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Creative Problem Solving

Lesson Plan
Physical Science
8
Energy Transformation
2+ Hours
Shalisa Gee

Instructional Unit Content

Standard(s)/Element(s)
Content Area Standard
S8P2. Students will be familiar with the forms and transformation of energy
TAG Standard
Creative Thinking and Problem Solving
2. The student designs, applies, evaluates, and adapts a variety of innovative strategies to when
problem solving (e.g., recognizes problems, defines problems, identifies possible solutions, selects
optimal solution, implements solution, and evaluates solution).
3. The student incorporates brainstorming and other idea-generating technique to solve problems or
create new products.
Summary/Overview
The focus of this lesson is to have students identify problems and create solutions to a damage
nuclear power plant dilemma
Enduring Understanding(s)
At the end of this lesson the student will understand
a. Energy isnt created or destroyed but transfers from one form to another
Essential Question(s)
How does energy impact our everyday lives?
Concept(s) to Maintain
Laws of Energy
The Rules of Brainstorming
Evidence of Learning

What students should know:

a. There are different forms of energy including but not limited to heat, light, electricity,
mechanical, and sound.
b. Any form of energy can be converted into any other form.
What students should be able to do:
a. Describe how heat can be transferred through matter by the collisions of atoms (conduction)
or through space (radiation). In a liquid or gas, currents will facilitate the transfer of heat
(convection).
b. Compare and contrast the different forms of energy (heat, light, electricity, mechanical
motion, sound) and their characteristics
c. Explain energy transformation in terms of the Law of Conservation of Energy.
Suggested Vocabulary

Electrical energy
Nuclear energy
Energy
Work
Law of Conservation of energy

Procedure(s)
Phase 1: Hook
1. Students will participate in a Guided Imagery Exercise. Students will record and discuss feelings
that result from the guided imagery.
Phase 2: Examine the Content
2. Mess: Distribute the Article: Nuclear Power Plant. Students will read the Article individually.

3.

Students will work in small group to list all the facts and opinions obtained from the reading.
Each group will generate a list of unanswered questions to research. Students may use
computers, books, internet, or any resource they deem fit for researching their questions.

4.

Phase 3: Creative Problem Solving

5.

Review the Rules of Brainstorming: 1) Go for quantity. 2) Wild and crazy ideas are okay. 3)
Piggy-back on the ideas of others. 4) No judgmentpositive or negative.

6.

Problem-Finding: Each group will brainstorm the problems seen as a result of the mess.
Opportunity is provided for grouping of similar problems and selecting from the top three. From

the top three problems, each group will develop a solvable problem statement beginning with
How might we
7.

Idea-Finding: Each group will brainstorm solutions to the problem statement. Opportunity is
provided for grouping of similar problems.

8.

Solution-Finding: Each group will develop criteria (chart as a class) to evaluate the five
solutions and use a decision-making grid to determine the best solution. Opportunity is provided
for research to make valid evaluations against the criteria.

9.

Acceptance-Finding: Each group will develop an action plan for implementing the solution or
design a product to demonstrate implementation.

Phase 4: Synthesis Activity

10.

Each group will develop a power point presentation/Prezi and verbal presentation for sharing
their solutions to the problems at the nuclear power plant if they actually worked there at the
plant.

Summarizing Activity
Shapely Debrief
In regards to the article of the Nuclear Power Plant
Something I learned that squares with my beliefs
Three points to remember
One question still going around in your mind
Resource(s):
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/business/28nuke.html?pagewanted=all
Anchor Text(s):
Technology:
Websites and multiple resources for research for a variety of reading level.
Handouts:
Handout 1:
Handout 2:
Handout 3:
Handout 4:

Hook- Guided Imagery Exercise

Article: In Vermont, A Debate Swirls Around an Aging Nuclear Plant
Rules of Brainstorming
Shapely Debrief

