Oil Refining: Google Earth Virtual Field Trip Activity

This activity, provided by the Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC), uses Google Earth way points to take students on a virtual field trip through oil refineries in Alaska. The way points include descriptions, links to resources (such as articles, videos, etc.), and in-class activities related to oil refineries. The 19-page document includes a teacher's guide and a lab activity for students titled Organic Reactions and Biofuels. The teacher's guide includes recommended usage of the virtual field trip, its objectives, and additional questions to be explored. In the field trip activity, students will:

• define crude oil, refinery, distillate, flash tower, pig, and barrel;
• understand the process of separating crude oil into usable products and list several of these products;
• locate major refineries in Alaska as well as nearest refineries to where s/he lives;
• identify reasons why crude oil refineries are important/necessary in today's society;
• assess the current and projected future amounts of petroleum in the world and their impacts on world energy consumption;
• identify and compare alternative forms of energy resource refining.

Also included is a .kmz file, which contains the virtual tour. The .kmz file can be imported into Google Earth by clicking "File" on the top left, followed by "Import KML / KMZ file."