Objective
Students will be able to
- Research, chart, and compare the price of electricity across three different states.
- Identify the key factors that influence the price of electricity.
- Explain how knowledge of the key factors that influence the price of electricity can help us be informed decision makers.
- Identify the kilowatt-hour (kWh) as a unit of energy commonly used to measure electricity usage and price.
Concepts
This lesson from the Eco-Economics: Energy and the Environment curriculum explains the forms of energy used to make electricity and why that might cause the price, in kilowatt hours, of electricity to differ.
Description of the lesson
In this lesson, students delve into the world of electricity pricing through a relatable analogy with pizza-making. Students work collaboratively to create a pizza recipe, emphasizing the importance of ingredients and processes. This serves as a foundation for understanding the complexities of electricity generation. The lesson highlights the differentiation in electricity prices by exploring primary energy sources, their conversion to a secondary source (electricity), and the factors affecting these prices. Students then research the cost of electricity in various states, graphically represent their findings, and discuss the reasons behind the price variations. By the end of the lesson, students will gain a basic understanding of the key factors influencing electricity prices, including the types of fuel used, power plant costs, transportation networks, weather and climate, and governing rules and laws.
Economic Concepts
The lesson focuses on the economic concept of price and some of the factors that influence the price of goods and services. Knowledge of this is applied by comparing the pricing of a good (pizza) and a utility service (electricity), highlighting how prices can vary for essentially the same goods and services based on different factors.