Handout 1:
Guided Imagery for nuclear plant dilemma
Please find a comfortable sitting position. You may rest your head on your desk if you like.
Close your eyes and sit very quietly. Take a couple of moments and notice how your body feels.
Are you holding your breath, or are you breathing evenly? Notice if you feel any tension or stress
in any part of your body. Now youre going to relax your body as you relax your breath.
Breathe in.and outandinout. Feel the tension in your body created by a hard day at
school. Breathe inandoutexhale. Allow yourself to let go of any thoughts or worries.
Continue to breathe inandout.
You are a young person who lives Georgia. Your mom is telling you to hurry up and eat your
cereal because she has to drop your dad off to work before she takes you to school. You hurry to
finish your last bit of cereal, grab your bag and jump into the car. As you are driving in the car
you hear your parent talk about your dads job. He goes on to talk about a meeting and possibly
finding somewhere else to work. You dont think anything of it as you ride along looking at the
trees and just think to yourself thats grown up stuff. You ride along for about 10 miles you
notice that there is quite a bit of traffic. Your dad tells your mom to turn down another street
which is a short cut to the. As you pull up to the large plant with 3 big smoke stacks pumping
out white smoke your dad tells your mom to let him get out because he will walk the rest of the
way. As your dad gets out the car you jump in the front seat and notice a long line of cars parked
and people with picket signs. As you pass the chaos you put your ear buds in turn on your
IPhone and listen to your favorite song.
Now bring yourself back to the present as I count to five. Open your eyes at the count of five. 1,
2,3,4,5. Slowly open your eyes and write how you felt and reacted taking that drive with your
parents and notice all the chaos.

Handout 2

Article
In Vermont, a Debate Swirls Around an Aging Nuclear Plant
BRATTLEBORO, Vt. after part of a cooling tower collapsed last August at
Vermonts only nuclear power plant, the company that runs it blamed
rotting wooden timbers that it had failed to inspect properly. The uproar
that followed rekindled environmental groups hopes of shutting down the
aging plant.
The proposed closing, albeit a long shot, has gained some support this year
among Vermont politicians. The discussion here is bringing into sharp
relief a conflict between two objectives long held by environmental
advocates: combating nuclear power and stopping global warming.
Nuclear plants supply nearly 20 percent of the nations electricity, and they
do so without emitting the carbon dioxide that is the principal cause of
global warming. Vermonts 36-year-old plant, which feeds into the regional
power grid, represents a third of the states electrical generation.
Antinuclear groups who are arguing for closing the plant hope to replace
the lost electricity with renewable generation from wind turbines, solar
power and the combustion of plant material. Additionally, they cite the
potential for cutting electrical demand by making homes and business
more efficient.
Even so, some environmental advocates have reluctantly acknowledged
that no combination of renewable power and improved efficiency can
replace the plant, Vermont Yankee, at least in the near term. Instead, the
state would probably have to tap the Northeastern grid which derives
more than half its energy from fossil fuels for extra power.
Well likely have to go to the market, and that will mean an increase in
Vermonts electricity portfolio that comes from fossil fuels, said Andrew
Perchlik, director of Renewable Energy Vermont, a group that promotes
clean power, speaking about the prospect of the plants closing. He faulted

the state government and utilities for not focusing earlier on renewable
energy, saying if they had done so, we wouldnt be in this predicament.
The Vermont debate comes as interest in nuclear power is increasing across
the country, driven by rising demand for power as well as emissions
concerns.
Like other plants nationwide, Vermont Yankee is seeking a 20-year
extension of its operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
the federal body that oversees the countrys reactor fleet. A decision, which
could allow the plant to keep operating until 2032, is expected later this
year. Several utilities, encouraged by the federal government, are
considering building nuclear reactors for the first time in three decades.
In Vermont, home too many people with a back-to-the-land viewpoint,
surveys show that people want to move away from fuels like coal and oil
that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. They also support renewable
energy.
But the same surveys show less consensus on nuclear power. At energy
workshops last year, nearly two-thirds of participants said Vermont utilities
should cease buying power from the nuclear plant unless fossil fuels and
out-of-state nuclear power were the alternatives, in which case more than
half would continue with Vermont Yankee.
Not counting dams, another low-emission energy source that many
environmental groups oppose, renewable power makes up 2.5 percent of
the nations electricity generation. That figure is higher in Vermont, 6
percent, but renewables are still a long way from supplying the bulk of the
states power.
Starting from these slim figures, many advocacy groups dream of achieving
a nuclear-free mix burnished by local renewables. State researchers
estimate that as much as 48 percent of Vermonts power could one day
come from local renewables, including small hydropower projects.

