Shaw STEM Lab

 In your Word Document write about:  What you already know about wind energy. ▪ You must write something! (Nothing is not an option!)  Where have you seen Wind Mills before? ▪ What were they used for?

 If you think about it, humans have used the power of the wind for a very long time!  Think about sail boats!  Think about how Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean!

 Hero of Alexandria was a Greek Mathematician and Engineer.  He lived from AD.  Hero developed the first vending machine!  Hero developed a windwheel, the earliest instance of harnessing the wind.

 In July 1887 a Scottish man named James Blyth invented the first battery charging machine.  Also in 1887 the first automatically operated wind turbine was built in Cleveland Ohio by Charles Brush.  18 meters tall, 4 tons, and powered a 12kW generator!

 Research the Spring Valley Wind Project. Write at least five (5) sentences about it.  Where is it located?  When was it started/constructed?  How much energy does it produce?  Etc.

 Wind Generator  Fan  Stop watch  Meter Stick  Read the Safety and Transporting sections before checking these out from Mr. Ochs

 Never stick your hands in any moving parts!  Wait for all moving parts to stop moving on their own!  When rotating the blades or pressing the buttons on the green demonstration board, do so GENTLY!

 In this lesson you’ll be using some very expensive equipment!  You must handle all of this equipment with care!  Be sure you carry the Wind Generator with two hands and not by the cord! Carry here and here! Never carry from here!

 Place the fan directly in front of the Wind Generator.  Carefully rotate the blades to an angle of 0 degrees.

 With the fan directly in front of the Wind Generator turn on the fan and start the stop watch simultaneously!  Record how long it takes for the fan blades to start rotating consistently.  Once the fan blades begin to rotate gently press each of the two buttons (the LED button does not work).  Record your observations. ▪ Does the motor move? Buzzer make a noise? ▪ How well does each one work?  Be sure to take pictures of your work!

 Place the fan directly in front of the Wind Generator.  Carefully rotate the blades to an angle of 45 degrees.

 With the fan directly in front of the Wind Generator turn on the fan and start the stop watch simultaneously!  Record how long it takes for the fan blades to start rotating consistently.  Once the fan blades begin to rotate gently press each of the two buttons (the LED does not work).  Record your observations. ▪ Does the motor move? Buzzer make a noise? ▪ How well does each one work?  Be sure to take pictures of your work!

 Place the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator.  Carefully rotate the blades to an angle of 0 degrees.

 With the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator turn on the fan and start the stop watch simultaneously!  Record how long it takes for the fan blades to start rotating consistently.  Once the fan blades begin to rotate gently press each of the two buttons (the LED does not work).  Record your observations. ▪ Does the motor move? Buzzer make a noise? ▪ How well does each one work?  Be sure to take pictures of your work!

 Place the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator.  Carefully rotate the blades to an angle of 45 degrees.

 With the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator turn on the fan and start the stop watch simultaneously!  Record how long it takes for the fan blades to start rotating consistently.  Once the fan blades begin to rotate gently press each of the two buttons (the LED does not work).  Record your observations. ▪ Does the motor move? Buzzer make a noise? ▪ How well does each one work? ▪ How do they compare to when the blades were at 0 degrees?  Be sure to take pictures of your work!

 Place the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator.  Carefully rotate the blades to any angle between 0 and 45 degrees.  Be sure to record the angle you decided upon!

 With the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator turn on the fan and start the stop watch simultaneously!  Record how long it takes for the fan blades to start rotating consistently.  Once the fan blades begin to rotate gently press each of the two buttons (The LED does not work).  Record your observations. ▪ Does the motor move? Buzzer make a noise? ▪ How well does each one work? ▪ How do they compare to when the blades were at 0 degrees? 45 degrees?  Be sure to take pictures of your work!

 Place the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator.  Start the fan.  Carefully rotate the blades to find the angle at which the fan blades move the best.  Once you’ve found the best angle, stop the fan.  WAIT for the fan and the Wind Generator to stop moving.

 With the fan 1 meter away from the Wind Generator turn on the fan and start the stop watch simultaneously!  Record how long it takes for the fan blades to start rotating consistently.  Once the fan blades begin to rotate gently press each of the two buttons (the LED does not work).  Record your observations. ▪ Does the motor move? Buzzer make a noise? ▪ How well does each one work? ▪ How do they compare to when the blades were at 0 degrees? 45 degrees?  Be sure to take pictures of your work!

 Once you’ve determined the best angle for the Wind Generator run the experiment again at 2 and 3 meters.  Be sure to record your results and to take pictures!  Organize all of your results in to a table.  See the next slide for an example.

0 Degrees ( 0 m) 45 Degrees (0 m) 0 Degrees (1 m) 45 Degrees (1 m) Degrees you picked (1 m) Best angle (1 m) Best Angle (2 m) Best Angle (3 m) Seconds for blades to rotate consistently Observations about Motor Observations about Buzzer

 Define the word Anemometer in your Word Document  Check out the Anemometer from Mr. Ochs  Use the Anemometer at 0 meters, 1 meter and 2 meters  Record these observations in your Word Document

 Questions and answers.  Daily writings of your work and accomplishments.  Pictures (and descriptions) of your work.  Table with all of your observations and records.