Solve a World Problem

The Task

In this project, we were to choose a world problem and solve it in a two-week period by using the Engineering Design Cycle.

The Problem

My group chose to try to find a solution for ocean acidification, which is when the ocean's chemistry rapidly changes and it becomes more acidic. It happens when carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere because of human activity. The ocean absorbs some of that carbon dioxide and it combines with water to create carbonic acid. Acidity can also increase through nutrient pollution from farms, wastewater treatment plants, and septic solutions. This increased acidity has many harmful effects like:

  • Decreasing the amount of calcium carbonate available so shellfish and coral are unable to build their skeletons and shells

  • Affecting the behavior of fish -- disturbed senses, some can't detect predators, etc.

  • Disturbing ecosystems and food chains both marine and terrestrial

  • Threatening the seafood industry

Our Solution

Our final solution was a companion planting garden kit with seeds for plants that, when grown together, helped each other. We settled on Russian Giant Sunflowers, Snap Peas, Genovese Basil, and French Marigolds. The sunflowers act as a trellis for the peas, the peas enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen, basil enhances the flavors of other plants and is a useful herb for cooking, and french marigolds repel nematodes (roundworms). It also included instructions for growing them and a possible layout, as well as some information about ocean acidification. This solves the problem in 3 ways:

  1. Since people would be growing more plants, the plants would be taking in extra carbon dioxide through photosynthesis

  2. The plants support and help each other as they grow -- some support each other, some repel pests, some put nutrients back into the soil, and they all crowd out weeds. This means that there's less need for fertilizer, so there's less that runs into rivers and oceans, so there's less nutrient pollution, so the ocean is less acidic.

  3. Because we included some information on ocean acidification, more people are educated about it. We also added some simple ways they can reduce their energy use, like turning off lights or walking.

We planned for it to be small for people with limited space, though it can be modified and expanded for people with more room. In addition to stopping ocean acidification, it's an enjoyable hobby for people who want a garden. We made sure the plants were easy to grow, pretty, and provided some fresh produce.

Our Presentation

Ocean Acidification Presentation

In our presentation we included...

  1. A slide identifying our problem: ocean acidification (slide 2)

  2. Causes of ocean acidification (slide 3)

  3. Effects of ocean acidification (slide 4)

  4. A graph measuring the levels of carbon dioxide and pH in the ocean over time (slide 5)

  5. Some solutions we considered (slide 6)

  6. Our final solution (slide 7)

  7. How our solution helps (slide 8)

  8. Some evidence to prove our solution works (slide 9)

  9. Next steps and how we would implement it going forward (slide 10)

How We Used the Engineering Design Cycle

  1. Identify the Need - As a class, we generated a large list of world problems from homelessness to umbrellas flipping inside out, then chose a problem to focus on. My group chose ocean acidification.

  2. Research the Problem - We each found three articles (6 articles in all), annotated them, and shared our findings with each other. My partner found a lot of general, broad information on acidification, while I found some more specific information. We also each found graphs on the subject and analyzed them.

  3. Develop Possible Solutions - We then brainstormed some possible solutions like educating people, restoring sea grass, kelp farms, geoengineering, and using solar power. However, most of them weren't very attainable for two highschoolers in two weeks.

  4. Select the Most Promising Solution - We eventually settled on a companion planting kit that promoted biodiversity in farms, included information on ocean acidification to educate more people, was easy to grow, and was attractive or provided produce.

  5. Construct the Prototype - We researched plants that benefited each other and enriched the soil, settling on sunflowers, peas, basil, and marigolds. Then we wrote out a small booklet with information about ocean acidification and planting instructions. My group mate bought the seeds, labeled them, and put them together in a kit with the booklet.

  6. Test and Evaluate the Prototype - We didn't have enough time to grow the plants together, but I already had some fully-grown peas and basil in my backyard. We used a soil testing kit to test the nitrogen levels in 3 different places. One in bare dirt without any plants, one near basil, and one near peas. We found that the nitrogen levels were significantly higher near the peas, so plants growing near them will benefit.

  7. Communicate the Design - The slide presentation we made is linked above. On the last day, we presented our solution to our teacher and the rest of the class.

  8. Redesign and Repeat - We didn't have enough time to do these two steps, but if we did, we could have actually distributed kits to people or made other iterations with different plants.

Reflection

Overall, I'm proud of our solution and project. This time, I think I did a much better job collaborating and communicating ideas with my team mate. We were able to exchange thoughts more freely than I did in past groups, and the work was split pretty evenly between us. I also think we did a good job in critical thinking. We were able to analyze the articles we used, find important pieces of evidence, and use that evidence and past solutions so come up with our new ones. The solutions that we found in our research were all very broad and required resources that we didn't have, so we came up with our own creative and attainable solution that was based off of that.

However, there were some aspects I could have improved on. First, we could have managed our time better. I think we spent a little too long researching, and I procrastinated a little when we were trying to choose plants because I wanted to find a faster and easier way to choose the plants. Because we took too long at first, we had to rush more when constructing and testing the prototype. Also, though I did a good job communicating my ideas to my team mate, I could have spent more time listening to her because I tend to get too excited about my own ideas and talk over others.

Though there's still room for improvement, I think we came up with a well thought out and researched project that was attainable, and I'm happy with our final product.