c

c 
 



  cc cc
 
 c

Y


 
c
cc

Wooden Generatorc
Making an electric generator is a
good way of learning the principles
of generators. It also is an exciting
science project. c

As a display project, you just need

to make it and demonstrate it's
structure. As an experimental
project, you need to come up with
questions about the factors that
c cmay affect the rate of production of
electricity. c
c
½

c
cc
If you want to do this as an experimental project, following are some
suggested questions:c

 ow does the speed of turning affect the production of electricity?c


 ow does the diameter of wire coil affect the amount of electricity?c

 ow does the number of loops of wire in the coil affect the amount of
electricity?c

 ow does the diameter of coil wire affect the electric current?c

 ow do the material used in the construction of an electric generator
affect the production of electricity?c

Hyp

c

Œepending on the question that you select, you may predict an answer. That
is called your hypothesis.c

Œ
p

 
p

  
c

The factor that you are testing is your independent variable. For example the
speed of turning and diameter of wire are samples of independent variables.
The rate of production of electricity is the dependent variable.c
6 
 c

Following are the material that you need in order to construct a wooden
electric generator.c

 Wood dowel 3/8" diameterc


 Wood Œowel 1" diameter.c

 od magnet 3" longc

 Insulated copper wire 27 AWG, 200 feetc

 1.2 Volt Screw Base light Bulbc

 Base for the light bulbc

 Small sand paperc

 Wood Gluec

 1/2 Square foot Balsa wood (1/8" diameter)c

÷
p  
c

If you are buying a kit, all the wooden parts are included and they are
already cut to the size. So you just need to connect them. If you don't have a
kit, prepare the wooden parts as follows:c

 åut two square pieces from the balsa wood (3.5" x 3.5").c

 Make a 3/8" hole in the center of each square.c

 åut four 1" x 3 7/16.c

 åut a 3/4" piece from the 1" wood dowel. Make a 3/8" hole in the
center of it. Insert a 6" long 3/8" wood dowel in the hole, apply some
glue. center it and wait for it to dry. c

 Make another hole with the diameter of your rod magnet in the center
of the larger wood dowel piece for the magnet to go through.c

Wood dowels after completing the

step 4c
c

Wood dowels after completing the

step 5c
c

  p

 p


 
p
 

  


 c

÷

 
c

 Insert the magnet in the hole of the wood dowel. åenter it and use
some glue to secure it.c

 se one large square balsa wood and four smaller rectangular balsa
woods to make a box.c

 Insert your wood dowel into the hole in the center of the box. At this
 time the magnet is inside the box.c

 ÷lace the other large square to complete the box. Apply some glue to
the edges and wait for the glue to dry. By now, you have a box and
inside the box you have a magnet that can spin when you spin the
wood dowel.c

 Wrap 200 turns of copper wire around the box and use masking tape
to secure it. c

 emove the insulation from the ends of the wire and connect it to the
screws of the bulb holder or base. c

 Insert the light bulbc

 Spin the wood dowel fast to get the light.c

Vou may order wooden generator

science set online. All parts are cut
to size and ready to use. c

c c

Wood glue, masking tape and sand

paper are not included. Additional
wooden parts may be included.c
c
The high quality parts
included in this science
set may be useful for
many of your future
projects. All parts other
than balsa wood are
reusable. Vou may c
purchase additional balsa
c wood from craft stores
for your future projects. c
cc
HOMEc
c c

c
c
c c
c 
 



  
 c
cc 6 
Y
y
 

p

   
 6


c

 


This project is one of the most famous electricity projects that can be performed
successfully by most students in the age of 10 to 16. Since the same method is used to
get energy from many fruits and chemicals, this project has many names. Following are
some of the other names or titles for this project:

 › p


  
yc

 


 

y


 

yc

 ÷
 
 
y


 
yc

÷

 


Making electricity from chemicals is based on the same scientific principles on which all
modern batteries work. Vou insert copper and zinc electrodes in an acidic liquid and
produce some electricity from the chemical reaction between your electrodes and
electrolyte. The electricity produced in this way can be displayed with a multi-meter that
can show millivolts. It may also be able to power up a 1.2 Volts light bulb. Making
electricity experiment can be used for many different science projects. Following are
some additional research that you can perform in relation to making electricity from
fruits and chemicals.

