Physics
In this class I receive hands on science lessons. So far we have worked with construction, power tools, engineering drawling's, measurement convertions, scaling and sound waves. This class is taught by the lovely, but slightly nerdy Mrs. Quinlan; every morning we are greeted with an agenda board and random trivia. The agenda board is very useful, I think it helps keep our class in order, and the trivia is always an uplifting event. During these two periods I am taught science through a different method, hands on, and I love it because I'm able to make a personal connection.
Team Banner
During this project we had to sketch, draw, create and build a banner that we wanted to be the face of The Crew. The first stage was trying to incorporate every groups own trademark; for example, my group was the banner group and we had to try fit our banner with the leather vest. Once we decided on the drawling then we each had to learn how to scale, so the drawling's would be correctly proportionate on the wood. We were then able to start using power tools; which was a great lesson and super fun. To complete the project we had to paint our piece, and then Mrs. Quinlan and Ms. Shirk assembled our awesome art piece.
Physics Concepts behind Project Team Banner
The physics concepts were; measurement conversions, engineering scale drawling's and the use of power tools. For measurement conversions we revived how to convert different units; this was useful through the project because we need to know how long we needed to trim the wood. At the end of this project we received a test on measurement conversions also. Engineer scale drawling's were a huge part in this project; they were so necessary we needed them to know how much we had to enlarge our sketch. We were also taught how to use power tools, how they work and how to use and operate them properly. This was a very hands on physics project and I enjoyed it.
Evidence
Project Team Banner Reflection
This was a very fun and creative project; I think this was a good choice for a first project. The reason why I think this is because it was hands on, team building and creative project. I am most proud of the gold banner paint job, because I spent the most time on this part of the project. In the part that I need the most revision was in the scaling and engineering drawings, because when I first started I didn't quite understand the concepts. The concept of the heart and mind that I used the most was cooperation, because we were placed in our groups and we had to come together and collaborate.
Dia de Los Muertos Celebration Slam Whap-a-Phone and Drums
In this project we had to create a poetry piece and pvc instruments that flowed well with our pieces. The theme of the project was; a promise to life in the mirror to death. We watched many inspirational videos on how to create the perfect pvc instruments; we watched the blue men group, which actually inspired my groups instruments. The class was put into groups of six and each group collaborated together to create our own unique art pieces. After many revisions and many engineering scaling drawling's we preformed twice; once at our school's exhibition and then again at the Chula Vista park amphitheater.
Physic Concepts behind Celebration Slam
The main concepts that we used were; engineering scaling drawling's, calculating wave frequency's and unit conversion. We did numerous scale drawling's, we had to keep revising each scale, because we had to make sure the pvc pipe was the correct length to produce the correct sound. Calculating wave frequency's had to be the most crucial to the project, because if you don't know how sound is heard or made then how do you expect to make a specific sound? So, the class spent the most time on learning how to calculate waves and the frequency's. Which leads to the unit conversion, once we had the perfect frequencies that we wanted to replicate we learned the formula to change it from Hz to inches.
Evidence
Whap-A-Phone Reflection
This has been my favorite project so far, because I absolutely loved the performing part and I also enjoyed the calculating of frequency's. I don't know why but I really liked doing the fluff cloud and smiley face triangles; being put in the different groups and being given specific jobs took some getting use to but in the end worked out well. It was a great learning experience for me, I now know that not everyone works the same and are motivated the same either. The creation and building process of the instruments did become overwhelming at one point, but was all worth it in the end. When I heard the way our sturdy whap-a-phone and orange buckets sounded in perfect harmony together was such a freeing moment. So, the habit of heart and mind that I took away from this project was the power of revision, because the first time you do something is not as good as the second or third time.
Blue Bruin Weebly Link
We had to create a weebly website to record of our work through the Celebration Slam project.
History of Physics
In this lesson we learned about a few famous physicist, then we had to paint/drawl a cartoonish portrait and then we created a historic fiction story. Mrs. Quinlan showed us a power point full of divers physicist who came from all over the world and who discovered many different things. It ranged from light and optics to gravity and E=mc2, and if you didn't feel like you connected to the physicist then we were encouraged to research more into our own interest. After we choose the lucky physicist we had to draw and pain a picture of them, but he had to make them as a cartoon. The finale step was to research a memorable event in there life and create a fictional story but with actual events.
Physic Concepts of History of Physics
In this set of tasks we basically had a quick lesson on different physicist and then we picked one that we could connect to the most. So, we learned about the different backgrounds these world renowned physicist came from. As we emerged deeper into this project we had to first sketch many rough drafts of our physicist before we could draw our finale draft. We then had to graph our best rough draft so we could evenly proportion the persons characteristics. The finale physic concept that we learned was that of watercolors. It was a tricky skill to master, because you had to find the perfect ratio of dry paint to water and if you couldn't find it the paint was either to watery or to dry.
