Science

1st Proficiency- Experiment and explain how Newton's Laws of Motion apply to the physical world

Experiment for the 1st,2nd and 3rd laws; and the experiment for the gravity part of the second proficiency:

  

Problem: What angle of the ramp will allow the car to push the block the farthest? 

Hypothesis:  I predict that the steeper the ramp is the farther the block will be pushed, because the steeper the ramp, the more the car will accelerate, and therefore the car has more force to push the block with. 

Experimental Design 

MATERIALS- toy car, tape, wall, ramp, ruler, protractor, block of wood

VARIABLES: CV- the car, the block of wood, the protractor, the releaser, distance the block is from the ramp, length of the ramp, size of ramp, the person measuring the angle of the ramp, the way they measure it

IV: angle of ramp

DV-the distance the block is pushed

PROCEDURE: 

For this experiment, we started by putting the ramp at a forty degree angle against a wall, and made sure it was firmly taped. This is very important because if the ramp was not attached to the wall it could shift and therefore change the angle. After that, we placed a wooden block 4 centimeters away from the end of the ramp, and put a line of tape at the 4 centimeter mark to make sure it was at the same place every time. We then positioned the car at the top of the ramp, let it go, and waited until it hit the block. During the experiment, we made sure the same person was releasing the car every time, to make sure it was dropped at the same point and in the same way to ensure accurate results. After that step, we measured from the beginning of the tape to the closest part of the block and recorded it. To eliminate an external variable, we measured it the same way every time, so there would be no chance of error. Our group did all of that three more times, and then moved the ramp up to  sixty degree angle before we did all of those things again four more times. The last angle we placed the ramp at was 80 degrees, and then did the same thing four more times. Lastly, we made sure all our data was recorded, and cleaned up all of our materials.

For this experiment, it is easy to tell that the block is pushed the farthest at forty degrees, but a little harder to tell what angle made the car push the block the shortest distance. When the ramp was at forty degrees, the average distance the block was pushed was 9 centimeters. Out of four trials, the first trial was when the car pushed the block the shortest distance, or 8.3 centimeters, and the second trial was when the block was pushed the farthest, or 9.4 centimeters. The average distance for when the ramp was at 60 degrees was much lower, it was only 5.6 centimeters. The farthest the block ever went in that section was in trial 4, where it went 6.3 centimeters. In trial three though, the block only got pushed 4.6 centimeters. For the highest angle, or the 80 degree angle, the average distance the block was pushed was only 4.9 centimeters, and the farthest the block was ever pushed was in trial 4 with 5.6 centimeters. The shortest distance the block ever traveled was in trial 2, where it went only 4 centimeters. Now that the information is presented, it is easy to see that the results were very obvious in this experiment.

Conclusion:

Our experiment was to test what would be the best angle of a ramp to allow a toy car to push a block at the bottom of the ramp the greatest distance. I hypothesized that the steeper the ramp the better because it will gain greater momentum, but I was wrong, because when the ramp was at a 40 degree angle the car was able to push the block the farthest.

On average the toy car was able to push the block 9 cm when the ramp was at 40 degrees, when the ramp was at 60 degrees, the block only moved 5.6 cm on average, and only 4.9 cm on average at 80 degrees. The reason these results happened was because of the change in direction of the ramp to the floor. When the car is on the ramp, it has a high acceleration and a high force, because it is traveling down a slope, but when it has to switch directions from 80, 60, or 40 degrees to 180 degrees, the acceleration drops majorly and so does the force. Since the 40 degree angle was the less steep, the car didn't lose as much force and acceleration in the other two, and was able to push the block a lot farther.

The only tricky part of this experiment was measuring the ramp's angle, because I seemed to measure it wrong every time and since we wanted accurate results we had to do it over multiple times until I finally got the hang of how I could measure the ramp so that I would get the correct angle each time. If I had to do it again I might have stacked books up then put the ramp on that then changed the number of books instead of measuring it with a protractor so I could get more accurate results.

