate.
• Local: Your shire council, like the Moyne Shire where I live, may have signed up to the “Cities for Climate Protection” program, which sets milestones to attempt to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions they produce from their own activities and the activities they influence. The Moyne shire also have a carbon offset program, whereby they plant trees to offset the carbon pollution produced by fleet vehicles and operations of the shire offices.
• Individual: What can you do as an individual to reduce your impact on our planet? Complete the EPA Personal Ecological Footprint Calculator to give you some ideas. Leave me some comments below about how you reduce your carbon footprint.

This term you will be required to write reports for five of the following  practical experiments:

1. Student Power
2. Exothermic and Endothermic reactions
3. Heat of Combustion of Candle Wax
4. Make a Solar Cooker
5. Rate of Cooling in Model Homes – Testing Insulation Materials
6. Models of Renewable Power Generators (Ecolinc)
7. Testing Household globes – Watts vs Lux (Ecolinc)
8. Testing Household Electrical Appliances (Ecolinc)
9. Temperature in a Model Home (Ecolinc)
10. Model Hydrogen Car (Ecolinc)
11. Model Solar Car (Ecolinc)
12. Ecologically Sustainable Design at Ecolinc

If you cannot do these experiments in your own school, or you would like assistance, the links take you to YouTube Videos or Slideshare presentations, where you can see how to perform the experiment and compare your results. Our first SAC will be a summary of these experiments that demonstrates your understanding of the Laws of Conservation of Energy, including the principles of energy transformations and energy efficiency.

The last seven (6 to 12) of these practical demonstrations and experiments are outlined in the following slideshow, which we will discuss at this week’s Blackboard Collaborate session. Please have your Ecolinc notes (Ecolinc – Energy and global warming student worksheet) with you when you click on the link to the session at 7.30pm on Tuesday 28th February. https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2007026&password=M.21EA6618A9F0493B52627D59105382

 

Tonight’s session starts at 7.30pm at the link below:

https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2007026&password=M.5034069F7902CB7F4C01757FD6B1F6

We will discuss the four ‘spheres’ (biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere) and the layers that make up the gaseous component  of our planet. It is important to understand the differences between the following terms: ‘hole in the ozone layer’; ‘the greenhouse effect’, ‘the enhanced greenhouse effect’, ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’. This session is an introduction to chapter two in your text book and preparation for the excursion to Ecolinc tomorrow. You will be participating in a two-hour program, including a tour of the energy efficient features of the building and several experiments relating to energy transformations and simulations of renewable energy technologies.

Image Source

Last night we had an introduction to energy, using the slideshow below, discussing the Laws of Conservation of Energy, how energy is measured and sources of energy (fossil and non-fossil fuels, renewable and non-renewable energy sources). Which is the one source of energy that is not a fossil fuel but also non-renewable?

The picture above, a schlieren image of a burning candle, shows how chemical energy (in the candle wax) can be transformed into thermal energy that dissapates in the environment. A similar image of three different light globes can be seen on the Science Photo Library Site. This shows how incandescent (old-fashioned, on right) light globes released a lot of heat as well as light, wasting lots of energy (which is dissipated as the air molecules diffuse). The compact fluorescent globe (middle) also releases some energy as heat, although it requires less power for the equivalent amount of light. The modern LED light (on left) requires a very small amount of energy and releases very little energy as heat. This image shows why LED globes are the most energy-efficient of the three – they transform a greater percentage of electrical energy into light and a smaller percentage into heat.

No energy transformation is 100% efficient – the energy is not ‘lost’ or ‘destroyed’ but simply converted into less useful forms – heat, light, sound, for example – that cannot be captured or stored easily. In the practical experiments on page 6 (Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions) and page 7 (Heat of Combustion of Candle Wax) we explore how chemical energy (stored in the bonds between molecules) can be transformed into thermal energy. The diagram below is a good way to remember the different types of energy – Kinetic (movement) and Potential (stored).

Welcome to the VCE Environmental Science Online course. Our first “Blackboard Collaborate” session will be at 7.30pm this Tuesday evening, 7th February. Click on this link from 7.15pm, add your first name and school (eg. Britt from Hawkesdale) and wait for the program to open.

https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2007026&password=M.16B3E371CDB8A82DB74F3318B570F9

Please make sure you have headphones and a microphone so you can participate fully in the session. These sessions are recorded, so you will be able to access a recording of the session for revision, or in case your connection drops out. This does happen very occasionally, depending on your internet connection, but don’t panic, just log in again using the original link.

Today, first round VTAC offers were published in Melbourne newspapers, listing the students who had received offers from tertiary institutions based on their ATAR score. I was very pleased to read that students who completed the VCE Environmental Science Online in 2011 had received offers for a variety of courses. These included Science at Melbourne University, Conservation and Wildlife Biology at LaTrobe University, Natural Resource Management at LaTrobe University and Applied Science at University of Ballarat. Alesia and Chris are taking a gap year for work and travel, while Anna will be juggling two courses and work. Congratulations to all these students for their commitment and motivation throughout the year.

This week I have also had a couple of enquiries about the online course. That takes the number of students planning to study Unit 3/4 Environmental Science to eleven, which is fantastic, as it means we have the support of DEECD to offer the course using the Ultranet. By now, I hope all students have been able to purchase the textbook “Issues of Sustainability”, which is available from the Victorian Association of Environmental Education. It would be very useful if you have also had the opportunity to read the following (available from libraries):
“An Inconvenient Truth” by Al Gore
“The Weathermakers” by Tim Flannery
“The Future Eaters” by Tim Flannery
“Feral Future” by Tim Lowe

The first three are especially relevant to our first Area of Study: Energy and The Greenhouse Effect. “Feral Future” discusses issues about introduced species and is useful for Area of Study 2: Biodiversity.

You will also need to have a computer with an internet connection at home and a set of headphones with a microphone to be able to participate in the Blackboard Collaborate sessions each week. We will negotiate a suitable day and time so that everyone is able to attend (usually Tuesday or Wednesday evening at 7.30pm if that is possible). You will receive a link to the online session by email and it will be posted here on the blog prior to each session. Just click on the link, allow the Java script to download and enter your name. This may take a few moments, so be patient.

There is an Ultranet Collaborative Space, “VCE Environmental Science”, which has the outline of the course and all the resources and tasks in a week-by-week schedule. Please obtain access and join this space – each school has an Ultranet lead user that will be able to assist you. You may also like to join the Facebook group (VCE Env Sci Online) and like the VCE Environmental Science page for links to resources, reminders about online sessions and a place to share your knowledge and ask questions.