homework 1

Homework

Do each of the following exercises and be prepared to present your answers at the next class meeting. Be sure the Internet sites you use are reputable.

1. Find at least two different designs of solar ovens on the Internet. For each one:

Describe how the oven is constructed (use a sketch or print out a picture).
Describe how the oven works. Include: How food is cooked on the oven, what kinds of food can be cooked, how hot the oven gets, how long it takes to cook something, and anything else you find interesting.

2a. Find out how much electricity your house uses per month. This will be a number in kilowatt hours. You can get this from your electric bill or you can estimate it from your electric meter (read the numbers on the meter at the same time on two different days and subtract to get the usage per day then multiply by the number of days in the month).
2b. Using the conversion factor of 1 kg of CO₂ per kWh of electricity, calculate how much CO₂ is released in the air as a result of your homes use of electricity.

3. Search the Internet for 'solar cells'.

Write a paragraph describing how a photo voltaic cell works.
List as many household solar powered devices as you can find on the Internet.
Locate a source of solar panels designed to supply household electricity. Make a list of various sizes that are available and for each one list the amount of electricity they create and how much they cost.
Calculate how much you would have to spend to buy enough solar panels to replace the electricity you use (which you found in 2a). Assume the panel puts out electricity 8 hours a day. Extra credit for finding the cheapest solar panel source.