!
p 






y

ëYp




     


    
"
 p
 


yc   


  


  

 
 



c

#Yp




    5%



  



 
$ 
 p
 


yc   p  c

'y
 
 

  
&Yp




  




"




 y

    


 


y
p
 
y
 p
 


yc
 c


6 
  
 p
c

6 
  
 p
 y




 p
$
 
c

c 
pp
Y


c

c (Y


c

c 6 )

 p 


 

 
c

c ›      ë#
c

c 
* 




   c

c +
c
 -
c   
 pc

c *



 
 
 
p
 c

,
 p  

 
 
 y
   



 y
 

6 


y


6



  
 

 
 c

6 


y- 
+
y


p
$
 


y"








p
 
  



y
 y
p
 
6 


y 
 

y
y


p

y

p
$
c

c c

c c
c
cc
Make electricity science kit contains
all material that you need in order to
successfully experiment making
electricity by a chemical reaction.
Some chemicals are harmful and
dangerous! that's why we recommend
you to use household chemicals such
as acetic acid (Vinegar), baking soda, Miniature
fruits and fruit juice.c åopper and Multi tester or
Socketc
Zinc Multi meterc
electrodesc
+!..c

This kit contains small and sharp

objects. keep it out of reach of small
children. Adult supervision is required.c

The purpose of this science kit is to åolor åoded

Base board c Screwsc
simplify the process of finding and Leadsc
purchasing material that you need for
your experiments.c
Analog Multimeter does NOT need battery in order to
test voltage and current. Vou will need a battery to
test the resistance. c
Alligator ålipsc
Insulated Wirec Miniature Bulb
1.2Vc c

+  y
If any of the parts in this kit are defective, return it to us within 7 days from the date of purchase and we will repair
c
or replace it for you at no charge.c


 6 
 !
 

 6 
 !
 

y


p

 

 


p  

 y




 
 
 
c

{ ÷ 

  pc
{ › 

c

/pp
 



› ÷
$

Yp




       y
  

 
p
 


 

y

 
y )

+  

y



 
   p    0c

c
ccc

c
c c
c
HOMEc
c c

c
c 
 



  
 cc cc
 c

Y


 
c
cc

cc

Y


 


 c

  cc  ccccc
cc ccccccc
 !c  c!"cc # c
!"
c$c%!c! ccc#c cc
c c c c !#c  "cc!#c cc
!#c& &c'  (c
c)#c  c!c#c
" cc cc&c cc" c
c

c c

c c c
c
c

c
 Y


 
 
 c

{ &cccc c

{ åcc*!cc
{ cc
{ !c*!c
{ ÷+ cccc c
{ Ô!#c& &c
{ [cc!#c& &c


  
 

 c$c*c,- cc" cc
c&c cc#cc  #c "
ccc#cc.c

{ c! c






 

c
*!cc  c!c%c"c!cccc  cc/ 
ccc
#c- c#c c&c ccc  c/ c.c

{ cc#cccc c#c cc  c!"ccc!0c
{ cc#cccc c c#c 









c
{ cc#c &cc 







c

c1c!c c" c/ c" c ccc#c- cc&c#c#"#c'cc
! cc#ccc" c&(cc  cc # c#c#"#cc"c
   c#cc#cc&c&cc#c" c  "c&%cc" c
 #
c1cc" c"c&ccc!c" cc  c #c#cc
cc" c   
c
 c!cc% "c !cc#%cc#"c c#c #c#cc c
&c!"c !!c#c" cc  c#c c" c cc" c #
c

c c c
cc
HOMEc
c c
c

c
c 
 



  
 cc cc
 c

+ 
% 
"+ 
+

c

Y
y
 
c

 
 /
 
c

For many years, energy of moving water

has been used to grind grains and run
machinery such as wood working, knitting
and cutting machinery. Many of these
places are now preserved as museums.
With modern technology, the energy of
water is not directly used to do do the
job. Instead, water energy is used to
produce electricity and the electricity is
used to run different machinery. c

Since the flow of water is seasonal, dams

are made to control the water flow and
cc produce electricity all year long. With
dams, storing water is storing energy.c c

