http://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_life/cub_life_lesson01.xmllessontext/xmlIntegrated Teaching and Learning Program, life cycleswaste recycle life cycle assessmentnaturebutterflyenergyLife cycleRecycleWaste

In this lesson, students will extend their knowledge of matter and energy cycles in an organism to engineering life cycle assessment of a product. Students will learn about product life cycle assessment and the flow of energy through the cycle, comparing it to the flow of nutrients and energy in the life cycle of an organism.

Engineers can use life cycle assessment, often called cradle-to-grave assessment, when designing and creating products. This type of analysis looks at a product from raw materials through production, manufacture, packaging, distribution, use, end-of-life treatment and disposal. Life cycle assessment of a product allows engineers to determine the environmental impacts of a design over the various stages of development — allowing for improvements in recycling and reducing waste. One example of a product that easily illustrates the use of life cycle assessment is plastic versus paper packaging. Steps that need to be considered in this analysis for both plastic and paper include the raw materials taken from the Earth, creation of the plastic or paper material, creation of the packaging, use of the packaging, distribution of the packaged product, and disposal of the packaging, as well as emissions for the process to the air, water or noise. All these issues are assessed to determine the environmental impact of the development of paper or plastic packaging.Describe several basic steps in the life cycle assessment of a product.Compare and contrast the life cycle of an organism and an engineered product.Describe the flow of energy through a product’s life cycle. 20TeachEngineering.orgMalinda Schaefer ZarskeJanet YowellKaelin Cawleyhttp://www.shrewsbury-ma.gov/schools/beal/curriculum/butterfly/cycle/nsrccycle.html http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/std/sab/lca/lca_brief.htmhttp://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/students/finalposter.pdfS1141717International_Technology_Education_Association-ITEA_STL_StandardsTechnologyD. The management of waste produced by technological systems is an important societal issue.68S1142554ColoradoSciencec. Compare and contrast the flow of energy with the cycling of matter in ecosystems66United StatesCopyright 2012 - Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulderhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-03-016Teacher