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Energy is a hot topic in the news; our increased use, increased cost, depleted natural resources, our dependence on foreign sources, and the impact on the environment and the danger of global warming.  Alternative or renewable energy sources deliver power with minimal impact on the environment. These sources are typically more green/clean than traditional methods, such as, oil or coal. In addition, alternative resources are inexhaustible.

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Wind turbines harness the clean, renewable energy of the wind to generate electricity.
Advantages:

· Wind is free.

· No fossil fuels are used.

·Wind turbines take up less space than the average power station (a few square feet for the base). The turbines can be placed in remote locations, such as offshore, mountains, and deserts.

·When combined with other alternative energy sources, wind can provide a reliable supply of electricity.

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The Bloomfield Recreation Department has decided to build tree houses at all the fields. These tree houses will be used as play structures during games; the only problem is there is no electricity in the tree houses. To promote the tree houses, Bloomfield Recreation has decided to sponsor a contest for Bloomfield Middle School students. The contest is to design and build prototype wind turbine blades to turn wind energy into electrical energy that lights a LED.

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The power your turbine produces will be measured by a multi-meter and our ultimate goal is to light a LED. Create a morphing chart 6 x6 to harness your ideas, and then sketch your ultimate blade on graph paper. On the back of the graph paper, write a list of the materials your will need and how much you will need of each item.

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A viable solution to the problem must adhere to the following requirements:
·The blades must safely operate and generate enough electricity to make a 3 Volt LED flicker using the high speed of a fan.

·Must use the given generator, tower and turbine base.

·Foam hub must fit on a ¼” x ¼” shaft.

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Dowels
Oak tag paper
Cardboard
Foam core board
Balsa wood
Index cards
Foam
Popsicle sticks

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Hot glue gun
Ruler
Scissors
Multi-meter
Masking tape
Electrical tape
Alligator clips

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2 team members per group
Muscle power

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Budget - $.00
Space - Classroom
Time - 4 class periods
Wind - Constant 12" from the blades

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Describe how a wind turbine works? Explain the process of transferring wind energy into electrical energy.
Use the following link to help you: http://www.ducksters.com/science/environment/wind_power.php

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You will be able to design, build and test a wind turbine. Your challenge is to create a turbine that will supply 400 homes with electricity for a year at the highest efficiency.
Use the following link to download the activity:
https://www.youngscientistlab.com/teachers/interactives

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Develop blades for your wind turbine that will maximize the efficiency of your wind turbine. The objective is to harness as much wind as possible to convert to mechanical energy to create electrical energy. Your blades will be attached to a motor, which will convert the mechanical energy of the blades spinning to electrical energy.

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On graph paper, sketch your ultimate blade. On the back of the graph paper, write a list of the materials your will need and how much you will need of each item.

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Record the AMPS and VOLTS you measured when you tested your blades. Then multiple them together to determine the amount of electrical power you created.

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What was the greatest amount of electrial power that you were able to harness in WATTS?
Where you able to light the LED for at least 5 seconds?

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What features of the blades proved to be most effective?
Describe how you would redesign you wind turbine to create more electricity.