Wind Power
Performance Expectations:
Building Towards:
PE HS-PS3-3 Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints
to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
PE HS-ESS3-2 Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and
utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
PE HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and
quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and
wants.
Estimated Time Required:
6 hours
Referenced Lesson:
Wind Power: Creating a Wind Generator
Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students investigate where their electricity comes from and consider
the tradeoffs between different sources of energy. They then design, test, and
evaluate wind turbines that can be used to generate electricity to answer the driving
question: How can we design a wind turbine that effectively converts one form
of energy into another form of energy?
Key Words:
Energy, design, turbine, voltage, renewable, constraints, criteria, system, solutions
NGSS Alignment
Building Towards
PE HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints
to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
PE HS-ESS3-2. Evaluate competing design solutions for developing, managing, and
utilizing energy and mineral resources based on cost-benefit ratios.
PE HS-ETS1-1 Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and
quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs
and wants.
Science and Engineering Practice: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
 Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce
data to serve as the basis for evidence, and in the design decide on types, how
much, and accuracy of data needed to produce reliable measurements and
consider limitations on the precision of the data (e.g. number of trials, cost,
risk, time), and refine the design accordingly.
Science and Engineering Practice: Constructing Explanations and Designing
Solutions
 Design, evaluate, and/or refine a solution to a complex, real-world problem,
based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence,
prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations.
Science and Engineering Practice: Asking Questions and Defining Problems
 Analyze complex real-world problems by specifying criteria and constraints
for successful solutions.
Disciplinary Core Idea: ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems
● Humanity faces major global challenges today, such as the need for supplies
of clean water and food or for energy sources that minimize pollution, which
can be addressed through engineering. The global challenges also may have
manifestations in local communities.
Disciplinary Core Idea PS3.A Definitions of Energy
 At the macroscopic scale, energy manifests itself in multiple ways, such as in
motion, sound, light, and thermal energy.
Disciplinary Core Idea Natural Resources
 All forms of energy production and other resources extraction have
associated economic, social, environmental, and geopolitical costs and risks
as well as benefits. New technologies and social regulations can change the
balance of these factors.
Crosscutting Concept: Influence of Science, Engineering, and Technology on
Society and the Natural World
 Modern civilization depends on major technological systems. Engineers
continuously modify these technological systems by applying scientific
knowledge and engineering design practices to increase benefits while
decreasing costs and risks.

New technologies can have deep impacts on society and the environment,
including some that were not anticipated. Analysis of costs and benefits is a
critical aspect of decisions about technology.
Crosscutting Concept: Energy and Matter
 Changes of energy and matter in a system can be described in terms of
energy and matter flows into, out of, and within that system
Common Core State Standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-12.1
 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP2
 Reason abstractly and quantitatively
INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES
Investigation 1: Where does my electricity come from?
Teacher Preparation
Prior to Investigation 1, be sure to research the sources your state or city utilizes for
energy production. You can use the U.S. Energy Information Administration or other
government websites to find this information. This will help you guide students as
they research energy production during the investigation.
Materials
 Energy readings
 Computers or tablets for Internet research
Instructional Sequence
Begin by asking students to do a quick write on the following prompt: “Where does
your electricity come from?” Use this paragraph as a tool to assess student thinking
and prior knowledge.
For students who might struggle with writing, you can ask the class to create an
annotated drawing instead of a paragraph.
Next, ask students to think about everything they did from the time they woke up in
the morning to the time they made it to class. Ask them to work with a partner and
create a list of all of the items they used that needed electricity during that time
period. Responses might include turning on a light, running an appliance for breakfast,
using a hair dryer, using a crosswalk signal to cross a street safely, etc.
Then, return to the quick write and ask students to share some responses about
where they thought their electricity came from. Capture their responses on the
board. Some students might focus on a location of where the electricity is produced
while others might share thoughts on the process used to generate electricity. By
capturing the responses on the board, you can create a fuller picture of the classes’
thinking on this topic.
Split students into small groups, and ask them to research where the electricity to
power the school comes from. Provide students with high interest less direction
about what sources to use for their research. Provide struggling students with a list of
websites you’ve identified during your lesson preparation.
