Part 1: Powering Your World

Whether you’re creating an image, brainstorming ideas, looking up information, or exploring a new topic, you’ve probably interacted with Artificial Intelligence (AI). These tools can generate answers in seconds, making them useful for learning and problem-solving.

Behind every AI response, however, are powerful computers working in large facilities called data centers. These computers require electricity to process information, and produce heat as they run. To keep the equipment from overheating, many data centers use cooling systems that rely on water to carry heat away. Electricity can come from many energy sources, including coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydropower, wind, and solar energy. The power plants that generate electricity can produce greenhouse gases or require large amounts of land, water, or materials. As a result, every AI interaction uses resources and has some environmental impact.

One question, inquiry, or request for information may not seem like much, but when millions of people use AI every day, these small impacts can add up. The good news is that the way we communicate with AI matters. Clear, focused prompts can help us get the information we need while reducing unnecessary output.

In this activity, you will investigate how different prompts affect AI responses and explore strategies for using AI responsibly.

Reflection Questions

  1. Why does using AI require electricity?






  2. What are two environmental impacts that can result from producing electricity?






  3. Why might water be important for data centers?






  4. If millions of people use AI every day, why might small individual impacts become important?






Part 2: AI Prompt Investigation

Your Scenario

Imagine you are creating a single presentation slide to introduce a topic to an audience at a Science Fair. Your slide should contain:

Your goal is to use AI to create the best explanation for your slide.

Step 1: Choose a Topic

Select a topic from a list that your teacher provides for you

Step 2: The Vague Prompt

Use this prompt and fill in the topic: “Tell me about __.”
Record your results in the data table below.

Step 3: The Specific Prompt

Use this prompt and fill in the blanks: “Write a 25-word explanation of _ for a general audience.”
Record your results in the data table below.

Step 4: The Student-Designed Prompt

Create a prompt that you think will generate the best explanation for your slide while minimizing unnecessary information.
Record your results in the data table below.

Data Table

TrialPrompt UsedOutput Word CountCould I use this on my slide as-written?What worked well?What would I need to change?











































Reflection Questions

  1. Which response was closest to what you needed for your slide?






  2. Which response would have required the most editing?






  3. Which response included the most unnecessary information?






  4. What made a prompt effective?






  5. Was the shortest response always the best response? Explain.






  6. How could better prompts help reduce unnecessary AI output?






Step 5: AI Guidelines

AI is a useful tool, but it is not always the best tool. Discuss the following tasks with your class and identify alternatives that could be more appropriate.

Classroom AI Best Practice

Think about how you can use AI more responsibly. Write three guidelines for responsible AI use.

Guideline 1:






Guideline 2:






Guideline 3: