Using Stored Water

Project Number: 74

Description: Place the water wheel on the motor (M4) and connect it to the meter (M6) as shown. Set the meter to the 5V or the 50mA setting. Take an empty plastic water or milk container, make a hole about 3 inches from the top, fill it with water, and then hold the water wheel next to it and measure the voltage or the current produced. Fill the container to different heights and see how the water pressure affects the meter measurement. Plug the hole with your finger while you fill the container, and try to keep the water wheel in the same position the whole time. Your parts might stop working if water gets inside them. Let them dry and they should be fine.

Snappy: Raising the water level in the container is just like storing water in a lake next to a dam. A higher water level means more water pressure, which spins the shaft faster, which produces more electricity. A dam converts the potential energy of the high water into kinetic energy of fast moving water, which is reduced when the water is used to spin the turbine in a generator. The water in Hoover Dam is 500 feet deep at its base and it reaches speeds of 85 mph going into the turbine.