Renewables Don't Run Out
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.
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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.
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.
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.
Focus on vocabulary
Science topic: Materials
Type of enquiry: Grouping and classifying
Keywords: vocabulary, word bank, glossary, definition
Intended for use throughout Activities 1-6; suggestions are made for motivating the children to develop their use of relevant scientific vocabulary
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