Energy in a High-Tech World With support from the American Petroleum Institute, Science NetLinks has developed a number of resources that examine the science behind energy and oil refining.

 

 

 

 

 

Interactive

Oil Refining: A Closer Look

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: With this interactive, students follow petroleum through the oil refinery processes.

 

 

Lessons (6-8)

Combustion   

Grade Band: 6-8
Description: In this lesson, students gain an understanding of the transfer of energy that occurs in a combustion reaction.

Transforming Energy   

Grade Band: 6-8
Description: In this lesson, students investigate how electrical energy can be produced from a variety of energy sources and then transformed to almost any other form of energy.

Chemical Engineers and the Things They Do

Grade Band: 6-8
Description: In this lesson, students explore the field of chemical engineering and identify the contributions of chemical engineers to society.

Energy for You

Grade Band: 6-8
Description: In this lesson, students investigate the energy sources used in their communities.

Technology and Oil

Grade Band: 6-8
Description: This lesson demonstrates how much our society depends on petroleum products and shows how advances in technology have allowed us to find, obtain, and transport oil more efficiently.

Lessons (9-12)

Searching for Oil: The Role of Science and Technology

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: In this lesson, students discover how geoscientists use technology and computer modeling to find oil and natural gas.

Inventions of Necessity: Synthetic Rubber

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: In this lesson, students explore the relationship between societal needs and technological development through examining the history and making of synthetic rubber.

Chemistry of Petroleum

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This lesson introduces the chemistry involved in the separation of the compounds found in petroleum that lead to the making of other substances, such as gasoline and other fuels.

Chemistry of Petroelum 1: What Are Hydrocarbons?

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This lesson introduces students to organic chemistry and the structure of hydrocarbons.

Chemistry of Petroleum 2: What Happens When Hydrocarbons Burn?

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: In this lesson, students explore the energy transformations involved in the burning of hydrocarbons.

Chemistry of Petroleum 3: Distillation of Hydrocarbons

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This lesson introduces students to how hydrocarbons in crude oil are distilled and treated in the refinery process to produce useful materials.

Chemistry of Petroleum 4: Treatment of Hydrocarbons   NEW!

Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This lesson helps students explore the chemical treatment processes by which distilled petroleum fractions are converted to produce useful fuel oils.

 

Tool

Oil Refining: A Closer Look   NEW!
Grade Band: 9-12
Description: This tool offers teachers suggestions for how to use the Science NetLinks interactive Oil Refining: A Closer Look in the classroom.