Transcript Wind - Loudoun Science Pals

Wind
By: Loudoun SciencePals
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
We will explore wind, its uses, and
how to measure it!
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
What is wind?
What is wind used for and how
does it help us?
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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
Wind is blown into the instrument
 Wind vibrates in the tube and makes a
sound
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Wind in instruments
Majority of world’s energy use is now
dependent on fossil fuels
What are fossil fuels?
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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
Wind as an alternate energy
source.
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.
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Wind is a major weather predictor
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We will make an Anemometer
What is an Anemometer
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An anemometer is an instrument that is
used to measure wind speed
Experiment
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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
Materials
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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
Procedure
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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
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.
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Procedure
Wind speed table
Revolutions in 10 seconds
Wind speed in miles per
hour
2-4
1
5-7
2
8-9
3
10-12
4
13-15
5
16-18
6
19-21
7
22-23
8
24-26
9
27-29
10
30-32
11
33-35
12
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
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Any questions?
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
Citations