Sophomores

Moveable Bridge Design Project

Morgan Lemmings displaying her bridge's 'moveability mechanism' functioning on flat surface!

This project incorporated many elements:

Study modern bridges around the world
Choose a bridge design to focus on.
Design the bridge digital prototype using Onshape (CAD). Incorporate a moveable mechanism and other specifications.
Construct a bridge using approved items.
Conduct a strength test to ensure design can withstand load of 5 or more lbs!

The specifications were that it must be at least 12 inches long, 3 inches wide, must be able to hold 5 pounds, and have a moving component that is at least 3 inches long. Constraints were that we could only use approved materials like cardboard, popsicle sticks, and hot glue. We could only use 50 popsicle sticks and we were given 4 class days to do it. The bridge was sited (hypothetically) at NGHS and was built over a road to allow students to cross but also allow trucks to pass underneath.

Michael Sun testing the weight load of his bridge ~ must be able to support 5 or more lbs.

AP Seminar Presentations

Mrs. Davis's APS students have been hard at work perfecting their College Board speeches, which were presented this week and will continue after Spring Break. Along with revising speeches, APS students have also completed rough draft research papers correlating with their speeches. THEY HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY ON THESE ASSIGNMENTS SINCE FEBRUARY! Hats off to all who have presented so far, and good luck to those presenting in the following weeks!

Shown to the left is Chase Lin's individual speech assignment on decreasing the effects of sexism in the sports industry! Great job, Chase!

A Taste for Waste: Municipal Solid Waste Project

10th grade CHARGE students were asked to collect all of their municipal solid waste (MSW, or "trash") for an entire weekend, documenting how many items they collected, and what type of item it was. The students weighed their trash and calculated the percentages of each type of waste they collected. This purpose of this project was to give students a better understanding of how much individual waste they collect every day, and ways they can reduce that amount. Below are the results for both CHARGE10 blocks!!

The students also provided a 3-question survey to non-APES students to reflect overall waste patterns from middle school-aged and high school-aged students!

Gingerbread Residence Construction with Geotechnical Challenges

*Tis the season to be jolly* was the mindset of Ms. Stanfield when she assigned the project of using "geotechnical" components to create a stable gingerbread house to the CHARGE10 students. For two months, they've been working on this project. They started off with designing in AutoCAD with Ms. Furnish, then focusing on the "geotechnical" environmental challenges that would influence the stability of their gingerbread residence. They then moved on to making actual models of them with cardboard.

The specific requirements were to make a house out of cardboard with at least 1 functional door, 3 windows, and a chimney. Along with being structurally sound and "spark joy" in some way, they were then given an individual soil composition specification that required them to adapt their design to accommodate it.

Jin Namgoong

Jin's individual soil composition specification was that his house was constructed in an area with deep loamy sands that don’t hold much moisture. He found the main challenge of this soil to be that it can erode under the foundation, weakening the amount of weight it can hold. His solution was to use a conventional foundation, also known as a "pier and beam" foundation, which includes a flat foundation layer, with concrete poured into trenches in the ground.

Ethan Swain

Ethan's individual soil composition specification was that his house was located in an area saturated with Antigo Silt Loam, which has been known to erode when disturbed by wind, rain, or construction. His solution was incorporating piles into his design, which are large spikes that go into the ground to give his house stability.

Amanda Spreadbury

Amanda's individual soil composition specification was that her house was built in an area where the soil is primarily composed of Gilman soils, which are made of fine sandy loam that is known to break apart easily. Her area was also susceptible to earthquakes. Her solution was to add shear walls and columns, which allow for more structural support for earthquakes, and a stronger base for constructing on sandy loam.

Sophia Perkins

Sophia's individual soil composition specification was that her house was being built on top of a soil called Alfisol, also known as black dirt. In her research, she found that this kind of soil is composed mainly of clay, making it difficult to build foundations on. Her solution to this problem was to include a drilled pier foundation in her design, which includes placing large poles in the ground to keep the foundation secure.

Page updated

Report abuse