A Hydrogen WebQuest
Introduction
As a candidate for the Presidency, you are getting ready to debate President Bush on national television. As you may recall from his State of the Union Address in 2003, the President is committed to the use of hydrogen as a fuel source. You, on the other hand, don’t know anything about hydrogen’s use as a fuel, and are not prepared for the debate. To help you overcome this disadvantage, you need to do some research.
In this WebQuest, you are going to research the history of hydrogen, its present use and future possibilities.
Task
The debate was scheduled at the last minute, so you have only one week to prepare. I know you are busy with all of the other requirements of your job, but this debate is important and the research must be done. Although you cannot afford to pay someone else do your research due to all the commercials you are airing, you do have the funding available to have your materials checked for correctness.
Your mission is to find answers for the questions below and prepare explanations as indicated. When you have found your answers, you are to prepare them as a report to be handed in to cheif advisor (your teacher) who will get them checked.
Resources
Because you have a limited amount of time, the following websites can be used to start your research. This list is not all inclusive and it is expected you will have information from other sites as well.
Here is one description of what President Bush thinks of hydrogen.
General Motor's opinion of hydrogen fuel cells
A power company's site that supplies hydrogen
Process
You will need to answer the following questions. The better you are able to answer these questions, the better you will perform in the debate. (The material you turn in needs to include a list of references.)
1. Where and/or how has hydrogen been used in the past?
2. Where and/or how is hydrogen currently being used?
3. Where and/or how might hydrogen be used in the future? (What research is currently being done?)
4. Where might the hydrogen come from? What are the advantages and disadvantages from these sources?
Evaluation
You will be graded on how effectively you answer the questions in this WebQuest. In addition, you may be asked to participate in a debate related to hydrogen.
Conclusion
After this exercise, it is hoped you will better understand the uses of hydrogen and its potential impact(s) on society.
Written by: Sherry Vig, Chemistry teacher,
Cocoa Beach Jr/Sr High
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