Explaining the 1st Proficiency- Short Story

"I don't know how I'm ever going to get this" sighed John, as he threw down his pencil in frustration. Mr. Whale had been teaching them about Newton's Laws of Motion and he just did not get it.

"Time for bed John!" Shouted his mother from downstairs, and John reluctantly turned off the light, his head spinning from all the words and meanings overflowing in his brain. Luckily, John soon fell asleep, and that was when his problems were solved.

He was in a race car at the top of a big ramp, and below he could see what almost looked like a giant block of wood, casting a daunting shadow over the ground. Before he could do anything to stop it, the car lurched forward, and sped down the ramp, but soon came to an abrupt stop when it met the wood, and pushed it forward about ten feet.

"Woah, what just happened?" John said out loud to himself as he sat in the car, head starting to ache from the crazy ride he just took. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a detached voice filled the car.

" An object in motion will stay in motion, and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."

"Huh, that must be why the car stopped. It was an object in motion, and the block was an object at rest, but when the car hit the block it became unbalanced, so then it exerted force into the block, making it move and making the car stop. I think I get Newton's first law!"

A bell like noise sounded, and John found himself at the top of the ramp again, but it seemed even more steep then the first time. He was once again speeding down the ramp, and ramming into the block, making it move and making him stop. Weirdly though, the block didn’t go as far that time as it did before. Once again, the voice rang out through the car

"Think about Newton's second law, about mass, force, and acceleration."

"Well" John began, "The mass is still the same, because it's the same block and the same car, but the ramp is steeper, so it is a greater change of direction once it gets to the bottom, and it decelerates faster. That must mean less force is pushing on the block by the time the car gets there, making it not go as far. Wow, I think I understand Newton's second law!"

The bell chimed again, and John was thrust up to the top of the even steeper ramp. "I hope this is the last time, because my stomach can't handle any more of thi-" his words were cut off by the sudden drop of the vehicle, and the slamming into the block. "Ouch, my neck is so sore from the car lurching backwards after it hits the block, I wonder If that has anything to do with Newton's laws." As if on cue, the voice John had begun to expect filled the car one last time.

" For every action, there is an equal or opposite reaction." said the voice, as it begun to fade into silence.

"Newton's third law, it makes sense, because when the car hits the block, it pushes force onto the block, and the block pushes back, but only enough for the car to jump backwards. The car has enough force to push the block a couple feet, and the block has enough force to stop the car and send it backward a little bit, that’s why I'm sore. I get all of Newton's laws now!"

The bell rang a third time, but this time it almost sounded like the beep of an alarm clock, over and over and over again. "John wake up! Your going to be late for school!"

John woke up with a start, realizing all that had been a dream, and it seemed like his brain tidied up itself while he slept, "How convenient" he thought. On his way out door he was stopped by his mother,

"How are you feeling today honey? I know you were a little stressed out about your science class."

John smiled to himself and turned to his mother, "Oh I'm fine now mom, I think sleep is the best medicine" and with that, he walked out of the house.

Works Cited

"Kids.Net.Au - Encyclopedia Acceleration." 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. .

"Newton's Laws for Kids - 2nd Law: A Simple Explanation of Principles of Motion, Force, & Acceleration." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2010.

2nd Proficiency- Experiment with and explain how friction and gravity affect Newton's Laws of Motion

Friction Experiment-

Problem: Does the surface the ball is rolling on affect how far it rolls after it leaves the inclined plane?

Hypothesis: I think it will be affected because different surfaces cause different forces to be exerted, so if different surfaces are exerting different amounts of force, the ball will roll at different speeds, thus roll at different distances once it is off the inclined plane.

