Ed Home (text) - TRC Home - sciencelines Index
Teacher Information Background Information:
As we gather and use energy for our many needs, we create environmental problems we do not intend. Such consequences occur during all phases of extracting, transporting and using energy resources. Energy resources such as coal, oil or uranium are buried deep in the ground. Extracting them can damage local ecosystems by changing water flow, disrupting wildlife, polluting water and eroding soil.
In the activity that students do, the chocolate chips represent coal in the ground in mountainous areas where geologic forces have folded and broken the ground so that the layers of coal are no longer flat and continuous. This mining activity represents open-pit mining where the coal deposits are more discontinuous and patchy than the flat and continuous beds found in the prairies of Alberta and the central United States.
Coal is the compressed remains of ancient plants. For millions of years, buried plants were heated and compressed. They were converted to a material that is mostly carbon. Because coal is made from ancient forests, we call it a "fossil fuel." Oil and natural gas are the other fossil fuels. Coal is more abundant than oil or natural gas.
All coal is not the same. The more heat and pressure it received while being formed, the more it changed. Some coal is not greatly changed from the original plants. That coal is soft and brown and is called lignite. Two types that changed more are called sub-bituminous and bituminous. Anthracite is the name of the hard, black coal that changed the most from its plant form.
The harder coals make better fuels and are more valuable, but they are not as common.
If possible, coal is mined from a large hole in the ground called a surface mine. That is the cheapest method. If the layers of coal are flat and smooth, surface mining can remove them in long strips. These mines are called strip mines. If the coal deposit is broken up, the surface mine is called an open-pit mine.Coal is also mined underground with verticle shafts that tunnel deep under the surface. Corridors lead horizontally from the shafts to reach the coal. Underground mining is necessary when the coal is too deep or too hard to reach for surface mining. Some underground mines are many kilometers long. In Nova Scotia, they extend under the ocean. Underground mines are more expensive and more dangerous to miners.
Meeting Individual Needs:
Remedial
- This activity should be done as a teacher-led activity with the entire class doing each step together.
Enrichment
- Have students research and report on the extraction of energy resources as suggested in the Extension question.
- Invite a representative of a mining company to talk to your class about the procedures they follow to lessen the impact of their mining on the environment.
- Have students research and debate the tradeoffs that society makes in energy issues. Where do we draw the line for resource mining companies? How much of the environment are we willing to give up in order to get the energy resources we need?
Visual Learners
- Bring in pictures of mining operations so that students can see the effects of this kind of mining.
Follow It Up
Assessment and Evaluation
- After students have "mined the first chocolate chip cookie, have them analyze the processes they used. How are they similar to procedures used by mining companies? (i.e., strip mining, tunnel mining, etc.)
Brainium Links
World Wide Web Links
- Mine Net: This site offers links to the information on mining and the mining industry. http://www.microserve.com/~doub/index.html
Program Resources
Integration
- Have students research how technology has affected the ways that mining is done.
- Have students investigate environmental regulations that mining companies must meet. How have recent regulation impacted the economics of mining? How have the regulations impacted the state of the environment?
This activity insert covering pages 7-9 are compliments of Brainium.com
While format has been modified to accommodate the layout, content is precisely what you will find online.
Contact information is available on the Website, or contact: Eleanor Lethbridge, training@dreamwriter.com
Beginning Steps Student Sheet