In these activities, students will compare two products that provide the same function (in this case, light), but require different amounts of energy to do their job. Students will research and demonstrate energy efficiency in action and learn how it applies to different technologies. After the activities, students should be able to discuss the following:

• How does using less energy help our environment?
• What are the primary differences between compact fluorescent light bulbs and incandescent light bulbs?
• What are other examples of energy-efficient technologies or energy-saving practices?

Compact fluorescent bulb, incandescent bulb

National Standards: 9-12

• SEC-E: 2.b. Science often advances with the introduction of new technologies.
• SEC-E: 2.d. Science and technology are pursued for different purposes. Scientific inquiry is driven by the desire to understand the natural world, and technological design by the need to meet human need and solve human problems.
• SEC-E: 2.e. Scientific knowledge is made public through presentations and publications; technological knowledge is often not made public because of patents and the financial potential of the idea or invention.
• SEC-F: 4.a. Natural ecosystems provide an array of basic processes that affect humans. Those processes include maintenance of the quality of the atmosphere, generation of soils, control of the hydrologic cycle, disposal of wastes, and recycling of nutrients. Humans are changing many of these basic processes, and the changes may be detrimental to humans.