Summary
Creating sustainable energy is a challenge that engineers are helping solve to meet the world's need for clean and consistent power sources. This unit explores wind as a renewable energy source. Students explore aspects of wind power including designing, building, and testing anemometers and wind turbines (windmills).Engineering Connection
We are facing many issues with conventional energy sources (fossil fuels, hydropower, nuclear) that are leading engineers to develop innovative alternative renewable energy sources (wind, solar, biomass) to manage the impacts of energy production on the natural environment. Engineers design wind turbines to produce electricity from the force of the wind. Turbines look like pinwheels with angled blades connected to a gear box, which is connected to a generator. Engineers collect and analyze wind data to continually improve turbine technology and wind farm design.
Subscribe
Get the inside scoop on all things TeachEngineering such as new site features, curriculum updates, video releases, and more by signing up for our newsletter!Unit Schedule
Suggested activity order:
More Curriculum Like This
Students learn and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources. They also learn about our nation's electric power grid and what it means for a residential home to be "off the grid."
Creating sustainable energy is a challenge that engineers are helping solve to meet the world's need for clean and consistent power sources. This unit explores water as a renewable energy source. Students explore aspects of hydropower and its potential-to-kinetic energy transformation through water-...
Students get introduced to the real-world technical tool of a wind turbine propeller attachment. It’s a device that efficiently harvests wind energy, and in this activity they’ll build one of their own using a LEGO wind turbine, fan, and energy meter.
Students learn about wind as a source of renewable energy and explore the advantages and disadvantages wind turbines and wind farms. They also learn about the effectiveness of wind turbines in varying weather conditions and how engineers work to create wind power that is cheaper, more reliable and s...
Copyright
© 2020 by Regents of the University of ColoradoLast modified: November 24, 2020
User Comments & Tips