Experimental Design-

Materials table, table (as ramp), four different surfaces (wood, rug, paper towel, cotton-fake snow blanket), tape measurer, golf ball

Variables: CV-same ball, same angle of inclined plane, same inclined plane, same surface the ball is rolling on after it leaves the inclined plane.
IV- Surface of the inclined plane.
DV- the distance the ball rolls after it leaves the inclined plane.
CONTROL- no control

Procedure:

In our experiment, we first had to build the ramp, which we made out of a coffee table, and another very short very flat table being propped up against the coffee table. This ramp was perfect for our experiment, because it was very sturdy, very large, and very flat, assuring that it would give accurate results each time. After we built our ramp, we placed the ball at the top of it, let it go, and waited until it stopped rolling on the floor. We then used a tape measurer that measured in centimeters and measured the distance between the end of the ramp and the spot where the ball stopped. After we recorded our data, we repeated that procedure two more times before we put a different surface on the inclined plane. Each time we put a different surface on the inclined plane, we made sure it fit very snug and was not loose or bumpy. We did this because we wanted to make sure the ball would not have any other obstacles besides friction than it did with any other of the surfaces. We did the same thing that we did with the wood surface except with the three other surfaces, and when we were done we checked to make sure we had all of our data recorded, and then we cleaned up our materials.

Observation:

In this experiment, it is not too easy to tell that the surface of the inclined plane affected how far the ball rolled, but the actual data can help find out for sure. On the wood surface, the average distance the ball rolled was 118.6 repeating centimeters, and that was farthest out of all of the surfaces the ball rolled. Trial 2 was the trial that the ball rolled the farthest, with 122 centimeters, then trial 1 with 119 centimeters, then trial 3 with 115 centimeters. The paper towel surface allowed the ball to go the second farthest distance, with 116.3 repeating centimeters as the average. In trial 2, the ball went the farthest with 122.5 centimeters, then trial 1 with 115.5 centimeters, then trial 3 with 111 centimeters. The cotton surface provided the ball with the third farthest distance, with an average of 109.3 repeating centimeters. The trial where the ball went the farthest was trial 3, with 115.5 centimeters, then trial 1, with 108 centimeters, then trial 2, with 104.5 centimeters. The carpet surface was the surface that made the ball have the shortest distance out of all of them, with only 105.6 repeating centimeters. Trial 3 got the farthest distance, with 114 centimeters, then trial 2, with 106 centimeters, then trial 1, with only 97 centimeters. Now that the data is shown, it can be said that the surfaces kind of affected the distance the ball rolled.

Conclusion:

Our group tested if the surface of the inclined plane effected the distance the ball rolled after it left the inclined plane. This experiment was very simple, all we did was set up a table and turned it into an inclined plane, then rolled the ball down it with different surfaces each time and measured how far the ball rolled with a tape measurer. My hypothesis was that the results would differ because different forces would be exerted, and I was kind of right. The ball did roll different distances each time, but not by much. This might have been because the surfaces we put on top of the inclined plane were not different enough from one another, thus meaning we did not have very different results. If that is the answer, then there could be a chance that if the surfaces differed majorly, the results would reflect that.

On average, the wood surface provided the least friction, making the ball roll the farthest, and it rolled 118.6 repeating centimeters. The paper towel surface provided the ball with a tad more friction, making it g about 2 centimeters less than on wood. The cotton- or fake snow- we put on the inclined plane provided enough friction to slow the ball down into only going 109. 3 repeating centimeters on average. The carpet provided the most friction, only allowing the ball to go 105.6 repeating centimeters on average. If I could re-do this experiment, I would change the surfaces the ball rolled on. I would make them differ greatly so as to get clearer results.

Proficiency:

"All aboard!" Cried the train conductor, and a few late stragglers grabbed a seat before the train began to chug out of the station.

"Welcome one and all to the Pacific Coast trail tour! This is a breathtaking tour of…well.. The Pacific Coast! We will be taking a few stops on the way so take that into consideration. In the meantime, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!"

A few people clapped, but most were staring out the window, enjoying the view, and watching the sun glisten off the never-ending sea. A boy and his mother playing I spy and a couple playing cards were the first to notice the train slowing down and the wind picking up, but soon after the whole train was buzzing with question and worry.

"Everyone, please settle down, remain calm, and be quiet!" and with that, the crowd grew silent, waiting until the train slid to a complete stop.

