Fire Away!/ Alternative Energy Vehicle
The Fire Away project and the Alternative energy vehicle project were assigned with five weeks complete them. Starting off with the Fire Away project, we had two main goals, make a projectile go far, and change a factor to make it better. In our alternative energy vehicle project, we were supposed to make a vehicle that can go five meters. Both our Fire Away project and alternative energy vehicle projects used rubber bands.
We started off on our Fire Away project and got to work making our trebuchet. We got to work on our Fire Away project by making a frame. We attached rubber bands to a nail and made arm swing. We also attached a string to our projectile and made it have a good release. We also also used a modification that was pullback distance. We got our catapult to great and consistent lengths. We were happy and satisfied with our project.
Our alternative energy vehicle project started with wheels. We then grabbed an axle and started the car. We used rubber bands and attached them to the axle. We added treads with hot glue. The car would go forward and then go backwards. We knew that we needed to figure out a way to deattach the rubber band from the axle when it had used up all of its energy. We added a screw to the axle that let the rubber band deattatch from the axle which let our car roll. We were done with our car and we tested it on the classroom floor. We had found that the wheels were slipping out. The car was not doing well. We added rubber bands as they had a large amount of friction, they had a great improvement on the cars distance and we were back in the game. We had created a car that could make five meters every time.
Content
Spring Potential Energy - the energy stored in the stretch or compression of an object PEspring = 1/2 kx²
Our car used rubber bands to create a torque on our wheels which made our car roll.
Kinetic Energy - the energy due to motion KE = 1/2 mv²
Our car gained energy when it started to move. Our car had energy due to its moving mass.
Thermal Energy - the energy lost to heat TE = Total E - PE - KE
The thermal energy that our car gained was due to friction. (Between the Rubber Band And Axle, and the Rubber Bands on the Compact Discs that were mounted to the axle, as well as the axle against the hooks, and on the Front Axle, as it was straw and dowell.
Total energy - the addition of all energies Total E = PE + KE + TE
The total energy was the energy that our car had from all of the energy output.
Rotational Inertia - An objects resistance to rotation due to it's mass
Our car had rotational inertia when we accelerated it and when it slowed down due to the weights on the outside of the CD's. The weights were washers.
Correlation between distance and time, rotational inertia, friction, and spring potential energy (AKA any other interesting physics concepts that made our project awesome)
Our Alternative Energy Vehicle's distance and time were related to the power of the rubber band. Our Alternative Energy Vehicle gained more distance per unit of time in the middle, and the least in the beggining in end. I know this due to the steepness of the graph in the middle was higher than that in the end and beginning. I know that the distance done per unit of time by our Alternative Energy vehicle is related to the power of the rubber band and rotational inertia as the power of the rubber band is strongest at the beginning due to spring potential energy, and the weights on the CDs. The rotational inertia was strongest at the beginning as the Alternative Energy vehicle was at rest and inertia is strongest a rest, and when an object is slowing down. When the was started with the max power of the Rubber Band and the vehicles highest rotational inertia it got up to speed fast, and once it was at speed, it was not wanting to slow down due to rotational inertia, and with the combined power of the rubber band and the rotational inertia the car had, it had a nice steep climb to speed in the middle of the graph, and when the rubber band lost power, it curved out when the force of friction overcame the rotational inertia as seen in the end of the graph.
Our Work:
Reflection
I learnt a lot about myself during these projects, the Fire Away. and the Alternative Energy Vehicle, and the ways that team members collaborate to create an educational and productive workforce which creates quality work. First, collaboration was an essential personal skill in our projects. Layton, Ellis, and I, all started to draft ideas for our Fire Away project, and we got building right away. When we would talk, one of us would talk at a time. We made sure that no one's ideas were interupted or swept under the rug. Being a communicator for myself meant that I was tasked with transmitting my ideas in an efficient manner, but also in a way that did not self center myself, or make others feel bad, like I have witnessed in other projects in Middle School, when one would make themselves and their ideas the center of attention. I really think that communication is split in two, as one half of communication is talking, and the half is listening, but really, I found that listening is the majority of communication, as being able to hear other's opionions furing the Fire Away project and Alternative Energy project(s) strengthened my own. Secondly, I think that communication and collaboration go hand in hand, as being able to listen to one's ideas and share your own is one thing, but being able to then use all of your ideas to create the best, is another. When we, Layton, Ellis, and I would communicate, we would share our opionions and listen to others, and then collaborate to make them reality. One example of Layton, Ellis, and I communicating and then collaborating, was when we were having issues with our CDs on our Alternative Energy vehicle. When we were having issues with our CDs spinning out on our Alternative Energy Vehicle, I suggested that we add some sort of tread to the CDs, and Layton and Ellis agreed. When Layton and Ellis agreed that we need some form of tread, Layton and I suggested that we use hot glue on the edges, and we added some hot glue to the wheels. When the wheels still spun out, Ellis and Layton suggested that we use some other form of material. We all got together and started to think of other materials to use instead of hot glue, and all three of us used communication and collaboration to think of another material. We started to think of the photos that Mr. Williams had shared with us of the different materials under the STEM Marin's electron microscope. When we thought of Stem Marin's photos, we remembered that rubber bands had lots of friction. We attatched rubber bands to the edge of the CDs and our car was very perfect. Using communiaction and collaboration and the ways that they go hand in hand, we created our best product.
By Andrew Finney