Introduction:

For this project, my group and I researched the properties of a heart valve. Our end goal was to create the properties of a working heart. In order to create a heart valve model we had to take several steps to test materials, collect data, make graphs, create sketches, and finally construct a functioning model. In order to design our model we did extensive research on the aortic valve. We also learned how to find the Young Modulus of our materials and learned the stress and strain values of elastic materials. We used the data and created graphs which visually showed our interpretation of the data. Then, we used our findings to determine the best material for the heart valve and eventually we made several prototypes of our model before coming to a complete and successful version.

Young Modulus with our materials:

Our group used a ring stand, string, a ruler, a spring scale, and three different masses (50 g, 72 g, and 100 g) to test our material. We measured the length of the materials before testing them. We then measured the lengths, widths, heights, and ran different calculations to find their individual surface areas. We hung the materials from the ring stand and used the spring scale and weights to find three different forces and changes in lengths. We divided the change in length by the initial length to get the strain of the material. Then, we divided the force (found by the spring scale) by the surface area to get the stress of the material. Finally, we created stress over strain graphs to find a line of best fit representing the materials Young Modulus. We used the Young Modulus to compare the elasticity of the material to the elasticity of the heart valves and find a best fit for our model.

Content:

Table of our materials and calculations

Important Vocabulary:

Young Modulus - Measure of the ability of a material to withstand changes in length when under lengthwise tension or compression. Sometimes referred to as the modulus of elasticity, Young's modulus is equal to the longitudinal stress divided by the strain.

Elasticity: defined by a materials ability to return to original shape after stress is applied then removed.

Force: strength or energy as an attribute of physical action or movement

Heart: muscular organ which pumps blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation. It contains four main chambers powered by electrical impulses.

Heart Structure: the heart is divided into four chambers consisting of two atria and two ventricles; the atria receives blood, while the ventricles pump blood.

Heart Valves: valves are responsible for preventing the back flow of blood to the heart. The valves are located on each end of the two ventricles.

Reflection:

Overall, this was an enjoyable and exciting project. I researched how the heart works and its properties and gained lots of new knowledge. I also learned new skills, like google sheets, and how to input equations and navigate them more manageably. This new skill will help me later on. I applied critical thinking by trying to find and test materials that would work. At first, I had yet to learn how to tackle the building aspect, but thanks to the collaboration of my team, they were able to explain it. Then, I grabbed items I thought would work at the maker space and got to testing. This proved very helpful because we got materials we had not thought of using.

We could have improved our conscientious learning skill such as managing time effectively, setting goals, and self-regulation. Our group sometimes tended to stray and got a little off topic. We were also were kinda of distracted because we had our Capstone project to think about, But we did better by collaborating well and using critical thinking throughout the project. We did well dividing up the work and staying motivated. We used evidence and reasoning to make decisions and synthesized what we learned to come up with creative solutions and ideas.