Electricity from Nature

We just finished a unit in science and a unit in math. In science we learned about energy transformations and conservation. We started off by getting the project brief than learning about the different types of energy. We learned different ways to make our own energy. We also learned how energy transforms. In math we learned about linear equations and rates of change. We learned how to do linear equations and how to put them onto a graph. We then combined both of these subjects for our project.

For our project we had to find a way to capture energy from nature. We learned that there is tons of energy in nature things such as water, wind, gravity and many more things. We were put into groups of about 4 people and had to make something to capture energy. I was put in a group with Spencer, Ryan, and Ruby. To help start our creative process we went to a power house at Stave Falls, Mission and saw their generators and how they collected energy from water. After that day my group started coming up with ideas of how we would capture energy.

We generated a few good ideas but we decided that a water wheel would be the best idea. We then went into the process of developing and designing our We started off with making it out of spoons but we quickly realized that that wouldn’t be strong enough to make enough power. We then tried making it out of containers and long sticks. It was able to move a little in the water but the sticks were too long and we didn’t have enough of them for it to complete a full circle.

For our second draft we added more sticks and made them shorter. We tested it out and it worked! We were able to power multiple lightbulbs with the energy we collected. Once our generator was working it was time for the math part of the project. We started off by collecting the amps and volts of our generator. We then multiplied them together to get the watts. Finally we dived the watts by a period of time in seconds to get the power (Joules). Once we had the joules we did a linear equation to figure out how long it would take to charge an iPhone. We then put this on a graph. We did the same thing for how much power a solar panel collects so we could compare them. Once all of that was done it was time for the fun part.

The last part of the project was to make a fun video advertisement for our generator. This was my favourite part because we got to personalize it and make it really fun. We collaborated well to plan out the video. It was so much fun to film. Here is the video. I hope you enjoy it!

Unfortunately we forgot to put a lot of the math we did into the video so here is some of the math we missed. .

As with every science unit we had to do a mind map at the beginning and end of the unit to show our learning. Here are my mind maps.