In this project you will make a working model of a water turbine and calculate the
amount of electrical energy that can be produced by your water turbine. Vou can
make a water turbine using wood. So wood working skills, some tools and adult
supervision and help is required for this project. c


 
 

Gather information about your project. If you are a basic or advanced member of
Science÷roject.com, your project advisor may prepare the initial information that you
need and enter them in this section. In any case it is necessary for you to read
additional books, magazines or ask professionals who might know in order to learn
more about the subject of your research. Keep track of where you got your
information from.c


p

 c
These are the components or parts for each of most water mills.c

+ 
+

c

The Water Wheel draws the power for the mill from a current of water.
The + 
+

transmits the energy trough a shaft to other parts of a mill to do
a work or run an electric generator.c

Transmission of energy can be done using gears, pulleys and belts.c

½

1÷ p


What do you want to find out? Write a statement that describes what you want to do. se your observations and
questions to write the statement. c

The purpose of this project is to build a small wooden water wheel and connect it to
a bicycle generator in order to produce electricity.c


y  

When you think you know what variables may be involved, think about ways to change one at a time. If you
change more than one at a time, you will not know what variable is causing your observation. Sometimes
variables are linked and work together to cause something. At first, try to choose variables that you think act
independently of each other. c

Variables that may affect the production of electricity are design variables such as
size of the water wheel and the shape of buckets made on the wheel. Œesign
variables affect the speed and torque of the wheel. On the other hand higher torque
and speed of the water wheel, when transferred to a generator, produces a higher
amount of electricity.c

Hyp


Based on your gathered information, make an educated guess about the answer to your question orthe result of
your experiment. c

My hypothesis is that the force of a wooden water wheel with 2 feet diameter can be
transmitted to a small generator (directly or using belts and pulleys) to produce
electricity. c

Yp

Œ

Œesign an experiment to test each hypothesis. Make a step-by-step list of what you will do to answer each
question. This list is called an experimental procedure. For an experiment to give answers you can trust, it must
have a "control." A control is an additional experimental trial or run. It is a separate experiment, done exactly like
the others. The only difference is that no experimental variables are changed. A control is a neutral "reference
point" for comparison that allows you to see what changing a variable does by comparing it to not changing
anything. Œependable controls are sometimes very hard to develop. They can be the hardest part of a project.
Without a control you cannot be sure that changing the variable causes your observations. A series of
experiments that includes a control is called a "controlled experiment." c

So you want to make a water wheel and use it's energy to run an electric generator.
There are many ways that you can design your project. For example you may
construct a wooden water wheel and connect it to a bicycle generator to produce
electricity. Or you may convert an existing bicycle wheel to a water wheel by
connecting aluminum or plastic cups to that. c

Start by drawing your design and doing the calculations. Imagine that you want to
give your drawings to a builder and he is supposed to complete the project without
your supervision or advise. ÷reparing the drawings and doing the calculations is what
engineers do. So this is your chance to test your engineering skills. c

H

y
 



0 It depends on the generator that you use.
The generator needs certain torque (rotational force) and certain rotational speed in
order to produce electricity. Vour water wheel should be able to produce enough
force or you will get no electricity. Test your generator to see how much force do you
need to run it efficiently and produce electricity. se a volt meter to see what is the
voltage produced by your generator at different speeds. Vou may use pulleys or
gears to increase the rotational speed (Number of turns per minute).c

H



 


0 ere is a sample:c

The idea is that one side of the wheel should hold some water and become heavy,
causing the wheel to spin. As you know more water results more weight and more
torque (rotational force) on the wheel. c

I decided to make my drawings and see how

much water do the cups hold in different
designs. c

In first design I will use two wooden circles

with the diameter of two feet and a wooden
cylinder with the diameter of 16 inches and
height of 6 inches.c

I will mount the circles on the bases of cylinder

to make spool. I will then use 12 pieces of 6 x
10 wood paddles to make the cups or buckets.
Since water level is horizontal, I can see how
much water does the wheel hold in one side in
my drawings.c c

I noticed that the bottom of buckets is too

narrow and it does not hold much water. So I
cam up with a second design to use an angle
as buckets. So I replaced each 6 x 10 wood
paddle with two pieces connected to each
other to form an L shape. c