Evidence
History of Physics Reflection
This was actually a very educational and fun project, because I learned a lot about my physicist, Albert Abraham Michelson, and I enjoyed the sketching and water coloring. I am most proud of my historical fiction story, because I put a lot of effort into making the story as realistic as possible but still interesting. I did as much research as I could on Albert's life to see how many facts I could slip into the story and I choose the event that I connected to the most. Something I would go back and revise would be the color I choose for the background, because its a very light color and doesn't really contrast well with the other colors. For the most part though I'm really glad about how the portrait came out.
Albert Abraham Michelson
Historical Fiction Short Story Link
Science Current Events
Every Tuesday Mrs. Quinlin requires us to find a new exciting invention, discovery or creation. We have to find an article that interest us from Mrs. Quinlin weebly; which provides many options that range from agriculture to robotics. The requirements are usually to read your article, write a paragraph review on your thoughts of the article and find five words you don't understand and define them. Each week there is a new selection of articles to choose from, because each and every day something new is either becoming discovered or invented. This assignment is actually very encouraging, because it just provides hope that there is something new that can be discovered each day.
My Perspective on Science Current Event
Before this weekly assignment I always thought everything in science was already discovered or invented, but these assignments have proven my theory wrong. Everyday something new is being discovered and created! To me this is so inspiring, because I can be one of those people that they talk about in the articles or just the fact that theres so much knowledge out there. Every article I pick is different from the other , they don't resemble each other and I'm always excited to see what new articles will appear. So, my perspective on science has changed for the better, I now have more hope for myself in having a career in science.
Links to Previous Current Events
11/19~ Science Current Event 11/10~ Science Current Event 10/28~ Science Current Event
Favorite Science Current Event
I do not think that building cyborg legs for horses is a smart idea. The mental challenge that the horse will have to overcome would heart wrenching. The pain and fear the horse would have to go through; the horse will lose the will to live. I saw a horse go through unbearable pain, you can give them pain meds but it's only temporary. I knew a horse a horse who had gotten in a fight, and got her leg stuck in the fence. They had to put her down within the hour; you also have to think about what kind of life it would be for the horse. Once the horse recovers it could only life a slow cupped up life. Horses love running, jumping, barrel racing and trail endurance. They have passions too, you can't expect them to be happy in a life where they have nothing to hope for except another meal. I think theres good intentions behind this, but you need to work through the horses point of view not the owners. Its selfish to keep an animal alive because you're not ready to let go.
Building Better Cyborg Horses
A vet in the United Nations has made a breakthrough with prosthetic horse legs. These legs could help support the whole weight of the horse, theres still room for improvement, because the prosthetic hold chafes the horses leg. This invention lets the horse hobble around, but there needs to be more trials before it can truly be complete.
Key Words from Article
prosthetic~ an artificial body part.
hooble~ walk in an awkward way, typically because of pain from an injury
derivative~ imitative of the work of another person, and usually disapproved of for that reason.
Its important to learn new science words, because if you don't understand the words then you can't understand what's happening. It's also important because it expands your vocabulary and your knowledge of new words. Using a higher vocabulary increases your chances of having others think highly of you.
hooble~ walk in an awkward way, typically because of pain from an injury
derivative~ imitative of the work of another person, and usually disapproved of for that reason.
Its important to learn new science words, because if you don't understand the words then you can't understand what's happening. It's also important because it expands your vocabulary and your knowledge of new words. Using a higher vocabulary increases your chances of having others think highly of you.
Electronics
I created an ROV and I needed to created an electronic subsystem controller to operate the ROV. This controller controlled all of the three motors, which means it controlled what direction the ROV went. This controller is like the brain to the ROV; the controller is a white square box with a blue circuit board with connectors soldered on. In the front of the controller there is a long computer cord that connects to the ROV motors to transmit the power from the controller to the motors. One the back side of the controller there is two alligator clips; a positive and a negative. The alligator clips connect to a twelve volt battery and this is the power source of the whole ROV. With out this controller an ROV would be useless, because there would be no way to control it.
Physic Concepts of Electronic Subsystem
My group was given a blue plastic PBC board which we had to solder many little devices to the board. This PBC board had what look like cells covering the whole thing and had little metal sockets, which looked like metal cheerios. The way the board works is that the circuits that we soldered on work as like a receiver supplying connection. The reason why we soldered it, is because the medal works as a catalase supplying the energy through everything. After soldering we had to conduct a continuity test to test all the connections. So, we learned how to solder, how to calculate parallel, series circuits and also learned how to conduct an electrical continuity test.
