Student-Designed Solar Photovoltaics Investigation – Student Handout Part 3
Summary
Part 3: Solar Efficiency Lab Proposal and Design
In Part 3, student teams design a controlled experiment to test how one environmental factor affects photovoltaic (PV) panel performance. This open-inquiry lab proposal task asks students to develop a testable research question, identify variables, and draft a step-by-step procedure that another team could replicate. Possible variables include tilt angle, light intensity, shading, temperature, and color or wavelength of light, with advanced options for measuring power under load using both voltage and current.
The lab proposal includes nine required elements: research question, design purpose, background and context, variables, real-world constraints, hypothesis and prediction with sketched expected results, materials list, step-by-step procedure with at least three values of the independent variable and at least three trials per condition, and teacher approval. Students draw on background research from the Science of Solar reading and the Hydropower in Africa video to ground their experimental thinking in real-world solar science.
The Teacher Guide supports this part with a multimeter and PV cell demonstration, including basic open-circuit voltage measurement and an advanced closed-circuit setup using a small DC motor to measure both voltage and current. Safety guidance is provided for the optional use of heat lamps in temperature experiments.
This part builds skills in experimental design, scientific argumentation, variable identification, and engineering thinking under real-world constraints. It supports NGSS standards including HS-ETS1-2 on breaking engineering problems into smaller manageable parts and HS-PS3-3 on designing energy conversion devices, along with NGSS Science and Engineering Practice 3 (planning and carrying out investigations). The activity works well in high school physics, environmental science, AP Environmental Science, engineering, and chemistry classrooms.
Extend the Lesson: Use Part 3 as the experimental design stage of the full Student-Designed Solar Photovoltaics Investigation. Build foundational PV understanding with the Introduction to Solar lesson, and use the Science of Solar lesson for the extended reading explicitly referenced in this part.