Ice Melting Blocks
ELA Component: Journal
The reason why I chose to do the journal is because I believe that it would help me keep everything organized. Also it can serve as a record for all my data and everything that I find on my experiment. And lastly, it'll help me keep track of things and that is extremely important so I wouldn't lose or misplace anything about my project.
Journal Entry #1 (11/16/2013)
Although this project is very simple, some difficulties I had were posting pictures of the project online. To help people understand my project better, I wanted to have pictures posted on my site. Since seeing photographs helps me visualize more, I thought that would be the best way. Many people are able to comprehend better when they can actually see what's going on. Unfortunately, the site was giving me a difficult time trying to upload more than one photo. It would only let me use the same photo for everything. So after many tries, I finally just used one photo.
Journal Entry #2 (11/16/2013)
The outcomes of the project were predictable and the results weren't unexpected. It was stated that the ice cube on the the "cold" block would melt the fastest and that's what happened. As soon as the ice cube touched the "cold" block, it started melting. The ice cube on the "warm" block didn't even seem like it was melting. I even tried putting more than one ice cube on the blocks. Because of the expected results, I wasn't surprised. So the outcomes of the project were accurate.
Journal Entry #3 (11/16/2013)
One thing that you should be cautious about is dropping the ice. Since part of the project is dealing with ice, some ice cubes may fall on the floor. Be sure to pick them up right away. If not then the ice cubes will melt on the floor. It can become very slippery and dangerous. Try having napkins close by so you can clean up the melted ice right away. Also have a trash can close by so you won't drip any liquid on the floor.
Journal Entry #4 (11/19/2013)
One of my daily successes would have to be finishing my "My PBL Project" site. It was a very long task but I managed to finish it. It may not seem like a lot of work but there were multiple steps in completing it. Having to get all my information together and put them into it a layout was one of longest parts. I'm glad that when I started on it, I didn't stop till I finished. By completing that task it got me closer to finishing my project. I had set a goal to finish it on that day and I met it.
Journal Entry #5 (11/19/2013)
During the time of trying to get my project together, I had to go to my Physics teacher multiple times. I would always have a lot of questions on how to put everything together. Everytime I went I thought I understood everything but as soon as I would try to start on it once I got home, I would get confused on things. I started asking my classmate for help about what to do and that really helped me. Having that easy accessibility to be able to ask him anything at anytime I needed help really helped me. Instead of bothering my teacher everyday after school, I finally learned how to do everything. So having my peer helping me really did help me a lot.
Journal Entry #6 (11/20/13)
The process for getting background research was a little difficult. Trying to find the principle of thermal conductivity was a challenging. None of the websites would give me a straight definition. I finally figured out that thermal conductivity is the property of a material which relates its ability to conduct heat. So that kind of helped me a little but I still didn't get the principle of it. That was also another difficulty that I had. But eventually I just put what I had found on the site after all.
Journal Entry #7 (11/24/2013)
I'm getting kind of excited that I'm almost finished with my project! The actual project wasn't hard at all it was just putting it into the Google site that took a lot of time and got confusing. I'm glad that I'm doing all the work and not just giving up. I know that this will help me in the future because it makes me work harder to get all the work done. Also it shows me that I have to be dedicated to my work or else I'll slack off. And another thing is that being lazy and not wanting to do any of the work won't help me get anywhere. I have to put my mind to it and do my very best.
Journal Entry #8 (11/25/2013)
When I first received this project, I thought it was going to be very confusing and difficult. I dreaded having to start because I thought I was going to struggle on it. Little did I know that this project was probably the easiest thing ever. It was also very interesting. I was so fascinated by it. I wanted to keep showing my whole family. I'm glad that I got this project.
Journal Entry #9 (11/29/2013)
If I had anything to change about this project, I think it would be the easiness. Like I wouldn't want it to be hard but I would want more things to talk about in these journal entries. I'm glad though that my project wasn't tough at all. It really grabbed my attention. It fascinated my family too when I showed them. I also wished that there were more things you could do with it. Like all you had to do was put the ice cubes on the blocks and see which one melted faster.
Journal Entry #10 (12/1/2013)
Well for the last journal entry I would like to encourage everyone to try this project because you can learn a lot. It'll show you about thermochemistry and really surprise you. It'll make you want to learn more things about this topic. There are benefits in doing these projects. If it weren't for me getting this project, I would think that ice cubes would always melt faster on warm things than cold. Even though it gets really difficult and frustrating at times, I always try to look at the positive side of things. I know that in the end doing all these assignments will help me in the future even though in can become unbearable at times.