Windmill Lesson Plan - Oregon State University
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Windmill Activity Description: In this lesson, students will design, build, and test windmills made from various materials to generate mechanical energy. Students will learn about the importance of renewable energy, energy transformation, along with budgeting resources. Using this Lesson: This lesson is done in groups of 3-5 students. The first part of the lesson covers energy transformation and renewable resources. The second half of lessons reviews materials and engineering design processes. Background: Electricity is the transport of energy through the motions of negatively charged atoms called electrons. It’s used to charge our cell phones, microwave food, and to light up a room. However, it’s important to know that we don’t create electricity. We convert other energy sources into electrical energy. This is known as the First Law of Thermodynamics. Most of the electricity we use right now is generated through pressurized steam turbines. Burning fossil fuels to heat water into steam releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a key greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Through the past decade, a shift to renewable energy resources have been contributing to powering our electrical needs. Wind energy is one of the most efficient ways of producing energy. Most windmills are often high up in the sky because of faster and more consistent wind, reaching a tower of more than 100 feet up. The blades of windmills are uneven to capture the wind and spin the turbine. While these blades only rotate at a rate of about 18 rotations per minute, each blade can be as long as the length of a football field of 130 feet. In the nacelle, a rotor shaft spins a series of gears to about 1800 rotations per minute. These rotations help power the generator and the generator sends energy into our system. A single windmill costs nearly $4 million dollars to produce. Levels: Grades 6 - 8 Content Areas: Engineering; Physics Lesson Time: 80 Minutes Next Generation Science Standards: MS - ETS 1 - 4 MS - PS 3 - 5 Outcomes: Students will learn about renewable energy and energy transformation. Students will design and build a windmill. Students will practice conserving resources and budgeting. Contact: SMILE Program [email protected] http://smile.oregonstate.edu/
Transcript of Windmill Lesson Plan - Oregon State University
The Volcanic Hazards & City Planning Board Game
Windmill Activity
Description:In this lesson, students will design, build, and test windmills made from various materials to generate mechanical energy. Students will learn about the importance of renewable energy, energy transformation, along with budgeting resources.
Using this Lesson:This lesson is done in groups of 3-5 students. The first part of the lesson covers energy transformation and renewable resources. The second half of lessons reviews materials and engineering design processes.
Background:Electricity is the transport of energy through the motions of negatively charged atoms called electrons. It’s used to charge our cell phones, microwave food, and to light up a room. However, it’s important to know that we don’t create electricity. We convert other energy sources into electrical energy. This is known as the First Law of Thermodynamics. Most of the electricity we use right now is generated through pressurized steam turbines. Burning fossil fuels to heat water into steam releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a key greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Through the past decade, a shift to renewable energy resources have been contributing to powering our electrical needs.
Wind energy is one of the most efficient ways of producing energy. Most windmills are often high up in the sky because of faster and more consistent wind, reaching a tower of more than 100 feet up. The blades of windmills are uneven to capture the wind and spin the turbine. While these blades only rotate at a rate of about 18 rotations per minute, each blade can be as long as the length of a football field of 130 feet. In the nacelle, a rotor shaft spins a series of gears to about 1800 rotations per minute. These rotations help power the generator and the generator sends energy into our system. A single windmill costs nearly $4 million dollars to produce.
Levels:Grades 6 - 8
Content Areas: Engineering; Physics
Lesson Time: 80 Minutes
Next Generation Science Standards:MS - ETS 1 - 4
MS - PS 3 - 5
Outcomes:Students will learn about renewable energy and energy transformation.
Students will design and build a windmill.
Students will practice conserving resources and budgeting.
Contact: SMILE Program [email protected]://smile.oregonstate.edu/
Living on the Edge City Planning in the Shadow of a Volcano Oregon State University | SMILE Program| 2
Assembling the Tower
Prior to Assembling:1. Cut the 10 ft PVC pipe using a Racheting PVC cutter into: 1 - 1.5 to 2.5 ft piece 1 - 2.5 inch piece 6 - 5.5 inch pieces 2. Drill a hole in the middle of the long horizontal side of a Tee Socket. This is where the two wires will be threaded through to connect to the multimeter. 3. Cut the 1/4" inch dowel into 5" pieces. Cut enough for every group to have 2 dowels, and extras for students to "purchase".
Assembling Top of theTower: 1. Attach Wind Turbine Generator into the coupler. Secure with ductape inside. 2. Secure coupler to the 2.5 in. PVC pipe.3. Attach a 90 Degree Elbow to the PVC pipe.4. Attach the 1.5-2.5 ft PVC pipe to the 90 Degree Elbow. **The two wires shoud hang 5 or more inches out of the PVC pipe. If not, cut your PVC pipe shorter.
