Hurumanu - Wind Power

Extreme weather

Measuring weather.

Definitions:

Anemometer:  An instrument for measuring the speed of the wind, or of any current of gas.

Beaufort wind scale: The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land.

MATERIALS

1.  2 Skewers 
2.  4 Plastic Lids
3.  1 Pin
4.   Tape
5.   1 Vivid

STEPs

1. Tape the plastic lids to each side of the skewers.
2. Tape the skewers together.
3. Then, place the skewers onto the pencil eraser.
4. Stick the pin through the tape and eraser.

Groups size: 5 
Roles:

• Timekeeper
• Counter
• Recorder
• Anemometer Manager
• Wind Manager

Instructions:

• Go to the measuring place and set up your wind gauge.
• Make sure everyone in your group is ready to start their roles.
• Record how many times it spins and record it in the table below.
• Count the number of spins in 15 seconds.
• Record it on your chart.

1. Mount the anemometer in a place that has full access to the wind from all directions.
2. When the time keeper says "Go", the counter in each group will count how many times the marked cup passes them in one minute and write it down.
3. Repeat the above step four (4) times and record the number of spins on the chart.

FINDINGS

	Place name on school grounds	Number of Spins in 15 seconds
1.	Field.	0
2.	Old J Block Site.	0
3.	Grass hill in the quad	0
4.	Tennis Court Gate.	0

CONCLUSION:

When we were near the Tennis Court Gate there wasn't much wind because the trees were blocking the wind from spinning the anemometer.

There wasn't much wind in J Block either because there was a lot of construction in the way.

There was wind at the field, but the anemometer didn't spin because our group concluded that there was too much tape.

When we were at the Grass Hill our group kept surrounding the anemometer and it didn't get a chance to spin.

Wind

Beaufort Wind Scale

Beaufort Force	Wind Speed (KPH)	Spins	Indicators	Terms Used in NWS Forecasts
0	0-2	0	Calm; smoke rises vertically.	Calm
1	2-5	10	Shown by direction of wind smoke drift, but not by wind vanes.	Light
2	6-12	40	Wind felt on face, leaves rustle; ordinary vanes moved by wind.	Light
3	13-20	80	Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag.	Gentle
4	21-29	130	Raises dust and loose paper; small branches are moved.	Moderate
5	30-39	190	Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters.	Fresh
6	40-50	250	Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telephone wires; umbrellas used with difficulty.	Strong
7	51-61	320	Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt walking against the wind.	Strong
8	62-74	390	Breaks twigs off trees; generally impedes progress.	Gale
9	75-87	470	Slight structural damage.	Gale
10	88-101	550	Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage occurs.	Whole gale
11	102-116	640	Very rarely experienced inland; accompanied by widespread damage.	Whole gale
12	117 or more	730+	Very rarely experienced; accompanied by widespread damage.	Hurricane

Based on your findings what was the Wind Speed and the Beaufort Wind Force for each area.

	Spins per minute	Wind speed ( kph)	Beaufort Scale
Field	0	0	Calm
Old J Block site	0	0	Calm
Grass hill	0	0	Calm
Tennis Court Gate	0	0	Calm

The Boy who Harnessed the wind: 1:36

Wind Farm construction