#2770. Oil

Science, level: Middle
Posted Fri Dec 13 08:23:48 PST 2002 by Eissa Al-safran (eissa-al-safran@utulsa.edu).
University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA
Materials Required: basic lab material
Activity Time: eitht weeks
Concepts Taught: Energy and cultures

INTEGRATED INSTRUCTIONAL UNIT CURRICULUM

I. UNIT OVERVIEW
1. Descriptive Information
Unit Title: Oil
Grade Level: 8th grade (Middle School)
Subject/Topic Area: Earth Science and Social Science
Time Frame: Eight Weeks
Number of Student: 20

2. Link to P.A.A.S Standards
2.1. Earth Science:
Standard 4: Structures and forces of the earth and solar system.
• Landforms result from constructive forces such as crustal deformation, volcanic
eruption and deposition of sediment and destructive forces such as weathering and erosion.
• The formation weathering, sedimentation, and reformation of rock constitute a continuing "rock cycle" in which the total amount of material stays the same as its form changes.

Standard 5: Earth's History- The earth's history involves periodic changes in the structures of the earth over time.
• Earth's history has been punctuated by occasional catastrophic events, such as the impact of asteroids or comets, enormous volcanic eruptions, periods of continental glaciations and the rise and fall of sea level.
• Fossils provide important evidence of how life and environmental conditions have changes.

2.2. Social Studies:

Standard 3: The student will examine the interactions of physical systems that shape the patterns of the earth's resources
• Identify forces beneath and above the earth's crust, explaining the processes and agents that influence the distribution of resources
Standard 4: The students will evaluate the human systems of the world.
• Compare and contrast common characteristics of world cultures (e.g. language, ethic heritage, religion, political philosophy, shared history, social systems and economic systems).
• Describe how change in technology, transportation and communication affect the location of economic activities.

Standard 5: The student will examine the interactions of humans and their environment
• Identify and describe the relationship between the distribution of major natural resources (e.g. arable land, water, fossil fuels, and iron ore) and developed and developing countries.

3. Unit Brief Summary
This unit instructs the topic of oil from two dimensions. First it presents the importance of oil as an energy source. It focuses on the characteristics of oil that make it the major energy resources, and then relates these characteristics to the generation processes and deposition environments of oil. Second, the unit presents the oil industry/business from an international scope and talks about the role of world's cultures and politics in shaping up the oil industry and business.

II. IDENTIFY DESIRED RESULTS

1. Enduring Understanding

Following are the targeted enduring understanding (big ideas) of the unit:
• The various forces acting on the earth result in changing the internal structure of earth. Consequently, the earth energy resources, specifically fossil fuel, generate, accumulate and migrate.
• The periodic change of the structure of the earth crust over the time resulted in huge amounts of buried organic material. This organic material became fossil fuel (hydrocarbon) under the high temperature and pressure. In general fossil provide evidence of how life and environment used to be.
• The interaction of the physical systems shapes the earth's resources, and changes their characteristics.
• Human systems and cultures changes with the evolution of energy resources, thus technology and transportation.
• The distribution of the natural resources (especially fossil fuel) is related to the geopolitical system of our world and the ongoing political events.

2. Essential Questions

2.1. Why oil is energy?
2.2. Why does oil comes in different colors?
2.3. What are other energy resources beside oil?
2.4. Since oil is an international industry/business, how do the world's cultures shape this giant industry/business?
2.5. Is oil evil (reason behind wars and environment enemy) or a blessing (source of energy)?

3. Key Knowledge (Know) and Process Skills (Do)

3.1. Student will know
• The basic physical and chemical oil characteristics.
• The different oil deposition environment.
• The oil generation, migration and accumulation processes.
• The other energy resources beside oil and the reasons of oil superiority as energy.
• Cultures role in oil industry.
• The link between oil and politics.

3.2. Student will be able to do
• Examine oil apparent properties.
• Relate oil properties to oil quality, type and the underground conditions under which it formed.
• Read and interpret numbers related to oil reserves and production.
• Analyze the world politics in light of oil economics (oil).
• Link oil with different world cultures.
• Relate the current political events to world economics.

III. DETERMINE ACCEPTABLE EVIDENCE

1. Unit Performance Task

Project: "Red Bud" reef field project. Owasso, Oklahoma.