Reflection of Electronics Project
When I first started this project I wasn't excited, I was worried that I it would be to overwhelming and I wouldn't be able to keep up. However, this project was broken down into real simple easy steps that made it easy to follow, fun and educational. I loved working on this project, because I felt like I was doing advanced physics and I completely understood what I was doing and how everything worked. At the end of this project I was very proud of myself; I made a fully functional ROV with waterproof motors and controller. I'm most proud of my group's weebly, because that was my main job; to observe, work, ask questions and then document everything. So I put a lot of effort into the weebly and was very relieved when I finally finished it. There is two things that I would revise and change; I would change the design of our ROV and soldering technique. The ROV design I would of wanted was a more aerodynamic design; it almost look like a sword but our final design is more stable. My soldering technique improved greatly over practice but when I first started I was sloppy and left heat trails. Over all it was a very good project.
Underwater ROVs
For this project I had to create a fully functioning ROV that is neutrally buoyant, able to move in all directions and is water proof. I was put in a group of four people and we were given a survive the surf kit that was full of PVC pipe, pipe connectors, motors, pool noodles, toilet bowl wax and everything else needed to create a fully functioning underwater ROV. Through this project there were many steps that had to be completed; we first had to pick a design, create a prototype, listen to my peers critique, create scale engineering drawling, measure and cut PVC pipe, add drain holes, create a remote, water proof motors, assemble ROV, create a weebly and video recording all our steps, test the ROV many times and then we were finally able to take our ROVs to the NCTT. The NCTT is an acronym for the Navy Combat Training Tank, this is were they conduct official Navy SEAL training. Some steps were challenging and rigorous but each step was broken down into simple task that made it an educational project.
Physic Concepts of Underwater ROVs
Through this underwater ROV project there was many physic concepts that Mrs. Quinlan had to teach and recover. I first had to create a prototype; after the prototype we were given a chance to have our peers look over our work and this reintegrates that revision is necessary in any field. After the revision I then had to create engineering scale drawling that showed how big, how wide and how tall I wanted the ROV to be, and this is a very important concept to any type of construction. To assemble the ROV I used PVC pipe that was 2inch thick and eight 90 degrees 2inch elbow PVC pipe joints to connect the sides, and without the engineering scale drawling it would have been impossible to know the exact measurements. After the construction drain holes were added to the ROV to allow it to descend and raise in water; without drain holes the PVC pipe would not sink, it would just float like a bobber. Once the drain holes were added to the ROV, Calvin, would sink so I had to add pool noodles to make him neutrally buoyant. Having a neutrally buoyant Calvin made it possible to control which direction I wanted him to go.
Reflection of Underwater ROVs
This project has really boosted my confidence on engineering and construction. In the beginning of this project I was very intimidated and did not want to do this project, but I can say that this was the funnest project that I had so far. I thought it was going to be to overwhelming, but everything was broken down into easy simple steps. I am so proud of everything about this project, because I was involved in every step of the project. I did spend the most time on the weebly and video though; I did most everything for the weebly and did all of the video. It was a little stressful towards the end of the project, but if it was not stressful then it wouldn't of have been as rewarding. I don't know any people outside of this team who can say that they constructed a fully functioning ROV and went to the NCTT to test it. This is a truly awesome thing to be able to brag about.
ROV Weebly Link
The two links above will take you to my underwater ROV group weebly, where we did a daily description of everyday task and every step we took to complete our ROV.
General Relativity Quantum Physics
General relativity is a theory of gravitiation that was developed by Albert Einstein, it is the formula of E=mc2. General relativity has developed into a necessary tool in current day astrophysics. It provides the foundation for the current understanding of black holes, regions of space where the gravitational effect is so strong that even light cannot escape. This theory has helped us understand many things in deep space that would be impossible to understand in a decent amount of time. Quantum physics is many theories that explains time dilation, planets, stars and relativity. However there is nothing that can be physically proven, because all of these concepts are only theories. Right now are imagination is way above our science capability.
Physics Concepts of General Relativity and Quantum Physics
The physic concepts that I learned through these lessons were; time stretching, worm holes, subatomic particles and nuclear physics. Time stretching occurs when ever you leave earth and enter space. In our universe time is only slows down by a few milliseconds but as you get into deep space time can slow down by decades. I learned that worm holes act like short cuts in space; the example that helps me is when you make a dot on two sides of the paper and connect them it is like split in time and space. However, this is just a theory we have never had an actual person go through a black hole, there is also thoughts that the Burmuta triangle is a worm hole but know one knows where it leads to. I was also given a subatomic particle and had to learn everything about it and create a creative plushie with a trading card. I learned everything about the W boson; I learned the W boson's charge, how it was discovered, what is its purpose is and who discovered it. I also had to pick a nuclear disaster and make a satire travel brochure, I picked Bikini Atoll.
