Break It Apart Project

Overview:

For this project, we were instructed to bring in an object from home (that had electronics) which we would take apart and analyze. As we took our object apart, we sketched what we found, found specific electronic parts and researched them. 

My object was an old modem. A modem's job is to capture your ISP (Internet Service Provider) signal and send it to your router which passes it along to individual devices. Upon opening the modem, I observed that it was made up entirely of a motherboard. I researched the model (SURFboard sb6141) and wrote about different components in the motherboard. 

Modems are a fantastic invention people almost never think about. They use very little electricity, last for years, and take up almost no space. Once they are set up, they don’t need upkeep unless something stops working.

Reflection:

I was surprised at just how much tech was inside of the modem. There were many different components. I learned about how the different components work together and why they were chosen. Next project I will aim to improve my sketch neatness. This is something that I have never been great at. I am not a fantastic artist for whatever reason. I will also focus on having better handwriting. When I write things down for school, I usually write them fast and good enough that I can read them. For STEM I have to upload pictures for people to read so I will make it a priority to write more neatly. I enjoyed this project, it was neat to open up a regular household appliance and see what was inside.