I decided to use a 6 x 2 piece of wood that

forms the bottom of each bucket and a 6 x 8
that forms the side of each bucket. The
drawing showed that this design will hold more
water than the previous one.c
c
Now that enlarging the bottom of buckets can
increase the amount of water stored in
buckets, I increased it again. In this drawing I
assumed that the bottoms are three inches
wide, instead of 2 inches. So pieces of 3" x 6"
will be used.c

This again showed an increase in the size of

buckets and any water hitting the outside of
each bucket, simply slides down into the lower
bucket.c

I also made another drawing as you see in the

right, but it does not seem to be as good. In
this drawing the bottom of buckets are about
5". That is why they are slanted. One problem
that I noticed in this drawing is that water
hitting the outside of a bucket, does not easily
enter the next bucket and may get wasted.c

This just gave you some idea on how to start your design. It's up to you how you
want to continue that.c

6 
  Y p


List of material depends on your final design. In general you will need some wood,
some wires, a generator, a light bulb and a socket. Additional material such as nails,
screws and wood glues depend on your design.c

+


 y0c

Vou may purchase wood from some hardware stores or home improvement stores or
hobby stores.c

Screw base 6 volts light bulb and socket can also be purchased from hardware
stores.c
Bicycle generator is available at bicycle stores and sport shops.c

These material may also be ordered online to MiniScience.com or klk.comc

!
 
Yp

/
 

Yxperiments are often done in series. A series of experiments can be done by
changing one variable a different amount each time. A series of experiments is made
up of separate experimental "runs." Œuring each run you make a measurement of
how much the variable affected the system under study. For each run, a different
amount of change in the variable is used. This produces a different amount of
response in the system. Vou measure this response, or record data, in a table for this
purpose. This is considered "raw data" since it has not been processed or interpreted
yet. When raw data gets processed mathematically, for example, it becomes results.c

  

If you do any calculation for your project, write your calculations in this section.c

 
y
!
 
Summarize what happened. This can be in the form of a table of processed numerical
data, or graphs. It could also be a written statement of what occurred during
experiments.c

It is from calculations using recorded data that tables and graphs are made.
Studying tables and graphs, we can see trends that tell us how different variables
cause our observations. Based on these trends, we can draw conclusions about the
system under study. These conclusions help us confirm or deny our original
hypothesis. Often, mathematical equations can be made from graphs. These
equations allow us to predict how a change will affect the system without the need to
do additional experiments. Advanced levels of experimental science rely heavily on
graphical and mathematical analysis of data. At this level, science becomes even
more interesting and powerful.c


 

sing the trends in your experimental data and your experimental observations, try
to answer your original questions. Is your hypothesis correct? Now is the time to pull
together what happened, and assess the experiments you did.c

!

½

2

What you have learned may allow you to answer other questions. Many questions
are related. Several new questions may have occurred to you while doing
experiments. Vou may now be able to understand or verify things that you
discovered when gathering information for the project. Questions lead to more
questions, which lead to additional hypothesis that need to be tested.c

÷

Y

If you did not observe anything different than what happened with your control, the
variable you changed may not affect the system you are investigating. If you did not
observe a consistent, reproducible trend in your series of experimental runs there
may be experimental errors affecting your results. The first thing to check is how you
are making your measurements. Is the measurement method questionable or
 unreliable? Maybe you are reading a scale incorrectly, or maybe the measuring
instrument is working erratically.c

If you determine that experimental errors are influencing your results, carefully
rethink the design of your experiments. eview each step of the procedure to find
sources of potential errors. If possible, have a scientist review the procedure with
you. Sometimes the designer of an experiment can miss the obvious.c

!



c

Œisplay water mill does not produce

electricity, however the design of
water wheel may be helpful for your
project. ålick here to see how it is
made.c
c c

Water mills are usually made in large sizes, click here to see a sample.c

Many water mills are now restored and converted to museums. c

Some historical information about developing wheels are available here.c

See actual design and drawing of a water mill.c

Œisplay water mill does not produce electricity, however the design of water wheel
may be helpful for your project.c
c

cc
HOMEc
c c

c
c