Project Goal: To create a reasonable geological model (formation) including deposition environment based on the field observations and measurement. From your geological model, make inferences whether this formation was an oil bearing formation or not, and what could be the oil characteristics. Defend your point of view based on reasonable assumptions and conclusions. Make a recommendation whether to explore the deep extension of this formation in Sugar Land, Texas or not.

Student's Role: Petroleum Engineer/Geologist

Products or Performance: Written proposal and poster of data display with oral presentation.

Standard for Success:
• Come up with justifiable geological model.
• Link the model to the possibility of oil existence and characteristics.
• Make recommendation to explore the same formation in Texas.
• State all reasonable assumption.

2. Ongoing Assessments
2.1. Informal Check for understanding
2.1.1. Observations.
2.1.2. Peer assessment (Will be used for the performance task as well).
2.1.3. Self-assessment (Will be used for quizzes as well).
2.1.4. Dialogues (during classes and outside).
2.1.5. Oral questions (during classes).
In the end of each week, one informal check will be collected from each student. The informal check for understanding will be designed to asses the understanding facet instructed during the week.

2.2. Quizzes/Prompts
In the end of each week one quiz will be collected. The quizzes will asses the knowledge and skill acquired during the week that is related to on essential question.

Following are questions that could be used for ongoing assessment. Each question is designed based on the understanding facet that each week will be focused on.
Week 1 Ongoing Asses.
Facet: Explanation
Verify and prove that oil is the most efficient available energy ever known.

Week 2 Ongoing Asses.
Facet: Application
In a new situation, apply the relation between the apparent form and color of things to their quality and who they form.

Week 3 Ongoing Asses.
Facet: Perspective

Analyze the aspects of a culture which may influence the way this culture value and use their energy resource (oil).

Week 4 Ongoing Asses.
Facet: Self-Knowledge
Identify the lens through which you view the water as the future energy resource.

Week 5 Ongoing Asses.
Facet: Interpretation
Tell a revealing story showing how oil is evil or how oil is blessing.

IV. PLAN LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND INSTRUCTION

Week (1)
Focus:
Essential Question (1)
Facet: Explanation
Teach. Apprch.: Direct

Learning Experience 1

1. Show the student where they are headed and why through:
• Sharing and posting essential questions on a bulletin board.
• Introducing the performance task and its rubrics. Talk about the ongoing assessment and its judging criteria.
• Distributing handouts specifies deadlines, rubrics, performance requirements and materials.

2. Start the unit with engaging and thinking provoking questions: "How dead material is important in our live today?", "Do you agree that cars are run by dead material?"

3. Present the theory behind how oil generates from organic material and become source of energy (oil). Emphasize on the causes and origin of oil, and its relation to organic material (Knowledge of why and how). Students will observe how the organic material change under pressure using the "pond bottle" pressurized vessel experiment.

Learning Experience 2

1. Present the relation between oil, energy and motion. (Students will be asked to move their chairs around their desks to exhibit fuel (oil), energy and motion relationship.)

2. Discuss the reasons of oil being the most power energy (efficient, cheap, safe, environment friendly . . .).

3. Explore advantages and disadvantages of oil as an energy resource. For example oil is a vanishing energy resource. (Students grouped into two groups. One group comes up with the advantage and the other with the disadvantages. Then students switch roles and talk about their findings).

Week (2)
Focus:
Essential Question (2)
Facet: Application
Teach. Aprch.: Coaching

Learning Experience 1

1. Entry and engaging question: "Knowing how and why oil form, do you believe there is oil on Mars? If you think so, would it have different physical and chemical properties? How about its color?" (a way to link this week instructions with week (1) learning experiences.)

2. Oil color may be used as an indicator of the amount of energy contained in it.

3. Using four oil samples with different colors, students will direct a sharp light to each sample and observe the light reflection from each sample. Investigate this with relation to the colors of oil samples.

4. Oil generation processes and deposition environment and its relation to oil physical and chemical properties. (Build a block model of earth layer including faults, fold, and deposition environment.)

