“What is the best way to boil water?” A Home-based Activity and Collaborative Learning on Energy Efficiency

Abstract

This study presented an inquiry-based activity on the topic of energy efficiency, which was one of the lessons in the Green Chemistry, an online mini-course for high school students. The experiment “What is the best way to boil water?” asked students to explore the energy efficiency of various heating devices they had at home such as electric kettles, electric stoves, rice cookers, and microwave ovens. Students also designed experiment to investigate variables that could influence the value of energy efficiency. This home-based activity led to a diverse experimental design with each group using different equipment and procedure. The online discussion provided an opportunity for collaborative learning. Students could gain further insight to the technical problem of saving energy in boiling water by comparing results from other groups. In addition, the discussion session also served as a forum for other relating issues such as energy waste from human behavior.