After groups have had time to research, ask each group to share some of what they
learned about the sources of the school’s electricity. Highlight the fact that
electricity rarely comes from a single source, but rather is generated by a variety of
sources.
Be sure to differentiate between electricity and energy in general. Students should
understand that electricity is a type of energy. Not all energy sources are used to
produce electricity.
Instruct students to return to their groups and provide each group readings about a
different source of electricity. As they are reading, students should take notes on the
tradeoffs associated with their source.
If needed, you can use a class discussion to identify some potential tradeoffs prior to
passing out the readings. Tradeoffs could include cost, level of adoption, maintenance
efforts, or impact on the environment. For students who need extra support, create a
worksheet to guide their reading.
Sample Readings
http://energy.gov/articles/potential-path-emissions-free-fossil-energy
http://energy.gov/articles/turbines-nyc-east-river-will-provide-power-9500residents
http://energy.gov/articles/americas-wind-industry-reaches-record-highs
After students have had time to read and take notes, ask each group to share their
findings. Use student responses to highlight the idea that meeting society’s energy
demands in a sustainable manner is a challenge and that there are tradeoffs
associated with every type of energy source.
Ask students to use their science notebooks to jot down some ideas about possible
solutions to this challenge. Remind students to use what they’ve learned from their
research and their readings to support their answers.
Investigation 2: Designing a Wind Turbine
Teacher Preparation
Prior to class, create your own model turbine that can be used for a demonstration.
See the Instructions for Turbine Set Up document.
Materials
The class will need
 Voltmeter
 Fan or hair dryer
 Demonstration turbine system
Each group will need an assortment of the following:
 Wide mouth straws
 Clay
 Skewers
 Toy motor/generator
 Rubber band or electric tape
 Wires
 Voltmeter
 Index cards
 Scotch tape
 Scissors
 Masking tape
 Pencil
 Two rulers
Inform students that they will now be focusing on wind energy more specifically
and ask students to jot down three things that they think are necessary for a wind
turbine to produce energy. This can be used to assess students’ familiarity with the
concept.
Present students with images of wind turbine systems. Ask students to work with a
partner to write down any commonalities they notice across turbines. These images
can also be used to supplement students’ prior knowledge and provide a common
foundation for the rest of the lesson. For students who might be struggling or who
might not be familiar with wind turbines, you can provide a pinwheel or other simple
mechanism as a foundation.
Ask students, “How do you think the movement of the turbine blades results in the
production of electricity?” Use student responses to highlight the idea that the
kinetic energy of the wind is transferred into mechanical energy and the mechanical
energy from the movement of the turbine blades spins a shaft, which turns a
generator that converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy.
For more information: http://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work
For students who might be struggling, spend time creating working definitions of
terms such as “generator”.
You can also use videos or animations to help support students’ understanding of how
a turbine works.
Sample Video
http://energy.gov/eere/videos/energy-101-wind-turbines-2014-update
Next, ask students to work individually to use the information from the videos and
the conversation to create a diagram indicating where energy is flowing in the
system. Use this as an assessment tool.
Ask students to share their responses, and use their input to create a diagram of
how energy flows through the system. Record this diagram on chart paper and then
post it in the room.
Transition to the next part of the investigation by informing students that although
most wind turbines rely on the same transfer of energy they outlined as a class,
some turbines work better than others. Ask students “How can we measure the
effectiveness of a wind turbine system?”
Next, use the fan to demonstrate to students the model turbine system you have
created. Have one student come up and read the output of the voltmeter. Tell
students that the voltmeter measures the amount of voltage passing between two
points in the electrical system, which is an indicator of how much energy is being
produced.
Now, present students with the materials that they will have to build their turbine
and tell them that they will have one and a half class periods to create their turbines.
Now that students have seen the materials they are using, again ask students “How
can we measure the effectiveness of a wind turbine system?” Working as a class,
more clearly outline the criteria and constraints of the design process. For example,
the class might articulate, “Using only the materials and time allotted, we will create
wind turbine systems that produce at least 2.5 volts of electricity.”