"Mommy look!" The little boy shouted, and all eyes went to the window, looking at the monstrous sign that read: "Newton's First Law of Motion"

"Silence!" the conductor shouted at them. "All your chit-chat is going to help no one. In five minutes a man known as Notwen will be climbing aboard and asking you all a single question. How does friction and gravity relate to Newton's first law? One single answer must be presented, if you answer it correct, we move down this track. If you answer it incorrect, we move down this track instead."

Gasps could be heard from the train cars as the people stared at their fate. The correct answer track was bright and sunny, like the station they boarded the train on, but the incorrect track was the opposite, it was dark and rusty, and looked as if it would fall apart at any second.

"I am allowed to give you one hint, and one hint only, so listen well. Your hint is: Give me a brake, brake being spelled b-r-a-k-e. Good luck, your time starts now" and with that, the loud speaker shut off, and they were on their own.

Shouts of "Is this a joke?" "Get me off of this thing!" and "I'm calling 911" was all that could be heard for about thirty seconds, but then, a frail old man stepped up onto one of the seats and gave an ear-bleeding whistle.

"Everyone! Shut your mouths! If we want to get off this trail, we will listen to the conductor, and work together to solve this riddle! Luckily, I majored in this type of science in college, so I can help find the correct answer. Are you with me?"

There were shouts of both yes and no in the crowd, but the old man continued on talking. "The hint said give me a brake, so that must mean friction and gravity help stop something in Newton's first law. What is Newton's first law?"

"An object at rest will stay at rest, or an object in motion will stay at motion, unless acted upon by an unbalanced force" Shouted the couple that was playing cards at the beginning of the ride.

"Good, good, okay so lets take this train as an example. It is an object at motion, and it is staying at motion until-"

"Until the conductor uses the brake to stop it!" Chimed in the mother that was playing I spy with her little boy.

"Yes, that makes sense! So friction and gravity must relate to how the train is being stopped."

"We only have two minutes left!" Shouted someone in the back of the train car, and the noise level rose in anticipation.

"Focus everyone, focus! Okay, the train conductor stops the train by pulling the brake, which uses friction to slow it down, and then gravity to make it stay stationary, why, that's it!" The crowd cheered, and all the butterflies in the stomachs of the passengers disappeared, but didn’t leave for long, because in the silence heavy footsteps could be heard making their way onto the train.

"Everyone, stay calm, and let me do the talking" Said the old man, standing up tall, ready to face Notwen.

"Confident are we?" said a voice, perfectly matching the figure that stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, with big black boots, dusty clothes, and a scraggly beard. It was not those things that terrified the passengers the most though, it was his eyes. He had eyes as black as coal, that filled up his sockets completely. No other color was there, not white, not blue, it was just two black orbs staring them down with fierce intensity.

"Y-yes, we are, and with good reason." Choked out the old man, sweat beads dripping down his forehead. Notwen chuckled, and motioned for the old man to keep speaking.

"Well, we have all spoke about it, and come to a conclusion that friction and  gravity are the things that make the object in motion come to a stop, like this train for example. When it brakes, friction and gravity are used to make it stop."

Notwen's cocky smile turned to a frown, and he walked off the car, sending it in motion towards the correct track. The crowd cheered, but soon realized this game was not over. For over the loudspeaker the conductor came again and told them they had to do the same for the second law, and the clue he game them was:  May the force be with you.

"Star Wars!" the little boy shouted, happy that he could understand at least one thing that was going on.

"Really? Star Wars? This is so not the time!" A woman complained, as she collapsed down into her seat.

"No! this is good, this is easy! The second law talks about the relationship between force, acceleration and mass, and how the force applied to the object accelerates the object in the same direction. So just substitute gravity in for the force. An apple falls from a tree, gravity is the force, and is pushing the apple down, so it will accelerate in the same direction, thus falling down. The same for friction!"

Sighs of understanding and relief washed through the train car, and they reassured  each other the answer was correct as they waited for Notwen to make his second visit. As if on cue, the car door opened, and he stepped in.

