Intergalactic Planetary

For my sixth project of my freshman year, Intergalactic Planetary, I was paired with Elizabeth Contreras.

 The Process/Content

For this particular ¨project¨, we were not presented with a problem like my previous problems, instead, we were asked to make 5 different models of our solar system based on what we learned in class. In class, we mainly learned about the Force of Gravity equation Fg = Gm1m2/r². After learning this, we started our first model. Our first model was on paper and we were asked to draw the planets consecutively. 

After we finished the 1st Model pretty quickly, we were asked to grab a second piece of paper for our second model and were asked to make a more realistic model of the planets in our solar system.  They gave us two options on what to scale our model by. The size of the planets and the distances between the planets. My partner and I chose to scale our model by the distances between the planets, but we finished early and were asked to add onto our Model 2 by either adding the number of moons each planet has, the gravitational force of each planet, etc. These additional changes changed our Model 2 to our third Model. All the additional data added onto Model 2, making Model 3, was used from NASA´s Planetary Fact Sheet. 

Models 1, 2, and 3, were all done on paper and are currently somewhere in Mr. Williams´ and Mrs. Meyer´s room(s). So, unfortunately, I don´t have any images of our Models 1, 2, or 3. But, I do have our Models 4 and 5 as they were more ¨important¨ for our learning and were the ones mainly being graded. 

 Model 5

The first part of Model 5 was a way for us to show our teachers what we could predict about each planet given the obliquity to orbit, the radius of the planets, the mass, the orbital speed, the distance from the Sun, and the atmospheric pressure. Some things we could´ve predicted/done our Model on were the seasons, the temperature, the gravitational force, etc. Then we moved onto the second part of Model 5, which we did on the other side of the paper, my partner and I had to calculate the orbital period and our weight on three different planets. Those planets were Planet X, Planet Y, and Earth. 

Below are images of my fifth Model:

 Reflection

Looking back at this project, I feel very accomplished with what my partner and I did. In recognition of the 6C's, I think that we did very well in communication and critical thinking. For communicating, talked a. lot. on the topics that we were working on and through those conversations we had, we both expressed our thoughts efficiently throughout this project. As for being a critical thinker, we thought logically and strategically, recognizing multiple ways to make our Model(s). 

And as usual, I have two areas I should touch up on. Those two areas are being a collaborator and culturally competent. I think I could´ve worked on being a collaborator by being more positive and empathetic towards both my teammates and our work. As for culturally competent, I could´ve thought through different points of view(s) as I felt like my teammate and I were very narrow-minded to what was shown to us as examples.