60 minutes

Unit title Energy MYP year 4 Duration

Homework

Inquiry: Establishing the purpose of the unit

Key concept Related concept(s) Global context

System: It provides Environment, Energy, Globalization and sustainability (urban planning, strategy and
structure and order in Development infrastructure)
human, natural and built
environments

Statement of inquiry

The development of science and technology gives us the possibility of changing the way in which we produce & use energy to
promote a sustainable future.

Q.1 Watch the video from the links below and answer the questions following it.
Link 1: ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS
Link 2: Bill Gates and the Quest for Sustainable Energy
(a) Explain what you understand by the term energy.
Energy is the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity
(b) Based on your understanding from the link 1, state the energy conversions for operating a mobile phone.
(c) Sketch a poster depicting the need to move towards sustainable energy.
Q.2 GC: Globalization and sustainability (urban planning, strategy and infrastructure)
Imagine yourself to be a news reporter and you are given a project of reporting the news related to a case study mentioned below.
A case study of Rural Electrification: Coming together of Private Sector, Government and People-Chhattisgarh Solar Rural Electrification Project:
Chhattisgarh is India's most backward state. The state has suffered under decades of negligence from government authorities and continues to do so.
The geography of the place is covered by dense forests and mountainous landscape making it an extremely difficult terrain for development activities.
So much so, the government has notified that many villages would not get electrified since it is difficult to provide grid connectivity under such harsh
geographical conditions. A joint project of the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Authority and TATA BP Solar, aimed at electrifying 113
villages using solar power plants covering over 2000 households has been initiated here. While this is a case of private sector and government
participation, there has been little or no involvement of the local communities either in the project design, sizing up of systems (in terms of determining
the quantum of generation) nor in its routine management and maintenance. While the solar power packs ranging from 2.5 kWh Peak to 6 kWh peak
are still functioning, the downside to projects are related to its long-term sustainability. The key questions which will arise soon are:
a) Who will pay for the regular maintenance of batteries?
b) Who will pay for the replacement of batteries?
c) Who will pay for any repair or rectification of inverters etc.?

In this case, as far as the people of the villages are concerned, it is a government property and they have no stake in it, but does the government or the
‘utility’ realize that it is their asset and they need to maintain it, only time will tell.
Prepare a written report stating the various aspects from the case study and asking certain open ended questions in terms of political aspects
of the policies made by government officials for the development of rural areas.
You may use some or all the following guiding questions to frame your write up the news report:
● What is the role of the government in ensuring the development of rural areas?
● How does the government and other private sectors work in order to develop any area?
 ● What are the major sources of energy that rural areas rely on?
● How is urbanisation a boon and a bane for rural society?
You may use any other resources from your end to research about the topic and answer the question.

Command terms:
Sketch: Represent by means of a diagram or graph (labelled as appropriate). The sketch should give a general idea of the required shape or relationship
and should include relevant features.
Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons and causes. (See also “Justify”.)