The motors that students will be using will have voltage limits. Help guide students in
creating criteria within these limits.
Split students into small groups. Instruct each group to examine the available
materials and then create a drawing of their design. After you have approved their
design, you can allow students to begin building their turbines.
For students who need extra support, you can make the design process more guided.
You can also provide students with your demonstration turbine system for reference.
After all groups have finished building, inform the class that it is time to test the
turbines. Ask students how they can ensure that the testing is fair and even across
groups and record their responses to generate a testing protocol. Responses might
include keeping the fan at the same distance and speed for each test, a non-group
member reads the voltmeter for each test, etc.
All groups should record observations and results for each group. Ask students to
work individually to use their experiences designing the turbine to create a list of
potential features they think might be noteworthy. Encourage students to not only
think about the turbine itself, but also the turbine’s interaction with the wind.
Responses might include number of blades, shape of blades, size of blades, angle of the
fan, or temperature of the wind. You can use this list as an assessment tool.
Have students share out their responses to create a data collection table that can be
used to record information during testing.
Sample Data Collection Table
Group #:
Number of Blades on
Turbine
Trial
#
Length of Turbine Blades
Wind Temperature
Output Voltage
Angle of Fan
Output Voltage
1
2
3
Trial
#
1
2
3
Using the student-generated testing protocol, have each group test their design.
After all groups have tested, ask students to share what they thought worked well
across designs. Encourage them to use their notes to justify their responses. Ask
students if they think they collected a sufficient amount of data to make claims
about how various features affect the functioning of the turbine.
Now, tell students that they will be improving upon their designs. Remind students
that iteration and improvement is a key piece of the design process.
Using the same process, students should refine their designs, and then retest.
For students with high interest, you can change the criteria so that groups are
required to increase the voltage produced by their design. You could also use an
extension in which students redesign their turbines for use in water (hydropower).
Investigation 3: Wind Turbines in the Real World
Materials
 Energy readings
 Computers or tablets for Internet research
Instructional Sequence
Transition by again asking students what features seemed to work well across
designs. Continue by asking them to make claims about how environmental factors
such as wind temperature or angle of wind affected the performance of the turbines.
Based on this information, ask students to name some areas of the country (or the
world) where they think it might make sense to use wind as an energy source.
Encourage them to use their notes to justify their responses.
Next, provide students with information about real wind turbine projects. The
information should include data about space needed for turbines, geographical or
topographical requirements, costs, and environmental impact.
Sample Readings and Media
Green Light Wind Farm Slide Show
http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/affect/non-hydro.html#wind
http://www.awea.org/About/landing.aspx?ItemNumber=5237&navItemNumber=6
33
http://energy.gov/eere/renewables/wind
http://energy.gov/eere/wind/environmental-impacts-and-siting-wind-projects
You can use a jigsaw strategy and assign small groups a different reading that they
will then present to the class.
After students have had time to read and research information about what is needed
to effectively utilize wind as an energy source, work as a class to consider under
what circumstances a wind turbine might be best for a community. What are the
costs and benefits associated with wind energy? Are there environmental issues that
need to be taken into account? Impacts to the community, either positive or
negative?
Remind students that there is no one ideal energy source. As they saw in
investigation 1, electricity for a school or community can come from a combination
of sources. As they saw in investigation 2 and 3, different energy sources work best
in different environments or scenarios. Tell students that they will now be writing a
memorandum articulating the costs and benefits of siting a wind turbine in their
community. The memorandum should conclude with a statement about whether
wind energy is or is not a reliable source of energy for their community. They should
use their research and results from all of the investigations to support their answer.
You can also allow time for additional research about the pertinent geographical,
social, and environmental characteristics of the community.
Review the Wind Writing Rubric as a class and provide students time to ask
clarifying questions. You can also use elements from the Original Wind Turbine
document in your assessment.
For students with high interest, you can ask them to research additional renewable
energy sources and ask them to apply this research to describe the ideal energy
portfolio for the target community.
For students who are struggling, scaffold the research process and provide
opportunities for check-ins so you can give targeted feedback.
Credits
Thanks to Danielle Miller for her revisions to this lesson.