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A model energy project
The accumulation of pollutants like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and other greenhouse gases have reached crisis proportions in the atmosphere. The solar radiation is becoming trapped inside the Earth's atmosphere
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A globe covered with plastic
- like a greenhouse. |
and is being reflected back to Earth's surface. This is what is meant by the greenhouse effect and we are almost becoming rapidly ripening 'vegetables'.
Scientists have highlighted the risk we will face if our action and environmental behaviour aren't changed. Severe droughts and flooding, melting ice caps and rising seas, and the extinction of organisms or changed ecosystems. Resources like timber, water, minerals etc. have began to run out and the effects of pollution and the disposal of waste have become critical issues. All human action has an affect on the natural environment and the consequences often go beyond what we immediately can perceive.
The aim of this project is to find ways of saving energy and at the same time save the amount of greenhouse gases. If you change all your bulbs at home to 'low energy light bulbs', you have made a great contribution towards our common future, but you could do more by changing your environmental behaviour and create an awareness and an understanding of that things could be done in different ways.....
A model can be used to give a very exciting representation and understanding of inflow and outflow of energy in a 'room' or within an area. A cup of tea is such a simple 'room' which can be used to explain what it is all about. See the Project idea below to find out more.
Probably you have an idea about how to save energy..... an idea that might be useful by someone else.
the Project idea....
Is it possible to extend the cooling period and keep the heat in a cup of tea?
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time |
temp. |
Change in oC |
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minutes |
ToC |
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0 |
95 |
0 |
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1 |
86,8 |
-8,3 |
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2 |
79,4 |
-7,3 |
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3 |
72,9 |
-6,5 |
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4 |
67,1 |
-5,8 |
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5 |
61,9 |
-5,2 |
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6 |
57,3 |
-4,6 |
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7 |
53,2 |
-4,1 |
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8 |
49,5 |
-3,6 |
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9 |
46,3 |
-3,2 |
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10 |
43,4 |
-2,9 |
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11 |
40,8 |
-2,6 |
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12 |
38,5 |
-2,3 |
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: |
: |
: |
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: |
: |
: |
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34 |
21,4 |
-0,2 |
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35 |
21,3 |
-0,2 |
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36 |
21,1 |
-0,1 |
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37 |
21,0 |
-0,1 |
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38 |
20,9 |
-0,1 | |
Discuss
..... all kind of practicable changes and measures that could be done to keep the heat of the tea. Find out if the changes or measures really work (see procedure above). If it works write it down and report it all to our database. Click here.
Surely students in different countries have different and interesting ideas about how to keep the energy in a cup of tea, ideas that you can enjoy and find useful. Click here to find out.
The idea about the cup of tea and the discussions and laboratory work around it can be applicable to any other model for example an aquarium, a vivarium, a model of a house, a vehicle, a machine, an ecosystem.
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Keeping the heat or high temperature in a cup of tea means saving wood, saving timber or fossil fuels and in the long run - reducing the amount of greenhouse gases. |
Green energy?
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