1. Wind By: Loudoun SciencePals

2. About Us About Us Mercer Middle School Club Team members: Minna Kuriakose and Madeline Luberecki - Science is our passion - We want to share our passion with elementary school children - Spark interest in the young children about science, experimenting and observation

3. We will explore wind, its uses, and how to measure it!

4. What is wind? the perceptible natural movement of the air, esp. in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction. Or….. Any natural air that flows from one direction to another

5. What is wind used for and how does it help us? Wind is used to play instruments Wind can be used as an alternate energy source. (wind turbines) Wind helps keep temperatures cooler(major part of weather) In historic times, wind has been used to grind grain in wind mills and to power sailboats

6. Wind in instruments Wind is blown into the instrument Wind vibrates in the tube and makes a sound

7. Wind as an alternate energy source. Wind has been a growing interest for society as an alternative energy source Wind spins the wind turbines which are connected to a generator to create electricity Majority of world’s energy use is now dependent on fossil fuels What are fossil fuels?

8. Wind is a major weather predictor Wind is a major part in predicting the weather. Winds that blow from the sea often bring rain to the coast and dry weather to inland areas. If the wind blows to our area from Canada bringing Artic air, we will feel a lot colder.

9. Experiment We will make an Anemometer What is an Anemometer An anemometer is an instrument that is used to measure wind speed

10. Materials Five 3 oz. Styrofoam cups Two plastic wooden skewers One pencil with unused eraser Single hole puncher Scissors Clay (tape will work but clay works better) Push pin Permanent marker

11. Procedure Take four of the plastic cups and punch one hole in each about 1.5 cm below the rim Take the fifth cup and punch 2 holes directly opposite of each other 1.5 cm below the rim. Now punch 2 more holes equally spaced between the first two holes, 1cm below the rim. (you should have a cup with four holes, one on each side of the cup) Use the push pin and the scissors and make a hole in the bottom of the cup with four holes. The hole should be big enough for the pencil to fit through

12. Procedure Slide the skewer through two holes in the fifth cup and take to other cups and slide the skewer through those as well. Put clay on the end of the straw to the inside of the cups and make sure that the openings of the two cups face opposite directions. Do the same with the other skewers and cups. In the end each of the four cups should be facing sideways. Insert the pencil(lead side) in the hole at the bottom on the fifth cup

13. Procedure Draw an “X” on the bottom of one of the four cups. Take it outside and hold it in an area where the wind is blowing. Look at the X on the bottom of the cup as the wind spins the anemometer around. Count the number of times it spins around (revolutions) in ten seconds. Use the table in the next slide to estimate the wind speed.

14. Wind speed table Revolutions in 10 secondsWind speed in miles per hour 2-41 5-72 8-93 10-124 13-155 16-186 19-217 22-238 24-269 27-2910 30-3211 33-3512

15. Why is measuring wind speed important? wind speed is a major part in predicting the weather High wind speeds can indicate up coming storms. High winds are needed though to spin wind turbines for wind energy

16. Any questions?

17. Citations http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tornato_11.09.05_003.jpg http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=5912 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power Clipart