White Board Markers Computers Book Natural Resources Minerals Batteries Vocabulary Introduction Battery Scavenger Hunt (10 minutes)

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1 Where do batteries come from? Learn how batteries are an important part of our energy mix now and in the future. Time Needed: 45mins Grade: 7 Subject: Geography, Science Key Themes: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ear i You will need bjecti es What batteries are made of - White Board and Markers The different kinds of batteries - Computers, Book on Natural Resources and/or Minerals Where battery materials come from - A variety of Batteries (AA, D) The environmental impact of battery production cti ity Vocabulary - Minerals - High-drain device - Low-drain/intermittent device Introduction - Battery Scavenger Hunt (10 minutes) 1. Ask the students: Where are batteries found at home and at school? 2. Get students on their feet and moving. Give them three minutes to brainstorm as many things in the classroom and at home that require batteries to operate. 3. Make a list of things at school for which batteries are needed. Use Different Types of Batteries, document attached below to talk about the specific types of batteries. Ask: What are the different types of batteries? 4. Discuss the different uses of each kind of battery. Did you identify any of these in your Scavenger Hunt? Explain the difference between high-drain and low-drain devices. If possible, bring in examples of both types of devices. Low-drain or intermittent device: an electronic device that uses electricity occasionally (e.g. remote control) or only a little bit over a long time (e.g. alarm clock, smoke detector, wireless mouse) High-drain device: an electronic device that use a lot of power in a short time (portable video game, MP3/iPod, cell phone) 5. Ask, What natural resources are required to create batteries?

2 Activity 6. Once students are familiar with the different types of batteries, talk about what the inside of batteries look like. Use attached sheet: Inside a Battery. 7. Next, talk about how each battery part is made up of a different mineral. Mineral: a solid inorganic substance that occurs naturally. Activity - Learning more about minerals (30 minutes) 1. Using the jigsaw procedure, place students into six groups and assign each group a natural resource (iron ore, pyrolusite, natural gas, potassium, copper and zinc). 2. Ask students to become experts in their resource by completing these requirements: - Draw a picture that will help students understand the resource. - Learn how the resource is formed. - Find its location (within or outside of Canada) 3. Have students plot the locations on a map of Canada, or the globe. 4. Discover its role/importance to humans in history. 5. Learn what the environmental impacts are from extracting the resource. 6. Have students share with the rest of the class the important things they have learned. 7. Using attached sheet: Environmental Impact of Battery Production, discuss with the students any impacts that were overlooked. Consolidation - (5 minutes) 1. Review that batteries are an important part of our energy use; we use them every day (recall hook activity and discussion). 2. Ask students to imagine life without batteries. What would be different? Ask students if, in the future, they think that more or less things will be battery-powered.

3 ASSESSMENT Students will use a self-assessment rating scale about the knowledge they learned and about how well their group worked together. Afterwards they will write a brief statement about what they liked about the group and include their ideas for improvement. Knowledge of Content Weak (1) Average (2) Good (3) Excellent (4) How your resource is formed Where it is found Its role/importance to humans in history Group Skills All members participated in the group activities. Group members practiced cooperative skills. Group members stayed on the task assigned. What I really liked about our group was Ideas for improvement: EXTENDED ACTIVITIES Ask students to list of different facts collected from other groups about batteries and write which ones were most interesting and why. PRINT AND WEB SITE REFERENCES Location of mines in Canada: Natural Resource Canada - Minerals and Rocks: Mineral Resources Education Program (BC):

4 Different Types of Batteries Type of battery Common uses Minerals used Alkaline battery These are general purpose batteries - can be used in low-drain or intermittent devices such as remote controls, flashlights, clocks. The electrodes are zinc and manganese dioxide. The electrolyte is an alkaline paste. Rechargeable battery (Nickel-cadmium battery) Found in high-drain devices, like digital cameras, cellphones, MP3 and CD players, and portable video games. The electrodes are nickelhydroxide and cadmium. The electrolyte is potassium-hydroxide. Used in automobiles. The electrodes are made of lead and lead-oxide with a strong acid as the electrolyte. Used in many low-drain portable electronic devices such as clocks, cameras, watches, thermometers, and calculators. They are made with lithium, lithium-iodide and leadiodide. Found in laptop computers, cell phones, power tools and other high-drain portable equipment. The negative electrode is commonly graphite. The positive electrode can be lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, or lithium manganese oxide. The electrolyte can include ethylene carbonate or diethyl carbonate. Lead-acid battery Lithium battery Lithium-ion battery

5 Inside of a Battery Above image used with permission from Call2Recycle.

6 Environmental Impact of Battery Production Mining of raw materials Iron Ore Pyrolusite Zinc Potassium Copper Transportation Mine to primary processing facility Primary processing facility to secondary processing facility Secondary processing facility to battery factory Battery factory to retail warehouse Retail warehouse to store From store to your home Primary processing of raw materials Secondary processing of raw materials Release of hazardous waste Release of hazardous waste Packaging Air emissions from burning fossil fuels: pollution, GHG, CO2 Manufacturing of batteries Erosion Loss of biodiversity Air, surface water, groundwater and land pollution Greenhouse gas (GHG) and CO2 emissions Loss of trees (logging) Destruction of ecosystems and habitats Plastic Paper/cardboard Release of hazardous waste Deforestation

7 Parts of an Alkaline Battery Steel container Cathode Separator Anode Electrolytes Brass Pin Mineral used Iron ore that occurs naturally in the earth's crust transformed through heat to produce steel manganese dioxide mix comes from the mineral pyrolusite a fabric made of natural gas zinc metal from natural mineral deposits of ore in the earth's crust potassium hydroxide can be obtained from the mineral potassium mixed with water A mixture of two metals (copper and zinc)