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Lesson Plan: Tidal Power Physics
This lesson plan includes the objectives, prerequisites, and exclusions of the lesson teaching students how to describe the advantages and disadvantages of generating electricity from tidal barrages.
Objectives
Students will be able to
- recall the basic energy transfers that take place in tidal barrages (gravitational potential energy of the water kinetic energy of the turbine electrical energy from the generator),
- recall that tidal barrages produce alternating current,
- recall the advantages of tidal barrages:
- once built, no , methane, or other pollutants are released into the environment,
- there are no fuel costs,
- tides are highly predictable, so the energy output of a tidal barrage is highly predictable and therefore reliable,
- recall the disadvantages of tidal barrages:
- can alter the habitat for wetland wildlife,
- there are only a few locations where they can be built (best built on estuaries that start very wide and become narrow very quickly),
- they only generate electricity at certain times of the day,
- recall the basic idea of how a barrage works:
- the tides raise the level of the water on one side,
- the sluice gates are opened to let the water through the turbines,
- the water level equalizes on either side of the barrage,
- the sluice gates are closed,
- the water level drops on the first side of the barrage again,
- do basic power and energy calculations using .
Prerequisites
Students should already be familiar with
- the different categories of energy,
- the units of energy,
- what electricity is.
Exclusions
Students will not cover
- wave power/other forms of generating electricity from the sea/underwater “wind” turbines,
- how a generator works.
