Choose one of the Bell Ringers provided to display for students to answer.
Science of Wind
Summary
An advanced wind energy lesson built for high school students, with the physics and real-world complexity that APES Unit 6 and Earth Science teachers need. Includes bell ringer prompts, a vocabulary and video quiz, two differentiated reading packets, a quantitative computation activity, a wind power intermittency data set, and a capstone lab where students build and calibrate a functional anemometer to calculate wind energy potential. Teacher guide and answer key included.
Activities
Video
Play this short video on wind to spark curiosity and encourage thoughtful discussion.
Vocabulary + Quiz
Have students review the vocabulary terms, watch the video, and answer the questions in the quiz.
Reading
Have students read the info sheet on the Science of Wind and answer the comprehension questions.
Extended Reading
Have students read the extended info sheet on the Science of Wind and answer the comprehension and application questions.
Computation
Have students analyze a graph and table to calculate increases in wind energy generation. Review key terms, then discuss trends as a class.
Data Set
Have students analyze a wind energy data chart and answer questions. Review key terms, then discuss trends as a class.
Lab - Teacher Guide
Download this teacher guide to walk students through constructing a functional anemometer to measure wind speed and calculate the wind energy potential of a wind turbine.
Lab - Student Guide
Use this handout with students to construct a functional anemometer to measure wind speed and calculate the wind energy potential of a wind turbine.
Teacher Guide
Download this teacher guide that serves as a walkthrough with answers for the Science of Wind lesson.
Answer Key
This short document provides answers to key activities in the Science of Wind lesson.
Downloadables