Question

a team of students builds a wind turbine to generate electricity for their school. during testing, they found that the turbine works well in strong winds but produces little power in light winds. what modification could the team make to improve the turbines performance in low - wind conditions? the team could use heavier materials for the turbine blades. the team could place the turbine in an area with more sunlight. the team could increase the length of the turbine blades. the team could decrease the height of the turbine tower.

Explanation:

• Using heavier materials for turbine blades would make them harder to move in light winds, so this is not a good option.
• Placing the turbine in an area with more sunlight is irrelevant as the turbine is powered by wind, not sunlight.
• Increasing the length of the turbine blades increases the swept - area. The power generated by a wind turbine is related to the swept - area (\(P=\frac{1}{2}

ho A v^{3}C_{p}\), where \(A=\pi r^{2}\) for a turbine with radius \(r\) of the blade - sweep). A larger swept - area (\(A\)) can capture more wind energy even in low - wind conditions.

• Decreasing the height of the turbine tower may expose the turbine to more turbulent and slower winds (since wind speed generally increases with height in the lower atmosphere), so this is not a good option.

Answer:

The team could increase the length of the turbine blades.