Activity #2: Water as a Force
Materials: Water, 2 L bottle, scissors, duct tape, wooden dowel, string, cardboard, index cards, toothpicks, plastic wrap, aluminum foil, stop watch or phone.
STEP 1: Watch the videos below about the power of water and complete the summaries in your workbook.
STEP 2: Now that you’ve learned how water shapes land and carries energy, it’s time to explore how we can use water as a source of power. In this experiment, you’ll build your own small water turbine and test how it turns moving water into energy. Click here and carefully view the sample experiment for ideas. Using the materials provided, your challenge is to design and build a working turbine that spins when water flows over it. You’ll come up with a research question, test your design, and record your results. Think about what you might want to explore—like how many blades work best, or how the shape or angle of the blades affects how fast it spins. Choose one of the questions below (or create your own) to guide your experiment. Then, follow the steps in your workbook to carry it out.
- How does the number of blades affect how well the turbine spins?
- What shape or material makes the best blades for a water turbine?
- Does the angle of the blades change how fast the turbine turns?
- How does the flow rate of water affect the turbine’s speed?