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Life Cycle Assessment of Biofuels 101
https://www.glbrc.org/outreach/educational-materials/life-cycle-assessment-biofuels-101

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, U.S. Department of Energy

In this activity, students conduct a life cycle assessment of energy used and produced in ethanol production, and a life cycle assessment of carbon dioxide used and produced in ethanol production.

Activity takes about two to three 50 minute class periods.

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»


Climate Literacy

This Short Demonstration/Experiment builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Energy Literacy

This Short Demonstration/Experiment builds on the following concepts of Energy Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines

1. Questioning, Analysis and Interpretation Skills:C) Collecting information
Other materials addressing:
C) Collecting information.
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.1 The Earth as a Physical System:C) Energy
Other materials addressing:
C) Energy.
2. Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems:2.4 Environment and Society:C) Resources
Other materials addressing:
C) Resources.
3. Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues:3.1 Skills for Analyzing and Investigating Environmental Issues:C) Identifying and evaluation alternative solutions and courses of action
Other materials addressing:
C) Identifying and evaluation alternative solutions and courses of action.
3. Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues:3.2 Decision-Making and Citizenship Skills:C) Planning and taking action
Other materials addressing:
C) Planning and taking action.
3. Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues:3.2 Decision-Making and Citizenship Skills:D) Evaluating the results of actions
Other materials addressing:
D) Evaluating the results of actions.

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

  • Appropriate for use in a high school AP Biology class. Too complex for a beginning biology or environmental science class.

About the Content

  • When selecting alternative fuels, it is important to consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of each. This activity tasks students to assess the life cycle energy and carbon dioxide emission costs of gasoline, corn ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol.
  • Comments from expert scientist: This activity provides generally good explanations to the life cycle assessment science. Students should not get an impression that biomass is carbon neutral. It is good to emphasize that not all biomass is equal. Some biomass follows food-to-fuel pathway therefore they emit more carbon than others because they may cause land conversion and rainforest clearance.

About the Pedagogy

  • Activity includes Teacher Instructions and Answer Key, Student Activities and Worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, and Supplementary Materials.
  • Quite a long and complex activity; well organized.
  • Chemistry background is required.
  • Several options are available for increasing or decreasing depth of content.
  • Informational PowerPoints include scripts for teachers
  • The activity includes two (optional) videos: Life Cycle Assessment of Energy, Life Cycle Assessment of Carbon (not reviewed.

Technical Details/Ease of Use

  • Links to other resources are on the first teacher page
Entered the Collection: February 2015 Last Reviewed: February 2015

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