Renewables Don't Run Out

Age range

7-9 years, 9-11 years

Science topic

Forces, Materials, Plants, States of matter

Type of enquiry

Comparative/fair tests, Grouping and classifying, Problem solving

Renewables Don't Run Out illustrates the ways that plants can be used to replace ingredients (raw materials) that come from non-renewable resources either as ingredients or in some cases as fuel to make new products.

Download the full resource:

Renewables Full (PDF , 2,628kb)

Crops for all purposes

Science topic: Plants
Type of enquiry: Grouping and classifying
Keywords: plants, products, observe, identify, function, stem, roots, leaves, flowers

The children are introduced to the idea that some crops are grown for non-food purposes. They review the parts of a plant and their function.

Teacher's Notes: Crops for all purposes (PDF , 303kb)

Fuel from plants

Science topic: Materials
Type of enquiry: Comparative/fair tests
Keywords: fair test, variables, observe, measure, reversible, irreversible, burning, biomass

Children observe how well different materials burn and if they can be compressed for transporting.

Oil from seeds

Science topic: Plants
Type of enquiry: Problem solving
Keywords: oil, seeds, nuts, crops, renewable, non-renewable, crush, evaporate, compare

Different techniques are used to extract oil from a variety of seeds and nuts.

Separating oil and water

Science topic: Materials
Type of enquiry: Problem solving
Keywords: separate, oil, innovation, problem solving

Methods of separating a mixture of oil and water are investigated.

Teacher's Notes: Separating oil and water (PDF , 83kb)

Oil as a fuel

Science topic: States of matter
Type of enquiry: Comparative/fair tests
Keywords: fuel, energy, heating, temperature, thermometer, data logger, fair test, observe, measure, variables

Children use a variety of oils as fuels and compare results to find the best fuel.

Oil as a lubricant

Science topic: Forces
Type of enquiry: Comparative/fair tests
Keywords: oils, fats, lubricant, friction, surfaces, compare, observe, measure

The children are challenged to find out which oil would be the best lubricant.