Make an Anemometer (Weather Instrument)

An ANEMOMETER measures WIND SPEED.

Science and Math Activity

Here are directions to make a simple Anemometer that students can use to measure Wind Speed.

Directions found at Royal Meteorological Society, UK http://www.rmets.org, www.nauticus.org and Explorit Science Center http://www.explorit.org

Materials

• ping pong ball (I found a package at my local supermarket.)
• protractor
• string or fishing line
• tape
• scissors
• piece of strong cardboard (optional)
• science journal/notebook

Directions

• Stick the protractor to the piece of cardboard with the tape. Have the straight side on the top. (OPTIONAL STEP)
• Cut a piece of string approximately 12 inches in length.
• Tape one end of the string to the ping pong ball.
• Tape the other end of the string to the center point of the protractor. (see picture above)
• Hold the protractor so that it is upside down.
• The fishing line/string should hang straight down past the 90 degree mark on the protractor.
• Observe as the wind pushes the ping pong ball and string.
• Record the angle measurement into a science or math journal/notebook.
• Use the Table below to convert the angle measurement into a wind speed.

Degrees - Speed (mph)

  90    -      0
  86    -      5
  75    -    10
  59    -    15
  43    -    20
  40    -    21

Instead of making an anemometer, you could use THE BEAUFORT WIND FORCE SCALE to describe wind speed based on observable land (or sea) conditions. Click on the link below.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/beaufort.html


Enjoy learning about weather!