"Go ahead, tell me your answer, just pray it's the correct one." He laughed, and leaned against the side of the train car, his lack of worry putting everyone on edge.

"Well," the old man cleared his throat, "This law talks about force, mass, and acceleration, and if we put in friction or gravity as the force, the law still applies." The look on Notwen's face assured the passengers that they were correct, so they cheered, and the train moved towards it's last stop.

"Your last question is the same thing as before, but it is dealing with the third law instead. The clue is: The answer is in the question. Good luck, you have five minutes." The conductor shut the loudspeaker off, and left the passengers puzzled.

"Everyone! Don’t give up now, we can do this, just don’t over think it! Friction is what happens when two surfaces rub against each other, they exert forces in different directions, so friction is an example of Newton's third law!"

"What is Newton's third law!" Shouted a man, angry from all of the commotion this train had been causing.

"Oh, right, excuse me, the third law states that every action has an equal or opposite reaction, so when we talk about friction, two surfaces are rubbing in opposite directions. If were talking about a ball, the ball only accelerates a certain distance due to the amount of friction being put on it." The old man said, huffing from being out of breath.

"Gravity relates to the third law because when it makes something fall down, like this ball we're using as an example, if it is the right kind, it bounces back up again, because the gravity is pushing down and the floor is pushing back up. This makes sense right?" The old man asked, afraid he had gone completely on the wrong track.

"Yes!" The passengers shouted, and applauded this man's help for saving them.

"Not so fast" Interrupted Notwen, causing the party-like atmosphere to disappear completely.

"Oh, put a sock in it" The old man said, laughing. He then explained all they had talked about moments before, and laughed even harder at Notwen, knowing he just beat him at his own game. Notwen left the train car, and all the people rushed out, running down to the ocean, free of the train, free of Newton's laws forever more.

3rd Proficiency- Experiment with and explain the relationship between speed and acceleration

Experiment- 

Problem: Does the angle of the ramp affect a marbles rate of deceleration?

  

Hypothesis: I predict that the angle of the ramp will affect the rate of deceleration because if the ramp is steeper the marble will accelerate quicker, and go to a higher rate of acceleration, therefore taking it a longer time to decelerate then if the ramp was more level.

Experimental Design

MATERIALS:

• marble
• Cardboard ramp
• 3 Stopwatches
• Ruler
• Wall
• Protractor
• Tape

VARIABLES:

CV- stopwatch, ruler, timer, ramp size, type of ramp, marble , releaser, same person on each stopwatch

IV- angle of ramp

DV- effect on deceleration

Control- no control

PROCEDURE-

For this experiment, we first started by setting up our ramp at a 50 degree angle on the wall, and placing it firmly there with tape so as to keep it in place for more accurate results. After that, we measured out 180 centimeters from the end of the ramp and placed a piece of tape there. We then cut that distance into three sections, by putting a piece of tape at 60 cm, and at 120 cm. The reason we made such a large distance was so that we were more likely to get accurate results because it takes the marble longer to travel a longer distance than a shorter one, and it was easier for us to time. After we measured that out we each got our own stopwatch ready, and I placed the marble at the top of the ramp. As soon I let go and as the marble left the ramp, I started timing and did not stop timing until the marble finished the full 180 cm. Jenna started the stopwatch the same time I did, but stopped at 60 cm, and Alyssa started her stopwatch at 120 cm, and stopped it when the ball crossed the 180 cm mark. After we had done that four times, we moved the ramp down to 30 degrees, and did the same thing four more times. After we were finished with that angle, we moved it to 10 degrees, and did the same thing four more times.

Once we were done with the experimenting, it was time for the calculating. We took all of the times Alyssa and Jenna recorded, and turned them into speed by dividing distance by time, or what I recorded. After we did that, we found the rate of deceleration for each trial, by subtracting the initial speed by the final speed, then dividing it by the time. After we found those answers, we organized it into a graph, and then cleaned up all our materials.

