This lesson will explore the phenomenon of maple sap production in the Great Lakes, as it pertains to chemical energy storage and transfer, in contrast with mechanical energy storage and transfer in wind turbines. Students will model the production of maple syrup from sap by making simple syrup and perform a distillation experiment with cola.
- Know how climate change can affect maple syrup production
- Understand how maple sap is an energy source for trees and syrup is produced from it
- Be able to use the laboratory technique of distillation to separate the components of cola
View the entire lesson plan including teacher background information, worksheets and more below or download for free here.
Activity 1:
This activity is a video discussion of a Great Lakes Now segment featuring a project to store energy underground in the Great Lakes. During the video they need to jot down four things they took away from the video using the 4 Notes Summary Protocol.
Watch a Great Lakes Now Segment
Activity 2:
In this activity, students will read about the arguments for and against installing wind turbines near Cleveland, Ohio.
Wind turbines offer an ongoing source of renewable energy to communities that use them; however, they have pros and cons to installing them, especially in the waters of the Great Lakes. In this activity, students will use a Think Pair Square Protocol for discussing what they will read about this very topic.
Read About the Wind Turbine Debate
Activity 3:
This activity is a video discussion of a Great Lakes Now segment featuring how climate change is affecting maple syrup production in the Great Lakes region.. During the video they need to jot down four things they took away from the video using the 4 Notes Summary Protocol.
Watch a Great Lakes Now Segment
Activity 4:
The purpose of this experiment is for students to model the process by which sap is turned into syrup by making simple syrup, which is a common sweetener that is often used in desserts or beverages.
Activity 5:
The purpose of this activity is for students to separate the components of a complex everyday solution — cola — using a distillation technique.
Learn all about Episode 2304: Maple Syrup and Storing Energy on this month’s landing page.
If you use this lesson or any of its activities with your learners, we’d love to hear about it! Contact us with any feedback or questions at: GreatLakesNow@DPTV.org
