Activity (Hands-On)Grades 6 - 8
Watt Meters to Measure Energy Consumption
How much energy and power do electrical devices generate?Copyright Wikiedia Commons http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Small_appliance.jpg
Students use watt meters to measure the power required and calculate energy used from various electrical devices and household appliances.
Evaluating energy consumption is the first step engineers take when trying to reduce energy consumption. This step is part of the "understand the problem" and "gather information" steps in the problem solving spiral (and the engineering design process).
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Calculate energy use.
- Analyze how changing behaviors and appliances affects the amount of energy used.