This page shows questions in the Simple Cardboard Invention public release module at MSDE. 5th Grade MISA
"Simple Cardboard Invention"

Simple Cardboard Invention May Help Billions

Not every useful invention has to be developed over many years and cost a lot of money to make. Sometimes the simplest of ideas can improve our lives profoundly. All it takes is a little imagination and a desire to make a difference!

Ask John Bohmer, whose weekend project with his two daughters may end up not only make a significant difference in helping our environment but also improving the lives of 3 billion people worldwide.

John’s invention is a solar-powered oven made from cardboard. Dubbed Kyoto Box, it is composed of two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, covered with a sheet of acrylic glass—to help trap the heat from the sun. The inner box is painted with black paint, which absorbs the heat , while the box on the outside is lined with silver foil that reflects any energy that escapes toward the black box. This helps to create a concentrated source of energy that can be used for cooking.

The simple oven costs only $7 USD to manufacture and can easily be put together in any cardboard factory. With the capability of reaching high temperatures, it can be used to boil water, cook rice and casserole— and even bake bread.

It is estimated that over 3 billion people living in developing countries use chopped firewood for their main fuel, generating an estimated 2 tons of dangerous carbon dioxide emissions a year.

While solar cookers are not a new idea, this is the first time someone has come up with one that works and is cheap enough to be adapted on a large scale.

“Simple Cardboard Invention May Help Billions” – Meera Dolasia, DOGO News, © 2009. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

After reading about the solar-powered ovens, a student was curious about other technologies that help reduce carbon dioxide capital C capital O two(CO₂) emissions. The student found a credible website that stated that power plants that produce electricity from fossil fuels are a major source of carbon dioxide emissions. Using wind turbines to produce electricity lessens the amount of electricity needed from plants powered by fossil fuels. The use of an average-sized wind turbine to produce electricity can avoid the production of over 3,300 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. That is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from 500 cars in one year. The graph shows that from 2003 through 2013 the increasing use of electricity produced by wind power has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an amount equal to taking 16.9 million cars off of the road.

Producing electricity from wind turbines instead of at plants powered by fossil fuels seems likely to help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. However, while wind turbines do not produce carbon dioxide, they do require the use of large areas of land.

John Bohmer’s invention is inexpensive technology that uses

Which environmental impacts would occur if John Bohmer’s invention were used more often?

Select three.

The increased use of the invention would most likely increase

Use the evidence to determine the amount by which emissions of carbon dioxide would be reduced if 5 wind turbines were used to generate electricity for one year.

Complete the table with the results.

A conclusion that can be made based on the evidence from the article is that John Bohmer’s invention would most likely

Use evidence to explain the effects that using John Bohmer’s invention would have on the environment in developing countries compared to the current method of cooking food in those countries.