Solar arrays
The class is now working on their solar arrays. The teams began building their solar arrays when we returned to school after the holiday break. The arrays were tested with four different light sources (65-watt plant bulb, 65-watt incandescent bulb, room light and with the sun on an overcast day). In addition to the different light sources, we used different angles (0, 30, 45 and 65 degrees) of inclination from the horizontal axis.
The students then created a spreadsheet and graphed several charts. After all the data was collected and analyzed the students found out that the sun produced more energy than any artificial lighting we used and that the best angle of inclination was 65 degrees.
The marking period ends this Friday, Jan. 23, so the students are busy working on their portfolios. The portfolios will be created in PowerPoint and will outline all the course elements, including handouts, projects, test, homework, movies, cited work and reports.
We will continue the project with a new group of students on Monday, Jan. 26. Although I will have to start all over again to bring them up to speed on the project, I plan to add a different twist here and there. All the teachers reading this blog know that we have to keep the material new and fresh to maintain students’ interest.
