TECH LAB: Wind Power Investigation Sheet Name: __________
Directions: Use the web links indicated to answer the following questions.
1. Label the parts of the wind turbine below and describe what each does using the Crash Course at http://www.windpower.org/en/kids/index.htm.
Foundation:
Rotor:
Nacelle:
Tower:
Transformer:
2. How does the Crash Course explain the creation of wind? Describe at least 3 steps needed to produce wind.
1.
2.
3.
Using www.awea.org/faq/windpower.html, answer the following questions:
a. Air has __________________ because it has mass and moves
to produce wind.
b. The equation for kinetic energy in joules is:
kinetic energy (joules) = _________________
where v stands for ______________
and m stands for ________________
c. The basic equation for power in the area swept by the wind
turbine rotor is P = 0.5 x rho x A x V3.
In this equation,
P=_______________
rho=_______________
A=_________________
V=_________________
When we have all of these figures we can calculate how
much power a wind turbine will produce. Recall that
density means how tightly packed something is.
d. Use the equation above to estimate the power produced
by a wind turbine that is in an area with 100 m2 with
a wind speed of 40 mph, and an air density of
1.3 kg/m3. The total power generated would
be ______watts.
4. Click on the right sidebar, “Wind resource Maps” and use the US map to answer the following questions:
a. Areas with a wind power class of 3 or above are generally
fit for producing enough wind to benefit from the
installment of a turbine. Based on this map, what region
of the US might benefit most from wind energy?______________
Why?__________________________________
_______________________________________
b. Could we harness wind energy in Western CT? Why or
why not?________________________________________
|