Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Model S Quiz for School Kids

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.

efusco

Moderator - Model S & X forums
Moderator
I'm bring my Model S to my 4th grade daughter's school tomorrow to show it off as part of her STEM school's energy section discussion. It will be a pretty quick show and tell, but in an effort to have some sort of educational content I wrote a brief quiz. I'm sharing here in case anyone else might be interested in using my quiz as a starting place. Some of the questions are over the heads of 4th graders, but the teacher feels they can work through the more difficult ones together in class. They work on iPads so can use calculators when needed.

Might be nice to share other question suggestions/tips in this thread, be sure to include the answers!

Tesla Model S Quiz:
1) A Tesla Model S has an 85kWh battery pack (85,000 Wh) and 7100 individual battery cells. What is the approximate wattage (Wh) of each cell? 85000 Wh/7100 cells= ~12 Wh/cell
2) A Tesla Model S can travel approximately 250 miles with the 85kWh battery. How many Wh of energy are required to travel 1 mile (approximately)? 85000 Wh/250 miles= 340Wh/mi
3) Using the answers for #1 & #2, how far could a Model S travel with the energy in one cell(theoretically)? 12 Wh/340 Wh/mi = 0.035 mi (0.035 mi x 5280 ft/mi = 186 ft.
4) What sort of things would cause you to not be able to travel 250 miles on a charge? Lots of possible answers-things that increase energy use (heater, air conditioner, stereo, headlights, etc.), Environmental conditions (wind, rain, snow, rough roads/dirt roads), low tire pressure (increased rolling resistance), heavy loads (more mass to move), driving up hill, driving fast, etc.
5) What sorts of things would allow you to travel more than 250 miles on a charge? Slower speeds, downhill travel, lighter loads, properly inflated tires, less ‘vampire’ electrical usage (no AC or heat), tail wind, etc.
6) A Tesla Supercharger can charge a Model S at approximately 90kW/h. How long would it take to recharge an 85kWh battery from empty to full with a Supercharger(minutes)? 85 kWh/90kW/h = 0.94 hour = 0.94 hours x 60 min/hour = 57 minutes
7) A Tesla High Power Wall Charger (smaller home based) charges at 20kW/h. How long would it take to charge an 85kWh battery from empty to full with a HPWC (hours)? 85 kWh/20kW/h = 4.25 hours
8) A Tesla Universal Mobil Charger (UMC) charges at 1kW/h using a standard 110V AC wall outlet. How long would it take to charge an 85kWh battery from empty to full using the UMC with an 110V wall outlet (days)? 85 kWh/1 kW/hr = 85 hours/24 hours/day = 3.5 days !
9) What sort of electricity does a Tesla Model S lithium ion (Li ion) battery use? AC or DC?
10) What sort of electricity do we get from a standard wall outlet/home electricity? AC or DC?
11) Amarra is a hypermiler, which means she drives very carefully and efficiently to get the most possible distance from her car for the least amount of "fuel". If she averages 280 Wh/mile how far should he be able to drive with the 85 kWh battery starting with a full charge? 85000 Wh/ 280 Wh/mile = 303.5 Miles.
12) Amarra's dad, Dr. Fusco, drives too fast and passes other cars all the time. He only averages 400 Wh/mile, how far would he be able to go with the 85 kWh battery starting with a full charge? 85000 Wh/ 400 Wh/mile = 212.5 miles

Wh=Watt Hours (a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of one watt for one hour.)
kWh=kilowatt hours (1000 watt hours)
hypermiling=driving using special techniques to maximize the range of a vehicle per unit of fuel (gas, diesel, electricity, etc.)
1 Mile = 5280 feet
 
Some feedback from me after a quick glance. My comments are in blue. Sorry about being a unit-nazi, but being precise and correct about units is very, very, very important. And the best way is to foster it from the very beginning. Incorrect units can bring down a building, bridge, or space craft at worst or make you look ignorant at best.

I'm bring my Model S to my 4th grade daughter's school tomorrow to show it off as part of her STEM school's energy section discussion. It will be a pretty quick show and tell, but in an effort to have some sort of educational content I wrote a brief quiz. I'm sharing here in case anyone else might be interested in using my quiz as a starting place. Some of the questions are over the heads of 4th graders, but the teacher feels they can work through the more difficult ones together in class. They work on iPads so can use calculators when needed.

Might be nice to share other question suggestions/tips in this thread, be sure to include the answers!