Observation:

In this graph, the bars are upside down, and the data I am about to share will explain why. It is easy to tell that the steeper the angle is, the greater the rate of deceleration is. The data shows that the average rate of deceleration for the 50 degree angle was -103.82 c/s/s. The range for this set of numbers was -129.31 c/s/s all the way to -66.81 c/s/s. When the ramp was at 30 degrees, the average rate of deceleration was at -56.68 c/s/s. The range for this set of data was -64.37 c/s/s through -50.9 c/s/s, which is less drastic than the first set. The least steep angle, or the 10 degree angle, only had a deceleration rate of -13.385 c/s/s, and had a range of -18.1 c/s/s to -10.55 c/s/s, which is the smallest range in the whole data table.



Conclusion: 

In this experiment,our group tested if the angle of the ramp would affect the rate of deceleration. Our experiment was simple, we just timed how long it took a marble to roll 180 cm after it left the ramp, and we timed the first third, the last third, and the whole distance to find our rate of deceleration. My hypothesis was that the angle would affect the rate of deceleration, and I was right. The average rate of deceleration for the 50 degree angle ramp was -103.82 c/s/s, versus the average rate of deceleration for the 10 degree angle ramp, which was -13.39 c/s/s. That means that the steeper ramp made the marble accelerate faster and at a greater rate, so when it was off the ramp it tool longer to slow down than the not steep ramp, which makes the marble go slower because it is not accelerating fast to begin with. If I could do this experiment over again, I would measure the rate of deceleration over a greater distance, so it is easier to time and is more accurate.

Proficiency:

The Story of Speed and Acceleration

Once upon a time, there was a sad little measurement named Speed. Speed was very famous, because he was the rate of motion, and was expressed by distance moved per unit of time. Even though Speed could do all of those things, he still wasn't happy, because Velocity had all that, and had the element of direction. Speed was only one component of Velocity, which means he could never be with Acceleration, because Acceleration would always be described as the rate of change of Velocity.

Speed loved Acceleration, more than he would ever let anyone know, but he knew it was hopeless. No one would ever come between Velocity and Acceleration, they were in the dictionary together, they were a pair. As Speed walked into work one day, he was too busy wallowing in self-pity to notice that he pushed the wrong button on the elevator. He was climbing all the way to the top floor, and didn't notice until his eyes fell upon the beautiful view of the city from the ceiling to floor windows only the top floor possessed.

"Oh no! I'm in her office, their office!" No one had to guess about who Speed was talking about. Just as he was about to walk back into the elevator he heard her voice.

"Speed! Why, this is such a surprise! You haven't been up here in ages." Acceleration spoke with such warmth and power that it made Speed relax his tense figure and turn to greet her.

"Acceleration, ahem, its been much too long." His sadness spread across his face, and he knew she could see right through him.

"Oh! My dear, what’s wrong?"

Telling a lie entered Speed's mind, but he knew he had to tell her the truth. "I love you!" He blurted, noticing it sounded a lot less romantic than it had seemed in his head.

"What!" she gasped.

"It's true. I've loved you ever since I first layed eyes on you. But you’ve always been with Velocity, and you always will. You two have everything in common, and I know I can never compare to him."

She smiled, a sad, wise smile, that made Speed want to hang onto every word she was about to say. " Speed, my dear friend, we are more alike than you think."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, think about it. You find me by finding the change in Velocity, but how do you do that?"

"I'm-" Speed started.

"By changing you, Speed. You’re the base of it all. Velocity is Speed and direction, but he needs your help to find me. And you’re a great big part of Velocity. If you weren't there, I wouldn't exist. Your very important to me Speed, never think otherwise."

"You really mean all that?" Speed asked, his voice shaking from all the information he was soaking in.

"Of course I do, now, enough with that heavy stuff, would you like to go out for ice cream?"

"That sounds like a great idea" Speed said, as they walked into the elevator, the smile on Speed's face shining all the way down.  

Citations

"What Is the Difference between Speed, Velocity and Acceleration?" Edinformatics -- Education for the Information Age. 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. .

