Nuffield STEM Futures

© Nuffield Foundation 2010

Nuffield STEM Futures

Cars


Lesson 1:Cars in our lives:

Introductory film 7


Activity 1.1:The history of the motor car

Learning outcomesYou will be able to:• Record information from video clips.• Explain the relationship between car

ownership and oil production.



You are going to watch a series of video clips about the history of cars. Make notes to help you answer questions in a quiz on this topic. You and your partner will compete against other pairs in the quiz. You will be able to use any notes you make during the quiz.

Watch the first video clip without writing anything, just to see the type of information that you need to record.

Agree with your partner the best way to make notes.

Watch each video clip in turn (including the first one). This time make notes to use in your quiz.



Peak oil graph animation link: http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/futures-animations



A10strong as an oxA: B: 100

For approximately how many years have humans been using oil in large quantities?

C: D:1000 200


100 years) As strong as



What is the maximum rate of production of oil on the graph (millions of barrels per day)?

C: D: 80 800


80 million barrels per day



When is oil production expected to peak?

C: D: 2080 3000


2010


A1800sstrong as an oxA: B: 1700s

When was the industrial revolution in the UK?

C: D: 1600s 1900s


1800s


Awood as an oxA: B: coal tar

What was the main fuel of the industrial revolution?

C: D: oil coal


coal


Ahot waters an oxA: B: steam

What was the coal used to make to drive early engines?

C: D: hot oil coke


steam


AEngland as an oxA: B: North Sea

Where was the first modern oil well?

C: D: America Asia


Asia


A1918s an oxA: B: 1848

When was the first modern oil well built?

C: D: 1840 1912


1848


A1835as an oxA: B: 1899

When were the first cars built?

C: D: 1904 1882


1882


A1918 as an oxA: B: 1965

When did Henry Ford start line manufacturing cars?

C: D: 1914 1930


1914


A15000000as an oxA: B: 15000

How many model T Fords had been built by 1927?

C: D: 150000 14


15000000


A1955s an oxA: B: 1930

By which year was car ownership common?

C: D: 1940 1965


1965


plants all dieA: B: cars all stop

Which of the following will happen after oil has peaked?

C: D:technologies develop

people grow vegetables


technologies develop


Aoil as an oxA: B: coal

Which of the following might cars use for energy in the future?

C: D: electricity wood


electricity


A coal and oil oxA: B: oil and wood

What do hybrid cars use for energy?

C: D:hydrogen and water

petrol and electricity


petrol and electricity


Activity 1.2:Film clip 8


Activity 1.2:Top trumps

Learning outcomesYou will be able to:• Make a choice from someone else’s

perspective.• Explain how some features of modern car

design are helping to bring cars into a closed loop system.

• Use data for a purpose.



Pupil activity Part 1 of 2

a. Deal out all the cards (2 players or more).b. Place your cards face down in a pile.c. First player selects a category from their top card and reads out its

value.d. The next player reads out the value for same category.e. The best value wins and the winner collects the trick.f. The winner chooses the category for the next round.g. If the hand is drawn, the cards are placed in the middle to be

collected by the next winner.h. Use the sustainable car fact files to make some new cards.



Pupil activity Part 2 of 2

i. Play the game again with the new cards.j. Select a character from the list provided.k. Select a car you think your character would choose.l. Now decide which new car your character would choose if:• the cost of petrol increases by 50%• the Government subsidises cars with low emissions

(200g per km).i. think of a strap line to advertise your character’s new car.


Plenary: Lesson 1Discuss:1.What are the main

benefits and disadvantages of cars?

2.How will cars of the future increase the benefits and reduce the disadvantages of cars?


Lesson 2: Investigating air

pollution:Introductory

film 9


Activity 2.1:Soot from cars

Learning outcomesYou will be able to:• Use a standard technique to collect and

compare samples along a transect. • Assume a role in a team. • Evaluate teamwork. • Plan an investigation.• Evaluate the reliability of the investigation.• Draw conclusions from data.



Pupil activity Part 1 of 7In this activity you will:Carry out an air pollution survey in your school grounds

or local park.Choose a site where there are some trees near a road.Collect soot samples from trees to indicate pollution

levels.Decide whether you think the pollution levels need to be

taken into account when locating a picnic table.



Pupil activity Part 2 of 7Divide up the tasks between members of your team.

Decide on the different roles needed and what equipment you should take into the field.

Your investigation should involve:1. Measuring the distance from the road, tree height,

tree circumference.2. Identifying and recording tree species and lichens. 3. Taking samples of soot from trees.



Pupil activity Part 3 of 7Equipment list to choose from

Clipboard Hand lens (optional)Tape measure Tree identification key Trundle wheel Key to lichens (optional)Sticky tape, 1 roll Noise sensor / datalogger Scissors, or sticky tape dispenser

Map of transect area (park, school grounds)



Pupil activity Part 4 of 7a. Write down your investigation question.b. Use a magnifying glass to inspect the sootiness of your

samples.c. Decide whether each sample is more or less sooty than

the standard sample at site 1, and more or less sooty than the previous sample. Fill this into the evidence table.

d. Together decide a rank order of sootiness for your samples.



Pupil activity Part 5 of 7e.Agree a standard technique to collect reliable data from your site.



Pupil activity Part 6 of 7f. How reliable is your data?

To answer this question, think of all the factors that you would need to keep the same to make your investigation completely reliable. Make a table similar to this one.

Factor How did you control it?