Reflection of General Relativity and Quantum Physics
In the beginning of these lessons it was hard for me to understand and grasp the concepts; every thing is a theory so it is not tangible. When I was given note guides and articles trying to explain the concepts I did get a little flustered, because I am a visual learner and it was so hard for me to wrap my head around what it meant. I remember that it took me the longest time to understand that a stationary clock ticks slower than a clock in motion. I finally was able to understand stand the concepts after asking plenty of mind boggling questions and watching the movie Interstellar. I was given a curiosity card of the beginning of every class to write down any questions that hurt my mind, and trust me I had plenty. The card really helped because there was so much theoretical information we going over, and the card helped me remember all my questions. However, the movie Interstellar personally helped me because I was visually able to see the theories working in the movie. For example I could see how wormholes worked and acted as a short cut, I saw how nothing can escape a black hole, and how general relativity does effect time dilation. I am proud of myself about being able to understand Quantum physics; it has also helped me become a better analytical thinker by encouraging me to ask curious questions.
Subatomic Particle
The picture above is the W Boson, and it is in the shape of a flame because the W Boson can cause stars and planets to explode. I took the creative license to add a winking face with a smirk because I think it is really cool that the W Boson can change from a positive charge to a negative charge whenever it likes. For this project we had to sew our subatomic particle plushy together and then fill it will either a heavy or light substance. Since the W Boson is a heavier particle I filled it with rice, but this meant I needed to do the backhand stich. If you look closely you can see at the edge of the yellow fabric that there is many tiny little stiches; the stitches are very durable but time consuming. I also attached a tag containing the particles name.
Subatomic Particle Personality Card
The W Boson is in the force carrier family, which means it works hard until it burns out. The W Boson can also change from a positive to a negative, and this makes this boson very unpredictable. The card above shows the information about how the W Boson was discovered, its charge, its weight, some facts, its role and why I designed the plushy the way I did. To make this card I had to use a computer software called; Trading Card Software. It was a very practical and easy to use software, and because of it I was able to create an informational card about my boson.
Science Curiosity
To be curious in the physics classroom is to always ask questions about something you do not fully understand, think about how and why something works. If you are confused about something and if you do not ask questions you will never know or clear the fog from your brain. When you are in a foggy state it is perfectly normal to ask a question to clear the situation up, because as humans we are born curious and we should not smother the thought but let it flourish. Another way to be curious is through failure; when people experiment and mess up it is a life long lesson that will not be forgotten. Many great renown successful creations have actually been created through failures. The other part to it is you have to question why and how everything works,and why it happens the way it does. Physics is literally a physical science; so, this means most things can be proven with tangible objects. It will never hurt to ask a question because chances are another person as the same question and is just not brave enough to ask.
Perspective Change
When I first entered my HTHCV physic classroom I thought the subject of science was pure textbooks and you had to be smart to understand the concepts. I thought when you spoke of science you had to use big words and only count on memorization to remember all science factors. I even thought that science had stopped evolving and everything has already been discovered by old dead men and women. Through out this year my vision on all science is forever change, I now know that science is a constant evolving changing thing and I can even discover something great. I can be the next Newton or Enstine I just have to stick with it and follow my passion; in recent months many new discovers are being made. In fact every week there is something new being found and the only way to know this is to throw down the text book and read present day articles. The basic fundamentals are required and need, but there is still so much more that can be discovered. Also science dose not need to be used in big complex words with un graspable theories it can be used with simple daily objects and ideas. I can now take nuclear radiation and compare that to a banana! I defiantly feel more comfortable with anything in physics; I can say in my freshman year I was learning junior physics and it was easy. Science in general is all about making personal connections and I feel like I can handle it all know.
ROV 13 Movie
The two images above have really changed the way I see robotics and engineering; I made a fully functioning ROV! I learned how to solder, water proof motors, create a controller and create a neutrally buoyant PVC pipe frame. This single project has helped me grow as an engineer because I know that even a huge project can be broken down one step at a time. I know you always start with engineering scale drawings then you measure your material and you just start building. I also feel special because I do not know anyone outside of The Crew team who can say they built a fully functioning underwater ROV. This project has defiantly changed my perspective on how I can be apart of robotics future; who knows I might make the next best robot.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Twelvizm