Ram air turbine

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ram-air-turbine

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary aerodynamic principle?Harnesses ram pressure generated by aircraft velocity for power
2. What is the deployment mechanism?Typically housed in a retractable fairing, deployable manually or automatically
3. What is a ram air turbine on a plane?A tiny windmill that sticks out when the plane is flying fast. It turns the fast air around the plane into electricity or hydraulic power.
4. How does the ram air turbine make electricity?The fast air pushes on its blades, making them spin. The spinning blades drive a small generator that turns the motion into electric power.

Ram pressure: The static pressure increase resulting from the deceleration of a fluid flow.
Kinetic energy: The energy an object possesses due to its motion, proportional to mass and velocity squared.
Redundancy: The duplication of critical components or functions to increase reliability and safety.