1. Before we begin our virtual field trip, think about how you depend upon electricity.

List five activities that you do daily that require electricity.

For this portion of the lab, you will be viewing a web video of a virtual field trip. The answers to the questions are imbedded in the virtual trip to the Power Plant. Go to http://exp.lcc.edu/users/biol120/weblog/6692d/Power_Plant.html. After viewing the virtual field trip, answer the following questions.

2. Explain in your own words what electricity actually is. (You might like to use a Google search to look at a few sites discussing electricity).

3. Where does the coal that the Lansing Board of Water and Light uses come from?Approximately how many train cars of coal are needed each day to provide electricity to Lansing?

4. Explain how coal is used to produce electricity (from the video or from the web site listed below).

5. When you see “smoke” coming out of a power plant smoke stack, what actually are you viewing?

6. What are the environmental concerns associated with burning coal? (You may want to consult other sources besides the video on this one too).

7. How does the power plant keep airborne contaminants from leaving the power plant?

8. Find your monthly electric bill and calculate the average cost of electricity per day. Is it worth the cost? List two ways by which you could reduce the cost of electricity to your household.

For the following questions, go to: http://www.lbwl.com

9. What is the Lansing Board of Water and Light? Who owns it? How is this different from a privately owned company such as Consumers Power?

10. Based on information provided on the web site, list two ways that you think would work best for you to conserve on electricity and two that would conserve on water. Do these agree with what you thought of on your own for question 8 above? Would you have to spend any money to implement these changes, and do you think it would be worth it in the long run?

11. What is GreenWise power? How does it work? Would you be willing to sign up for it if you got your energy from the Board of Water and Light? Why or why not?

For the following question, go to: http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=stats (this is the US Energy Information Administration, which maintains official statistics on US energy)

12. Under U.S. Total Energy Statistics, look for total consumption by source. How much of the US’s energy consumption comes from oil, gas, coal, nuclear, and renewables?

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