Snohomish County PUD

Mr. Sparks

Does wind have power?

… But can we capture that

power to generate

electricity?Volunteer?

What are these things?What do you notice?

Some turbines are really BIG.

Some turbines are really small!

The Scientific MethodQPPDC

The Scientific MethodQuestionPredictProcedureDataConclusion

How do different brands of dog food affect the growth rate of dogs?

The Manipulated variable is the brand of dog food

The Responding variable is dogs' growth rate

Sample Investigative Question...

Why would we want to build wind turbines today?

Is a wind turbine a system?

Inputs?

Outputs?

How does a generator generate electricity?

What is a variable in a scientific investigation?

A variable in a scientific investigation is something that

can vary, or change.

There are three types of variables in a scientific

investigation... Controlled Manipulated Responding

Controlled variables…the ones we keep the same.

Manipulated variables...are the ones we change on purpose. It's what we are testing.

Responding variables... are the results our investigation gives us. It's our data.

Teams 1 and 2 will test Number of Blades

Teams 3 and 4 will test Pitch (angle) of the

Blades

Teams 5 and 6 will test Mass (weight) of

the Blades

Teams 7 and 8 will test Length of Blades

Teams 9 and 10 will test Shape of the

Blades

Testing TeamsWhat is your manipulated

variable?

With your team...

1. Fill in your variables

2. Make your team's prediction. (use the terms, “increase” or “decrease”)

3. Follow the procedure on your paper and commence! You have about 30 minutes!

1. Remember to fill in data chart.2. Look for a trend (pattern) in the data.

Compare your trend with your partner team? Retest if necessary.

After you are finished testing your blades…

1. Put all materials back into your box.2. Work together to finish writing the

conclusion. 3. If you finish early, complete the answers to

the questions on page 2.

As you are testing your blades…

Your new job is to be part of an expert engineering team that must design and build the very best set of wind turbine blades.

You cannot do this alone, therefore success depends on all

you experts working together.

1.Listen to each other as you share your data and recommendations with your team.

2.Record your team's decisions on the giant poster.

Use your data to make your decisions!

1.As a team, complete a design plan on the poster.

2.Get your plan approved by your teacher or me.our data

3.Build your blades according to your design. Remember, craftsmanship is important! Have an adult do your gluing!

4.Test/modify your prototype.

5.Record your test data, especially your maximum voltage output.

Your Engineering Jobs:

Blade Competition

We will now use our turbines to generate electricity.That electricity will be used to power an electrical water pump. That pump will pump water into a graduated cylinder.Let's see which team can pump the most water!

Team Time (sec) H

2O pumped

(mL)

1

2

3

4

5

6

Number of bladesAngle/pitch of the bladesWeight/mass of the bladesLength of the bladesShape of the blades

What were the 5 different blade variables tested today?

Can you think of any other blade variables that we did

not test today?

Advantages of using wind to generate electricity?

Disadvantages of using wind to generate electricity?

Kinetic energy is the energy of MOTION

Wind is…….. AIR IN MOTION

Wind Energy is KINETIC ENERGY

Instead of wind, you could use _____ to generate electricity.

What creates wind?

How is a wind farm part of the entire electricity-generating

system?

What variables do you think affect the power output

from wind turbines?Wind speedGeneratorsSize of turbineGear ratioLocationBlade design

Discussion QuestionsWhat variable has the greatest impact on

power output?

Can the data we collected today be related to

full scale wind turbines? How?

What are some advantages and

disadvantages of wind power?

What is the one thing you will remember the

most about today’s lesson?