Lily's Science Methods 2 Blog

Modern Turbines vs Windmills -Both harness kinetic energy in the wind to do work -Windmills convert wind energy into torque for pumping water or grinding flour. -Modern wind turbines spin a generator to produce electricity. This requires less torque and shaft speed.  How a Wind Turbine Works -Wind turbines convert kinetic energy from the blowing  wind into electricity  -The wind pushes the blades of the turbine to rotate around a central hub  -This rotation turns a generator that produces electricity -The faster the generator spins the more electricity it produces Why do Modern Wind Turbines use 3 Blades? We looked into this and originally we thought more blades would mean more electricity but that isn't true. For example, if we used 4 blades, it is much more expensive to make and it doesn't make it any more efficient. It still produces the same amount of energy as 3 blades. Removing a blade and only having 2 brought many other risks. The blades would spin much faster which bec

5 Essential Features of Inquiry -      Learners are engaged by scientifically oriented questions. -      Learners give priority to evidence, which allows them to develop and evaluate explanations that address scientifically oriented questions. -      Learners formulate explanations from evidence to address scientifically oriented questions. -      Learners evaluate t heir explanations in light of alternative explanations, particularly those reflecting a scientific understanding -      Learners communicate and justify their proposed e xplanations . For this lab, we played with wires, batteries, and small light bulbs. It was my favorite one we've done so far! I learned that a battery can light the bulb if a wire is touching both the positive and negative ends of the battery and the side of the bottom of the metal part of the lightbulb. We also talked about the insulators and conductors in a wire. Materials with high electron mobility are called conductors. Materials with low electr

Energy in a Pendulum - In a simple pendulum with no friction, mechanical energy is conserved.  - Total mechanical energy is a combination of kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy.  - As the pendulum swings back and forth, it is a constant exchange from kinetic energy and potential energy. It has the most kinetic energy when it is hanging straight up and down. When it starts to swing, it has the most potential energy when it is at its highest points.  Lab For this lab, we experimented with pendulums to see what would affect the pendulum's swing. We tested the length of the string, weight at the end of the pendulum, angle of release, and pendulum design. Surprisingly, the only thing that affected the pendulum's swing was the length of the string.  Phet Simulator This is a tool we used to show our findings with technology.