How successful were you?

e.g. tree type Tried to use same species of tree

Results were from 3 different species



Pupil activity Part 7 of 7For discussion: Where should you site a picnic table in the sampling

area?What are the benefits of working together in a team?How did you decide who was going to do which job?What aspects of working as a team did you find difficult?What would you do differently next time in order to work

more effectively?


Plenary: Lesson 2

Discuss:1.How effective was this investigation at

surveying pollution?2.What would you need to do to improve the

investigation?3.What should be done about the pollution in

your school grounds?


Lesson 3: Traffic

pollution:Introductory

film 10


Activity 3.1:Traffic pollution in Mumbai

Learning outcomesYou will be able to:• Show how maths can be used to help solve a STEM

problem on sustainability.• Explain how traffic pollution can damage health.• Suggest strategies to reduce traffic pollution in

Mumbai.• Use a flow chart to plan a mathematical solution (CP).• Collaborate to write a report.



Pupil activity Part 1 of 4The ScenarioYou are a group of transport systems experts in Mumbai.

You have been commissioned by the government to produce a report. You have to advise on whether your city should impose a law to force all taxi drivers to go over to Compressed Natural Gas fuel (CNG).

The proposed law would force all taxis to make the conversion over a two-month period or have their licence taken away.



Pupil activity Part 2 of 4a. Write a report for the Mumbai government in three

parts:Section 1: A summary of the health risks of air pollutionSection 2: Response to the government’s plan to convert

all the taxis in two monthsSection 3: Recommendations to the government on

some other strategies to reduce car pollution.c. Agree who in your group will be responsible for which

section.d. Present all or part of your report to the class.


Activity 3.1:Report section 3: Problem-solving chart

Pupil activity Part 3 of 4What do we need to know? Useful information

Conclusion Working out


Activity 3.1:Report section 3: Problem-solving chart

Pupil activity Part 4 of 4What do we need to know?

How many diesel taxis are there?

How long does it take to do one taxi?

Can more than one taxi be done at the same time?

How many taxis can be done at the same time?

How many garages are there?

Could each garage do 3 cars a day?

Useful information

15 thousand taxis

2 or 3 hours to convert each one

Yes more than one can be done at a time

It depends how many garages there are

There are 16 garages

Yes each one can do 3 cars a day

Conclusion

They cannot get it done in two months; it would take more than a year.

It would not be fair to stop the taxis doing their job. They should be allowed more time to change their engines

Working it out

16 x 3 = 48 cars can be done each day

so 48 x 5 = 480 ÷ 2 = 240 a week

Say about 1000 a month

So it would take 15 months to do 15 000 taxis.


Plenary: Lesson 3

Discuss:1.What are the main problems with heavy

urban traffic?2.What might would the closed loop solution

be?3.What would be the main obstacles for

implementing these solutions?


Lessons 4 & 5: Sustainable transport:

Introductory film 11


Activity 4.1:A sustainable school run

Learning outcomesYou will be able to:• Establish criteria for assessing a presentation. • Evaluate a presentation and give feedback.• Demonstrate the need for a sustainable school

transport plan.• Propose a set of closed loop transport solutions.• Explain how a sustainable school transport plan

will help reduce use of buried sunshine.


Activity 4.1:A sustainable school run

Task description: A closed loop school runYour challenge:Find out about how pupils get to school.Plan a school bus route to get everyone to school

on time.Conduct research into other sustainable forms of

transport.Plan a 5 minute presentation for a given audience.


Activity 4.1:Part A Selecting criteria

Pupil activity Part 1 of 2You have been given a set of possible criteria for

evaluating the quality of your final presentation.a. First sort the criteria into two columns:i. Contentii. Communicationb. Rank the criteria in each column according to

which you think are the most important.


Activity 4.1:Part A Selecting criteria

Pupil activity Part 2 of 2c. Compare your list with another group and

agree your top three criteria for both categories – 6 criteria in all.

d. Design an evaluation sheet that will help you score and comment on the final presentation.

e. Make sure everyone in the groups understands the 6 criteria they will be working towards.


Activity 4.1:Part B Planning the mini project

Pupil activity Part 1 of 3Use the planning sheet provided to help plan your

project.

In your group, you need to agree:• What needs to be done?• Who needs to do it?• How long it will take?• How will it be judged in the evaluation?



Pupil activity Part 2 of 3Plan the content of your research. This might include:1. A survey: How are pupils getting to school at the

moment? Where do pupils live?2. Investigations: What is the shortest route a bus

could take? How long should the journey take?3. Research: By how much would a school bus reduce

pollution? How does using a school bus relate to closed loop theory? What other strategies could the council adopt to reduce traffic pollution?



Pupil activity Part 3 of 3Plan your presentation. This might include: 1.Promoting your ideas: How will you convince people to take part in your scheme? 2.Audience: Who is your presentation for? (pupils, the local authority, parents, local business)3.Medium: Will you produce a leaflet, poster, Powerpoint, radio report or newspaper article?4.Criteria: How will you divide up the tasks to make sure you fulfil all the criteria?


Activity 4.1: Part C Researching and preparing the

presentation


Activity 4.1: Part D Giving your feedback

Each group will evaluate one other group against the agreed criteria. When evaluating a presentation you should:1.Ask questions about the content. 2.Write a constructive comment on each of the criteria. Use your own evaluation sheet for this. 3.Suggest how the content and the way it was presented could have been improved. Be positive.


Lesson 4 & 5: PlenaryDiscuss:1. What are the merits of the different criteria that

each group has used? 2. How do the different solutions help reduce the

amount of fossil fuels burnt? 3. How does using less fossil fuel help promote

sustainable living? Use your Learning Nutshell to record your

thoughts about this pod.


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