Assembling Tower Base:
1. Set PVC Tee Socket with adrilled hole in the center.
2. Connect 5.5" PVC pipes to both ends.
3. Connect PVC Tee Sockets to both ends of PVC pipes.4. Connect 5.5" PVC pipes
to both ends of the sockets.5. Attach 90 Degree Elbows
to all ends of PVC pipes. Rotate elbows to stand on
table.
Materials:
Windmill Tower:• 1 - 10 ft 1" Diameter PVC
Pipe • 1 - Ratcheting PVC Cutter• 5 - PVC 90 Degree Elbows • 3 - PVC Tee Socket• 1 - PVC Coupler• 1 - KidWind Wind Turbine
Generator with Wires* • Ductape
Additional Materials:• 1 - Large Box Fan• 1 - Digital Multimeter• 2 - Alligator Clips• 1/4 Dowels, cut into 5 in
pieces• KidWind Wind Turbine
Hub*• Cardboard• Paperboard• Cardstock
*Purchase on www.vernier.com, page 5 for links
Each Kit per Group Includes:
• 1 Hub• 2 Dowels• 1 Pair of Scissors• 1 Roll of Tape• 1 Marker or Pencil• 2 Minutes of Testing Time• $4 Million Dollar Budget
Attach the top to the base. Thread the two wires thru the drilled hole on the PVC Tee Socket
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Your tower should now resemble these photos above and to the right.
Connecting and Reading Multimeter: 1. Plug the red wire to the left most input socket labeled
"10ADC", and the black wire to the right most input socket labeled "VΩmA"
2. Attach alligator clips to the ends wires from the tower.Then clip the ends of the alligator clip to the multimeter.
3. Turn the multimeter to the left to 200m volts.
Few things to note:• Color does not matter when attaching wires from thegenerator to the multimeter.• Depending on how the wires were connected, the multimeter may read a negative value. The negative sign indicates direction of which the windmill is spinning. Take theabsolute value of the reading.
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Designing Windmills
Approach: With a budget of $4 million, deisgn a windmill that maximizes energy output while conserving resources and money that also looks aesthetically pleasing.
General Prodcedure:1. Introduction slides and video (5-10 minutes).2. Separate students into groups of 3-5 students, hand out kits, create a team name, assign roles:
• Purchaser - Person who obtains materials• Accountant - Person who keeps track of budget• Recorded - Person who records energy data• Speaker - Preson who leads presentation
3. Allow students to brainstorm a design and to budget materials. Accountant keeps track of money (10 mins). 4. Purchaser buys necessary materials (5 mins).5. Assemble windmill (10 mins).6. Testing time, 2 mins/group - unless team buys extra time. Recorder records energy output voltage in data table (20 mins).7. Have groups return to tables to redesign or adjust windmill to maximize energy output. Prepare a 2 minute elevator speech about their engineering design process (10 mins).8. Presentation, final test, and then have class vote on aesthetics (1 to 5, 1 being visually unappealing and 5 being aesthetiacally pleasing) (20 mins).9. Calculate final scores by: ( voltage / money used ) + aesthetics score = final
Money Values:
Dowels 1 million/each
Cardboard 0.5 million/sheet
Paperboard 1 million/sheet
Cardstock 1.5 million/sheet
Testing Time 0.5 million/sheet
Example Score Table:
Team Name Voltage (mV) Money Used (mil) Aesthetics Score (1-5) Final Score
Ducks 8.12 3.5 4 ( 8.12 / 3.5 ) + 4 = 6.33
Beavers 7.77 2.5 5 ( 7.77 / 2.5 ) + 5 = 8.12
Experiment Questions:• What correlation can you make between the rate of which the blades were spinning to the mV output? Did the speed of the wind change? • What kind of energy is the windmill producing when it spins? How does it gets converted to electrical energy?
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Living on the Edge Handouts Oregon State University | SMILE Program | 5
Next Generation Science Standards
DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS:ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution
PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS:MS - ETS 1 - 4: Develop a model to generate data for interative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such than an optimal design can be achieved
MS - PS 3 - 5: Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
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Resources:Koenig, K., Zydney, J. M., Behr, D., & Bao, L. (2017, September). Enhancing a scientific inquiry lesson through computer-supported collaborative learning. Science Scope, 41(1), 80-87.
U.S. Department of Energy (Director). (2011, February 8). Energy 101: Wind Turbines [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsZITSeQFR0
PRACTICES:2. Developing and Using Models7. Engaging in Argument from Evidence
CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS:5. Energy and matter6. Structure and function
*Links to purchase materials on vernier: KidWind Wind Turbine Generator with Wires: https://www.vernier.com/products/kidwind/wind-energy/kw-gen/ KidWind Wind Turbine Hub (3 Pack): https://www.vernier.com/products/kidwind/wind-energy/kw-wth3/