When you look at all the scenarios for climate change, nuclear is not a
must-do, said James Moore, the clean-energy advocate for the Vermont
Public Interest Research Group, a group that opposes the nuclear plant.
But utilities in Vermont, like their counterparts elsewhere in the country,
argue that environmental advocates are mistaken if they believe a lowemission future can be achieved without nuclear power. They note the
intermittency of power sources like windmills and solar panels, and argue
that the nation needs more, not fewer, big power plants that emit no carbon
dioxide.
Vermont is in an enviable position right now, said Steve Costello, a
spokesman for the states largest utility, Central Vermont Public Service.
We have arguably the cleanest power in the country from an air-emissions
standpoint, and we have the lowest rates in the Northeast.
His utility is willing to build more renewables, he said, but closing Vermont
Yankee would make maintaining clean and cheap power much more
difficult.
Even as some Vermonters argue for more renewable power, proposals to
build it have hit snags. Vermont has only one commercial wind farm, 11
turbines along a mountain ridge. They have less than 1 percent of the
capacity of Vermont Yankee, a relatively small nuclear plant.
Other proposed projects have been stalled by local opposition. One wind
project would infringe on bear habitat. Another won approval from state
regulators, but a local group filed a court appeal to block it.
Vermont is very protective of its environment regulation, said Mr.
Perchlik of Renewable Energy Vermont. Its not going to be done Texasstyle, where you can get a permit in a month. He nonetheless hopes that
wind turbines can provide 20 percent of Vermonts electricity by 2015.
Besides tapping into the Northeastern grid, Vermont could import more
power from Hydro Quebec, a giant dam system in Canada that already
accounts for a third of Vermonts electricity, but that would probably help

push up prices. Solar power is also costly. Burning wood chips or other
plant material is one option Burlington already has such a plant but a
large one would face pollution and other problems.
The best bet for reducing the states emissions may be energy efficiency, in
which Vermont already excels. Since 2000, an outfit called Efficiency
Vermont has coaxed homeowners and businesses to change their light
bulbs and buy more efficient appliances, like refrigerators. The state
believes it has already cut power demand slightly this way.
Concerns about the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, in the town of Vernon,
focus on the disposal of spent nuclear fuel, a nationwide problem, and on
local concerns about safety.
Last August, Vermonters were shocked to see images of water gushing out
of a huge pipe onto a heap of collapsed wooden beams. A portion of one of
the plants two cooling towers had fallen in after decay weakened the wood.
No radioactivity was released, but Entergy, the plants operator, labored to
explain how it could have missed such an obvious problem.
Rob Williams, an Entergy spokesman, said the cooling tower, along with
other recent incidents, certainly impacted reliability, but the safety was not
at all impacted. Major repairs and improvements to both cooling towers
have just been completed, he said, with crucial timbers replaced by
fiberglass-reinforced plastic.
The Vermont legislature has already voted to tighten plant oversight, and
next year it is likely to take a vote on shutting down the plant, though
whether the state would actually have the power to do that is unclear. The
federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses and regulates all reactors,
and some experts predict lawsuits if Vermont tries a shutdown.
Matthew L. Wald contributed reporting from Washington.

Handout 3 Brainstorming Rules

1.
2.

One idea at a time

Encourage wild ideas

3.

Go for quantity

4.

Be visual

5.

Headline

6.

Build on others ideas yes, and

7.

Defer judgment

8.

Marking and sifting

CPS Step 1: Fact Finding

List all of the important details and facts that you gained from the article.

List at least three questions that you need answered to completely understand the situation.

CPS Step 2: Problem Finding

Brainstorm the many, varied, and unusual problems that result from the situation.

Create a problem statement.

How might we _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________?
CPS Step 3: Idea Finding
Brainstorm the many, varied, and unusual possible solutions to the problem.
How might we _________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________?

Brainstorm the many, varied, and unusual criteria that can be used to evaluate the
solutions to the problem.

CPS Step 4: Solution Finding

Solutions/Criteria

CPS Step 5: Acceptance Finding

Develop an action plan for implementing your solution. Be sure to include
who should be involved
a timeline
a way to evaluate the success or appropriateness

Revised April 2009

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