Energy Input and Output, Part 1: What Is the Life Cycle of a Hamburger? In a group, you will be drawing a diagram showing the life cycle of a fast-food product (hamburger), from raw materials (natural resources) to waste disposal. Your group should discuss this complex cycle, being sure to include in your discussions all of the following: Energy inputs Raw materials Manufacturing and/or processing Distribution and transportation Use and/or reuse Recycling Waste management disposal Pollution outputs When you have completed your discussions, create your poster. 1 of 17
Energy Input and Output, Part 1: What Is the Life Cycle of a Hamburger? Suggested Grade Span 6 8 Task In a group, you will be drawing a diagram showing the life cycle of a fast-food product (hamburger), from raw materials (natural resources) to waste disposal. Your group should discuss this complex cycle, being sure to include in your discussions all of the following: Energy inputs Raw materials Manufacturing and/or processing Distribution and transportation Use and/or reuse Recycling Waste management disposal Pollution outputs When you have completed your discussions, create your poster. Big Ideas and Unifying Concepts Interdependence Systems Life Science Concept Populations and ecosystems Design Technology Concepts Design constraints and advantages Invention 2 of 17
Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives Concepts Natural hazards Populations, resources and environments Risks and benefits Science, technology and society Mathematics Concepts Comparison of attributes or effects Diagrams Time Required for the Task Two class periods. Context My sixth graders did this investigation of the life cycle of a hamburger as part of a larger unit of study on ecosystems and natural resources. Prior to this activity, we had discussed energy as a resource input, raw materials, manufacturing/processing, distribution, reuse and/or recycling, waste management, and pollution as an output. I got the idea for this activity from a science poster that showed a diagram of all of the energy and raw materials needed to produce the foods many students take for granted when they buy them at fast-food restaurants. Part 1 of this activity has students working together in small groups to create posters. Part 2 requires that students apply their learning from the group activity to a similar individual assessment activity that tracks a pizza s life cycle. What the Task Accomplishes While this is not an actual performance-inquiry task, students are assessed on their ability to use science knowledge and concepts to make some generalizations about resource management and about how human wants and needs can affect the environment over time. Students are encouraged to discuss, share and analyze ideas in order to draw conclusions, communicate findings and make connections to what they have already learned. They demonstrate an understanding of the ecological interactions and interdependence between humans, with their resource demands, and environmental systems (e.g., waste disposal, energy resources, recycling, pollution reduction). 3 of 17
How the Student Will Investigate Each group of three to four students is given a class period to discuss ideas and develop a plan for their poster and then a second class to finish creating posters and share them. I encourage them to use science notebooks, resource books and reference materials available in the classroom to add details to show each stage of the hamburger s production. This includes producing the packaging as well. I move about the room asking questions that will guide groups to be more thorough. Each group then uses a tally sheet, Life Cycle Inventory, to review what they have included and to make some generalizations. (One sample Life Cycle Inventory is included with this task. It is not at the Practitioner level.) Students are also given a scoring rubric for selfassessing their finished poster. Interdisciplinary Links and Extensions Science/Social Studies Students could research laws for landfills, waste management and natural resource management in their local communities and regions. They could conduct their own research on recycling and waste management patterns of their classroom and school and make recommendations to the school board for improved practices. Mathematics Have students research fast-food restaurants in the area and make comparisons between them with regard to amounts of raw materials used, amounts of solid waste produced, etc. Have students display data from their own research on local resource management, using several different representations, including graphs and scatter plots. Language Arts/Art Students could create picture books and/or big books for sharing with younger students, showing how a food item is produced. Teaching Tips and Guiding Questions Providing time for discussion and research before beginning the posters is important in teaching students to understand the complexity of the resource cycle and to learn ideas from one another. Sometimes it also helps to designate a student from each group to make a quick visit to other groups to bring back some of their ideas. (This cooperative group role is often called the traveler. ) 4 of 17
I clarified for students in earlier lessons the difference between an energy input (sun for making grass grow, grass for feeding cows, etc.), raw materials (tomatoes, beef, etc.), use of products (eating them), reuse of products (such as reusing the bag from the hamburger, composting vegetable peels, etc.), what goes into a landfill (solid waste) and what can be recycled (glass, plastic, etc.). We also discussed types of packaging (such as Styrofoam, which does not break down even after hundreds of years). Some possible questions to guide this task might include: What science vocabulary will you use to explain what you know and have learned? How would a change to one step along the way change the overall production of the hamburger? What raw materials are needed for each part of the food and for the packaging for the food? How does each raw material get processed and transported? What produces pollution? Can we run out of a natural resource? How? How could it be prevented? What problems are created by using resources? What have you already learned in this unit that you can include in your poster? Is it wasteful to throw food away? What effect does the production of a food like hamburgers have on the environment? Have you included enough