Learning Experience 2

1. Clearing possible misconception. How oil exist underground, as huge lakes or between the sand grains?

2. Explore the relation between rock properties (porosity and permeability) and
oil amount and ability to flow. (Create a mock source rock and investigate how oil migrates through permeable rock.)

3. Conduct experiment on how to determine rock porosity and infer rock permeability. (weight a dry and water socked rock, find the difference and convert to volume.)

4. Conduct experiment on how to determine the density of liquids.

5. Look at different oil samples and examine their characteristics. Tell which oil is the best. Why?

Week (3)
Focus:
Essential Question (3)
Facet: Self-Knowledge
Teach. Apprch.: Facilitative

Learning Experience 1

1. Entry and engaging inquiry: Can the water be the future energy resource. Explore the similarities between oil and water physical and chemical characteristic. (a way to link this week instructions with week (2) learning experiences.)

2. Reflect on water. Can it be the future source of hydrogen as a fuel?

3. Explore other energy resources. Is there any relationship between the different resources? (Student will go outside to identify any natural resources they can see.)

4. Do you think mixing different natural energy resources may lead to a powerful one?

4. Can the human being make artificial oil?

Learning Experience 2

Entry and engaging equation: if you are the US president, will you allow any more oil field development and production or not? How will you balance the need of energy to the need of clear air and green land?

1. Students will watch a video of the development of Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and its impact on the wildlife.

2. Environment vs. energy. Which is more important? (Students are grouped, each group reflect on the statement and come up with an opinion based on facts and observation. Each group presents its opinion to others, followed by a discussion session.)

Week (4)
Focus:
Essential Question (4)
Facet: Perspective
Teach. Apprch.: Facilitative

Learning Experience 1

1. Entry and engaging inquiry: As oil has different colors and characteristics, do you see the different characteristics of people and cultures involved in oil industry. (To link with week (2))

2. Study the different cultures involved in oil industry/business and how this makes oil a unique intercultural energy resource. (Student are grouped, each group collect information via the web about one culture involved in oil industry. Then each group presents its culture and its aspects.)

3. How these cultures perceive oil? Compare it with the way American culture perceives it?

Learning Experience 2

1. Compare the western culture with Middle Eastern culture on how both utilize oil (i.e. sell it, process it, burn it, . . ..)

2. See the limits of cultural influence on energy resources such as oil.

3. Since most of the world countries have common interest (i.e. oil). Argue whether oil can lead the world to be united and more peaceful. (Students grouped into two groups. Each will be given time to prepare their thoughts for a debate).

Week (5)
Focus:
Essential Question (5)
Facet: Interpretation
Teach. Apprch.: Facilitative

Learning Experience 1

1. Entry and engaging question: Do you think it is a good idea if the UN explore and produce all the oil field and distribute the oil equally to the whole world? Is this fair?

2. Oil is evil. Interpret this statement from your personal experience and observations.

3. Tell a revealing story from the history to show that all major wars were because of oil.

4. Review the history of World War I and World War II. Find the come reason for all these wars and the amount of oil used in both wars. (Student will read the related chapters from social studies text book, and then share their thoughts with their partner.)

Learning Experience 2

1. Bring a historian guest speaker to talk about the link between politics and economics.

2. Open discussion and Q/A session on the historian lecture.

3. Discuss recent examples on the use of oil as a weapon of war (Gulf war). Then student will be grouped to write a letter to the UN secretary to tell whether UN should allow or disallow the use of oil as war weapon.

Week (6 &7)
Focus:
Working on Project Task

Project: "Red Bud" reef field project. Owasso, Oklahoma.

Project Goal: To create a reasonable geological model (formation) including deposition environment based on the field observations and measurement. From your geological model, make inferences whether this formation was an oil bearing formation or not, and what could be the oil characteristics. Defend your point of view based on reasonable assumptions and conclusions. Make a recommendation whether to explore the deep extension of this formation in Sugar Land, Texas or not.

Student's Role: Petroleum Engineer/Geologist

Products or Performance: Written proposal and poster of data display with oral presentation.

Standard for Success:
• Come up with justifiable geological model.
• Link the model to the possibility of oil existence and characteristics.
• Make recommendation to explore the same formation in Texas.
• State all reasonable assumption.

Week (8)
Focus:
Delivering Presentation and
and Report Submission