4th Proficiency- Experiment with and explain how simple machines utilize mechanical advantage to transfer energy

Experiment-

5th Proficiency

Authors Note:I wrote this essay to complete the fifth proficiency, " Effectively explain how alternate forms of energy can be utilized to influence the U.S energy needs." My essay talks about just that, explaining forms of alternate energy and giving ideas about how the energies with the lower amount of use can be used more throughout the U.S. Enjoy!

Nowadays, everywhere you turn there are traces of green. The eco-friendly mindset is spreading all over the world, which makes everyone feel better. Even though this may be true, the work is never done. We are making a big impact on the earth this day and age, but there is still more we can do.

Hydropower and biomass power are the top two alternate energy sources in the U.S, they both account for about 7% of the energy used in the nation. Hydropower is a type of energy that uses water to generate electricity. Companies that create hydropower usually use dams and turbines to spin water and create electricity. A small hydropower facility can generate enough power for a house, farm, or ranch. Environmental concerns are small, only that dams may cause flooding upstream and cause negative issues for the living creatures. Hydropower facilities are mainly in the Northwest, Tennessee Valley, and the Colorado River. Biomass is the second most common alternate energy source in the U.S, which uses plants and natural materials to create energy. Biomass is an important part of waste management, and if it continues to stay strong, in the future biomass could help with climate concerns. It can be used for transportation needs, heating, and electricity. Biomass facilities are usually found eastern and northern U.S where trees and grass is plentiful.

While those energy sources are successful, some need a boost. Wind power, solar power, and geothermal power account for less than 3% of the U.S's alternate energy sources combined. Solar power is using equipment like solar panels to turn the suns heat into electricity. It can be used for heating and cooling, light, and hot water for buildings. There are three types of solar power collectors; flat plate collectors, passive solar power, and concentrating solar power. There are few environmental concerns about solar power, so why is so little of it being generated? It is because of the cost. The equipment to produce solar power is very expensive, and it only works for half of the day, which costs valuable time. It is only common sense to think that states like Nevada and Arizona have all the sunshine turned into solar power, but that is not the case. If big cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas spent less money on watering their golf courses and more on buying solar panels to increase solar power, there would be a big boost in that energy source.

Wind power is when windmills, or wind turbines, are used to generate electricity. As the blades turn, the central shaft turns to create electricity, which can be used individually or for a whole power grid. Wind power is the world's fastest growing alternate energy source, and is usually found in very windy areas, like Alaska and the Appalachian Mountains. Although this energy source is growing very quickly, it cannot grow to be 100% of the energy used, because there is not strong enough winds everywhere for there to be enough running 24/7.  Even if 100% is impossible, there are still things we can do to bump up this energy source, like having each state invest in wind turbines, even if it is not a highly windy state. The controllers of the windmills can research the wind forecasts and only turn them on when the days are medium to high wind, so they can save money. Another idea would be to have windmills on all the coastlines of America, because by the ocean it is particularly windy, and each state could have their own unique windmill garden with murals on windmills to make the sight less sore on the eyes.

Geothermal power uses the power of heat inside the earth to produce heat or electricity. Most geothermal facilities use steam or hot water from underground, and it doesn't pollute or run out like fossil fuel does. Geothermal heat pumps are used to generate electricity for heating, cooling, and hot water. Hawaii, California, Utah, and Nevada all have geothermal factories. This alternate energy source is one that really needs to be stepped up in the United States, and that can be accomplished by closing down part of Yellowstone Park to set up a geothermal factory. Yellowstone Park is a giant nature reserve in Wyoming, with tons of geysers perfect for using for geothermal power. It has come to the U.S's attention that if these geysers keep pumping up as much hot water as they do, the results could be disastrous one day. It would be beneficial to close down some of those geysers to keep them under control and used positively. 

Going green is a wonderful habit the world has begun to notice, so now it is time to take a step forward and make it as green as it can be. None of these alternate energy sources will be the one to take over 100% of the energy sources in the world, but if they all increase by even a couple percents, the world can be a healthier, happier place.

Citations :
"Renewable Energy Sources in the United States." National Atlas Home Page. 2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. .