The roles per group member are the followings, read on your own the task assigned to each role to choose one.

Electrical Engineer

You were the kid who hooked up the car battery to your remote controlled car.  You are also the person who designed a special sized electric chair for cockroaches.  Wiring up a circuit is something that you could do almost from birth and any wiring you have ever tried has been an easy task.  Currently, you are searching for a challenging task that will use your skills to the most of their ability.  A recent interest in computer technology has you developing chips that work faster than anything we expected to see for another 15 years.

 Your Job:

1. You will create a parallel circuit diagram of a room in the assigned building.
2. You need to understand if this is an AC or DC current.
3. You need to include the proper symbols for power source, electrical loads and switches.
4. Work with group to create a poster encouraging efficient use of electricity in Mexico.  Include titles, picture and background – (this will be on legal sized paper).

Links:

http://www.actewagl.com.au/education/electricity/basics/#top

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/index.html

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Mathematician

Your first word was hypotenuse and you have little figurines of Pythagorean, Newton and Einstein on your fireplace mantle.  Numbers have been your life since the beginning.  Every decision and action you make is based on probability and efficiency all calculated perfectly.  In life there is not gray…there is only black and white, right or wrong.  Opinions are for people who don’t know things.  You are currently looking for a repetitive pattern to the decimals in Pi.  You have not yet found it up to the 125 000^th decimal place but feel you are getting close.

Your task:

1. You will calculate the amount of electrical energy and power used in the school by using the information on the circuit diagram made by the engineer in the group
2. You must show all work and understand the terms amp, volt, watt and joule
3. Work with group to create a poster encouraging efficient use of electricity in Mexico.  Include titles, picture and background – this will be on legal sized paper)

Links:

http://www.nmsea.org/Curriculum/Primer/How_is_electrical_energy_measured.htm

http://www.cix.co.uk/~hdh/power/power.htm

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Environmental Research Analyst

As an active member of Greenpeace you broke your leg while protection the nesting habitat of the sea turtles off the south west coast of Mexico.  The Mexican military was marching across the nesting site; you panicked and tackled the general.  After 2 months in the hospital and 4.5 years of rehab, you were able to go back to work.  A search for a cleaner, safer way to use technology is your goal and you feel that all creatures have equal right to the earth.  One creatures waste does not need to be the cause of another creature’s death.

Your duties:

1. You must research clean, natural ways to form electricity and state the advantages and disadvantages to these forms.
2. Find if any of these are being used in Mexico and if so, where do they exist.
3. How can energy be saved around the house.
4. Work with group to create a poster encouraging efficient use of electricity in Mexico.  Include titles, picture and background – this will be on legal sized paper)

Links:

http://www.cec.org/files/PDF/GallupBkg-e_EN.PDF

http://www.fe.doe.gov/international/mexiover.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/

http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/index.html

http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?BT_CODE=KIDS

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Alternative Power Plant Executive Officer

You family has been involved with power plants for generations.  Your father and grandfather were workers in a hydroelectric plant, their grandfathers worked in coal mines and there are even rumors that a relative of yours was the first to make fire and use it as a source of heat and light.  Manipulating energy to create heat, light and modern conveniences is something you were born to do and you know it better than anyone.

What we expect from you:

1. Explain how the alternative power is created. (The alternative power assigned to your team).
2. Why could this alternative power be a good idea in Mexico.
3. How could energy be saved in the school.
4. Work with group to create a poster encouraging efficient use of electricity in Mexico.  Include titles, picture and background – (this will be on legal sized paper).

Links for Hydroelectric power:

http://www.specialistsinrisks.com/generator/hydro.html

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/renewable/water.html

http://www.soton.ac.uk/~engenvir/environment/alternative/hydropower/hydrenvi.htm

http://www.howstuffworks.com/hydropower-plant.htm

http://www.nrel.gov/lab/pao/hydroelectric.html

http://www.iclei.org/efacts/hydroele.htm

http://users.owt.com/chubbard/gcdam/html/hydro.html

Links for Solar power:

http://www.solarnow.org/Default.htm

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/renewable/solar.html

http://www.eren.doe.gov/erec/factsheets/solar.html

http://www.howstuffworks.com/solar-cell.htm

Links for Wind power:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/renewable/wind.html

http://www.windpower.org/core.htm

http://www.natwindpower.co.uk/

http://www.wpm.co.nz/WPM:HOME:861764

http://www.awea.org/

http://www.wpm.co.nz/WPM:WINDICATOR:861764:#capacity

Links for Coal power:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/non-renewable/coal.html

http://www.tva.gov/power/coalart.htm

http://www.tva.gov/power/fossil.htm

http://www.ieagreen.org.uk/emis4.htm

Links for Geothermal power:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/renewable/geothermal.html

http://www.eren.doe.gov/geothermal/

http://geothermal.marin.org/pwrheat.html

http://iga.igg.cnr.it/electricitygeneration.php

http://iga.igg.cnr.it/mexico.php

http://www.egi.utah.edu/geothermal/geothermal.htm

http://egi-geothermal.org/

Electrical Safety Inspector

You have always been a very responsible individual concerned with the safety and well being of others.  You spent most of you school days on traffic duty and acting as the best Hall Monitor in the history of the school.  Everything needs to be organized and understood in order to be safe.  You make rules and follow them.  It is your duty to explain the possible dangers of electricity in the Home and in the Workplace.  You will also tell us how we can be safer with electricity in these environments.

Your task:

1. Explain dangers of electricity in the home and in the workplace.  Include statistics that tell us about fires and injuries caused by not using electricity safely
2. Explain how we can act and what we can do to be more electrically safe at Home and Work.  Include warning signs that will tell us when there may be an electrical problem and what we should do in this situation. 
3. Include safety tips and diagrams on your poster and power point presentation that tells us what to do and what not to do.  This will keep us safe from any possible electrical dangers and let us know what to do if there is a problem.

Links:

http://www.nesf.org/

http://www.smud.org/safety/world/index.html

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The graphics, pictures and animated gif's used in this WebQuest come from: Microsoft. [JPG Pictures & Animated Gif's]. Electricity. Retrieved September 3,2003, from Microsoft ClipArt Gallery.