Appendix F: Extension Activities
Select an Approach and Develop a Design Proposal
Some teams may want to extend their PSA into a video or audio announcement that can be shared online.
Consider the students’ strengths as they work to develop the PSA in their STEM group. Once the proposal has been created, teams may need assistance planning the tasks and assigning them to each STEM team member.
Some students can be challenged to create an infographic as part of their STEM team’s PSA. The infographic can be created to display mathematical data about energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Students can view examples of infographics on http://visual.ly/ 
Energy Audit
For students who are ready to explore more, have them conduct a more detailed energy audit of their homes. They will need a kilowatt meter and a calculator to do this. Students will plug appliances into the meter and then plug the meter into the wall. The meter will tell students how much power each appliance uses (in watts). To find out how much energy each appliance uses, students will need to multiply the power displayed on the meter by the amount of time the appliance is in use (this will give them watt hours, a unit of energy). For example, if the meter reads 75 and the appliance is in use for 2 hours, the amount of energy the appliance uses would be 75 X 2 = 150 watt hours. When students have added up all the energy they have consumed in their homes over the course of a day, they can convert energy into pounds of carbon dioxide released. The EPA estimates that for every one-thousand watt hours of energy used, 1.55 pounds of CO2 is released into the air.
Students can use the worksheet provided below. An example is filled in for them.
> Energy Audit Worksheet (PDF)
As an alternative, ask students to investigate energy consumption at your school. Have them calculate your school's carbon footprint and identify areas for potential energy conservation. They may present their report to the principal.