Tesla Model S Quiz:
1) A Tesla Model S has an 85kWh battery pack (85,000 Wh) and 7100 individual battery cells. What is the approximate wattage (Wh) of each cell? 85000 Wh/7100 cells= ~12 Wh/cell"Wattage" is not the appropriate unit here. Wattage is a colloquial unit of power, not energy.
2) A Tesla Model S can travel approximately 250 miles with the 85kWh battery. How many Wh of energy are required to travel 1 mile (approximately)? 85000 Wh/250 miles= 340Wh/miFor STEM students, you might want to stick with SI units (kilometers vs miles). And maybe replaced the underlined text with "much energy (in Wh) is".
3) Using the answers for #1 & #2, how far could a Model S travel with the energy in one cell(theoretically)? 12 Wh/340 Wh/mi = 0.035 mi (0.035 mi x 5280 ft/mi = 186 ft.
4) What sort of things would cause you to not be able to travel 250 miles on a charge? Lots of possible answers-things that increase energy use (heater, air conditioner, stereo, headlights, etc.), Environmental conditions (wind, rain, snow, rough roads/dirt roads), low tire pressure (increased rolling resistance), heavy loads (more mass to move), driving up hill, driving fast, etc.
5) What sorts of things would allow you to travel more than 250 miles on a charge? Slower speeds, downhill travel, lighter loads, properly inflated tires, less ‘vampire’ electrical usage (no AC or heat), tail wind, etc.
6) A Tesla Supercharger can charge a Model S at approximately 90kW/h. How long would it take to recharge an 85kWh battery from empty to full with a Supercharger(minutes)? 85 kWh/90kW/h = 0.94 hour = 0.94 hours x 60 min/hour = 57 minutes Again, your units are wrong. The Supercharger charges at 90kW.
7) A Tesla High Power Wall Charger (smaller home based) charges at 20kW/h. How long would it take to charge an 85kWh battery from empty to full with a HPWC (hours)? 85 kWh/20kW/h = 4.25 hours Again, your units are wrong. The HPWC charges at 20kW.
8) A Tesla Universal Mobil Charger (UMC) charges at 1kW/h using a standard 110V AC wall outlet. How long would it take to charge an 85kWh battery from empty to full using the UMC with an 110V wall outlet (days)? 85 kWh/1 kW/hr = 85 hours/24 hours/day = 3.5 days !Again, your units are wrong.
9) What sort of electricity does a Tesla Model S lithium ion (Li ion) battery use? AC or DC?"What sort of electricity" is kind of a wrong/weird question to ask. A battery stores electric charge. You charge a cell with DC.
10) What sort of electricity do we get from a standard wall outlet/home electricity? AC or DC? Similar to above
11) Amarra is a hypermiler, which means she drives very carefully and efficiently to get the most possible distance from her car for the least amount of "fuel". If she averages 280 Wh/mile how far should she be able to drive with the 85 kWh battery starting with a full charge? 85000 Wh/ 280 Wh/mile = 303.5 Miles.Again -- maybe use SI units for this and the next question?
12) Amarra's dad, Dr. Fusco, drives too fast and passes other cars all the time. He only averages 400 Wh/mile, how far would he be able to go with the 85 kWh battery starting with a full charge? 85000 Wh/ 400 Wh/mile = 212.5 miles

Wh=Watt Hours (a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of one watt for one hour.)
kWh=kilowatt hours (1000 watt hours)
hypermiling=driving using special techniques to maximize the range of a vehicle per unit of fuel (gas, diesel, electricity, etc.)
1 Mile = 5280 feet
 
To add to ken's comments on questions (9) and (10) it's the type of _current_ about which you are asking. I would change the questions to:
9) What type of electric current does a Tesla Model S lithium ion (Li ion) battery produce, AC or DC?
10) What type of electric current do we get from a standard wall outlet, AC or DC?
 
I am a science teacher. California 4th grade science standards actually include building simple series and parallel circuits using light bulbs, wires, and batteries. But there is no units, not even Volts or Amps or Watts. And AC is not taught in grade school. You could throw around terms like AC, DC and kWh and stuff like that, but they are absolutely meaningless to a 4th grader. And only the rarest car-nut 4th grader* has any idea of horsepower.

Also, don't get hung up on math and SI units. Engaging student interest is key. Nothing turns kids off faster than having to do meaningless math. If you go to the Exploratorium or any great science education museum, there is absolutely no math. Show them what is cool, different, and better. Make qualitative comparisons to cars that they are familiar with, but don't assume that 4th graders know anything about cars.

Very, very few adults, and probably zero 4th graders, can define "energy" or "power" unless they have a technical background or have just taken a Physics class. Try asking your spouse or your child to define those terms and you'll see.

I do an activity that starts with a video of an M5 drag racing a Model S P85 (P85 wins).Students then do some web research and try to figure out the cost of fueling each for one year. Some of my students came up with numbers like, $1,063,105 annually in gas to run an M5. And some of my students actually drive M3s and M5s !:eek:


Although its not a California standard, I try to teach my students about kWh (energy) vs. kW (power) under the assumption that they may be paying their own utility bills in a couple of years. But very few students grasp the difference. I still see units like, "kW/h" , whatever that is, answered on tests.

*I once visited a 3rd grade classroom and was practically tackled by a little boy who went crazy about my Lotus jacket. He knew all the stats and figures about the "Elis-ay".
 
Last edited:
I do an activity that starts with a video of an M5 drag racing a Model S P85 (P85 wins).Students then do some web research and try to figure out the cost of fueling each for one year. Some of my students came up with numbers like, $1,063,105 annually in gas to run an M5. And some of my students actually drive M3s and M5s !:eek:

I love the above math problem. I think this brings it down to very real terms. Money which most everyone understands.
 
Some feedback from me after a quick glance. My comments are in blue. Sorry about being a unit-nazi, but being precise and correct about units is very, very, very important. And the best way is to foster it from the very beginning. Incorrect units can bring down a building, bridge, or space craft at worst or make you look ignorant at best.
Good points all. Some was just trying to make the math easier, but some is just evidence of my own ignorance on the subject. Next version I will make the corrections you mention. Thanks.