Student Worksheet

Worksheet 1:

Making the wind turbine – instructions

1. Use the rubber band to attach the body of the motor to the end of the ruler. Be sure that the shaft of the motor extends beyond the end of the ruler, and that the motor’s leads or outlets point towards the other end of the ruler.

2. Use the wire cutters to cut two 30cm pieces of insulated wire. Then remove about 2.5cm of the insulation from each end of both wires, so that the wire is exposed.

3. Attach one end of each wire to one of the motor’s leads or outlets. You can secure the wires with electrical tape if you need.

4. Tape the middle of the wires to the ruler to hold them in place. Attach the other ends of the wires to the voltmeter (or multimeter). This will measure how much voltage the windmill will produce (see Figure 2, following page).

5. Now it’s time to make the blades for the turbine. Measure and cut out each blade design and make 6 copies of each from the cardboard.

6. Take one set of the blades and 6 of the paperclips. Straighten out the bottom end of each of the paper clips (see Figure 1). Tape each cardboard piece to the middle of the paper clip to make a windmill blade. The long end of the paper clip should stick out, so that it can be pushed into the cork.

7. Stick the six windmill blades into the cork so that they are evenly spaced and so that the blades are about 5mm from the cork (see Figure 3, following page).

8. Repeat steps 5 through 7, creating two more sets of blades with the other blade designs.

Making the wind turbine – instructions

Testing the different blades

1. Begin by inserting the motor's shaft through the centre of the cork, with the blades away from the motor at the far end of the cork. Make sure the shaft goes through the centre of the cork so that the windmill doesn't wobble when it spins. Place the turbine at least 30 cm in front of the fan, making sure that the distance is marked with a piece of tape so that you can be sure you are using the same distance for each blade design.

2. Determining which blade produces most energy also means figuring out the best angle for the blades. You will need to experiment with twisting the blades so that they're perpendicular to the end of the cork. By turning on the fan you will see how quickly the blades turn and if they turn at all. Adjust the blades to find the best position for spinning.

3. When the blades start spinning well, measure the voltage produced, making sure you have adjusted the settings on the voltmeter to show voltage readings.

4. Keep tilting the blades of your turbine until you find the angle that produces the greatest voltage. Record this voltage on the Recording Sheet.

5. Test the voltage at least four more times to make sure you get an accurate reading. Record the reading each time.

6. Now you're ready to test the other blades. But before you take out the first blades you have tested, think about marking the angle of the blades on the cork so that you can line up the new blades with those marks and save some time testing the blade angles.

7. Remove the first set of blades and attach a new set of blades, lining them up with the marks on the cork.

8. Place the turbine in front of the fan, using the tape marking to ensure that you are setting the turbine at the same distance from the fan as you did with the first set of blades. Turn on the fan and record the voltage, adjusting the blades if necessary. Again, test the voltage at least 4 times to ensure you have an accurate reading.

9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 with the final set of blades.

Worksheet 2:

Templates for fan blades

Recording sheet

Follow up questions and activities

1. What is the average voltage for each blade type? Underline the blade type that produced the highest voltage.

2. On a separate piece of paper (or on a computer) create a bar graph of blade shape versus voltage.

3. What other changes do you think could you make to the blade shapes to increase the voltage even more?

All in the Blades

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