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Which blades are best?

This lesson introduces students to blade design testing. To do this, students will collect, evaluate, and present data about different blade design variables and how they performed in an energy production test. This lesson will give students a firmer grasp on how wind energy is converted into electricity, and how to extract as much energy as possible from the wind.

The Details

Image
Grades
10, 
11, 
12, 
6, 
7, 
8, 
and 9.
Time Required
1-2 class periods
Downloads
  PDFs

Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas

  • ETS1.A Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem
  • PS3.A Definitions of Energy
  • PS3.C

    • Cross-Cutting Concepts

  • Cause and Effect
  • Energy and Matter

    • Learning Objectives

    • Understand how wind energy is converted to electricity
    • Know the process of scientific inquiry to test blade design variables
    • Be able to collect, evaluate, and present data to determine which blade design is best
    • Understand the engineering design process method

    Materials

    • 1 model turbine on which blades can quickly be interchanged
    • 1 multimeter or voltage/current data logger
    • 1 box fan
    • Milk cartons, PVC pipe, or paper towel rolls (optional)
    • Ruler
    • Pictures of wind turbine blades
    • Sample blades of varying sizes, shapes, and materials
    • Balsa wood, corrugated plastic, card stock, paper plates, etc.
    • ΒΌ” dowels
    • Duct tape and/or hot glue
    • Scissors
    • Protractor for measuring blade pitch
    • Safety glasses
    • Poster-size graph paper (optional)
    • Student reading passages and student worksheets*
    *included with this activity

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