details in your life cycle? What does it mean to conserve? reuse? recycle? Did anything surprise you during your analysis of this process? Concepts to be Assessed (Unifying concepts/big ideas and science concepts to be assessed using the Science Exemplars Rubric under the criterion: Science Concepts and Related Content) Design Technology Design Constraints and Advantages: Students observe that some materials are better than others, depending on the task and characteristics of the materials. Design Technology Invention: Students observe that several steps are involved in producing things. Life Science Populations and Ecosystems: Students understand that all organisms have basic needs for air, water and food and that all animals depend on plants and can survive only in an environment in which their needs can be met. Students observe that different environments support different types of organisms, that human activities have an impact on natural systems and that changing human behaviors can lessen the impact on ecosystems. Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives Populations, Resources and Environments; Natural Hazards; Risks and Benefits; Science, Technology and Society: Students use the terms energy inputs, raw material, manufacturing, processing, distribution, transportation, use, reuse, recycling, waste management and pollution output appropriately. 5 of 17
Students identify patterns of similarities and differences and recognize interdependence of humans with other living things and the environment. Scientific Method: Students observe, explain and describe cause-effect relationships with some justification, using prior knowledge. Mathematics: Students use diagrams appropriately and compare attributes or effects. Skills to be Developed (Science process skills to be assessed using the Science Exemplars Rubric under the criteria: Scientific Procedures and Reasoning Strategies, and Scientific Communication Using Data) Scientific Method: Hypothesizing, collecting and recording data, drawing conclusions, communicating findings, challenging misconceptions and raising new questions. Other Science Standards and Concepts Addressed Scientific Theory: Students look for evidence that explains why things happen and modify explanations when new observations are made. The Designed World: Students observe that manufacturing requires a series of steps and, depending on the task, careful choice of materials based on their characteristics. Life Science Populations and Ecosystems: Students understand that living things are found almost everywhere in the world and are interdependent, that human actions can cause changes in vegetation, ecosystems and/or entire landscapes, and that resource demands can limit the growth of populations in specific ecosystems. Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives Populations, Resources and Environments: Students observe that causes of environmental degradation and resource depletion vary from region to region and from country to country. Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives Natural Hazards: Students understand that human activities can induce hazards through resource acquisition, urban growth, land use decisions and waste disposal. Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives Risks and Benefits: Students understand the risks associated with natural hazards (earthquakes, fires, floods, etc.), chemical hazards (pollutants), biological hazards (pollen, viruses, bacteria, parasites), social hazards (occupational safety and transportation) and personal hazards (smoking, drinking, etc.). Science in Personal and Societal Perspectives Science, Technology and Society: Students understand that technology influences society through its products and processes, and that technological changes are often accompanied by social, political and economic changes that can either be beneficial or detrimental to individuals or society. 6 of 17
Communication: Students use verbal and nonverbal skills to express themselves effectively. Suggested Materials Each group needs access to poster board, scissors, glue, construction paper, markers, rulers, pencils, resource books and reference materials (including dictionaries). Each group should also have a tally sheet, Life Cycle Inventory, and a scoring rubric for self-assessing its finished poster. Refer to pages 8 and 9. Possible Solutions Students should include an average of seven to eight steps from energy inputs and raw materials to the end of the life cycle. Both the packaging and the food should be represented in terms of processing, transporting and use. Appropriate vocabulary should be used to label each stage in the drawing. Symbols such as E = Energy may be used, as long as any symbol is accompanied by a key. Spelling mistakes should be minimal. (See also student scoring guide which outlines for students what is expected in this specific task.) Task-Specific Assessment Notes Novice This group s solution is incomplete and lacking in details. The drawings are vague and not always clear enough to understand. A key of symbols is provided, but not all are meaningful. Most track-backs are included, but one has to guess at the meaning for most of the stages. Apprentice This group s solution is lacking in details and some parts are incomplete. A key of symbols is provided and includes pollution hazards. However, many of the symbols are not incorporated in the diagrams. Track-backs are included for all of the foods, but are simplistic and do not include all stages. (For example, beef and bacon show no food source for the animals to begin with.) Practitioner This group s solution is complete and clear. Track-backs are included for all food items (bacon, bun, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) but not for the packaging. Drawings are labeled and include stages, such as the sun to grow grass for cows and the gas needed for transportation. A colorful 3-D hamburger and wrapper are included for visual effect. Expert This group s solution is complete and detailed, and drawings are clearly labeled. The complexity of the life cycle includes track backs for the food and the packaging. A clear key of symbols is provided. Pollution impacts are used throughout the diagrams. A colorful 3-D hamburger and packet of french fries are included for visual effect. There is extensive evidence of use of prior knowledge and conceptual understanding. 7 of 17
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