PV Gap

Tommy Said:

do the solar windowscreens really work?

We Answered:

when i bought my house the inspector noticed that it had solar screens and made a comment like they help to reduce the heat in the house as well keep out some if the glare.but in a trailer house I'm not sure the cost of installing them would pay off very fast.maybe the combo of solar screens and blinds may help over the long haul if you plan on staying there for 10 to 15 yrs.

Dora Said:

what are solar panels?

We Answered:

It's a device that somehow collects energy from the sun, probably through the form of heat, and converts it to electricity to be used.

I'm not sure if you'd be able to use them for mobile homes. I mean, maybe, but they're only like 5% efficient, so to really get good energy, you'd need a ton, and with a mobile home, you probably don't have the room for a ton of panels..

Stanley Said:

What is a good lesson to do on the planets in our solar system with second and third graders?

We Answered:

As a teacher i understand tryign to make cheap things to take home.

Clay is expensive... dont do that. Instead use small balls of differnt sizes. $1 stores are fantastic and a group of 30 can make a simple diorama for less than $2 each.

- A tennis ball for sun ($1 for 3 cheap ones)
- A ping pong ball or squash ball for gass giants($1 for 6)
- marbles of different sizes fro smaller planets ($1 buys about 20-30, sometimes more)
- String (aint $1 stores great!!!)
- A stick, or other small piece of wood (pick off ground)
- masking tape ($1 stores usually have some of this too!!!)
EDIT: Bexxy also suggests foam balls, these are great as well and come in different sizes, but are harder to find.

Okies: attach the middle of stick to sting and dangle tennis ball from it. If you want to do all the planets you can now dangle different size marbles/ping pong/squash balls from the stick at correct distances from both sides of stick.
To finish off with tie string from where sun is and dangle, now sping the planets around the sun.

For added fun, use 2 sticks that cross at the tennis ball for a more 3D feel or paint the balls the right colour. maybe even write the names with markers on the balls.