Fire Away!/Alternative energy vehicle

We were given two projects to enhance our understanding of energy. The first project was creating a trebuchet. We were given a week to design the trebuchet. After the initial design process was done, we had to go in an modify our trebuchet for maximum distance. Ultimately, the goal of this project was to collect data to put into a proof of efficacy document.

The second project was an alternative energy vehicle. This project was with the same group as the Fire away project. We were tasked to create a car that can go 5 meters, without a push, and carry two rolls of pennies. You could not use gas, or electricity as those are already established ways of energy. Our group decided to use gravity. We started with a pencil and paper and got to make our initial rough schematics. After that, we were given time to build our vehicle. Testing the vehicle was crucial, as we had to make sure it could go the required distance. We made modifications to our car so that it could complete 5 meters consistently. Ultimately, this cars design would be pitched in a slideshow presentation.

Alternative energy vehicle By Rehan Nazeem, Anthony Elwell, Lily Devol, Coco Girtler Alternative energy vehicle Demonstration Scenario of Use Scenerio of use Data Data Key Modifications Key Modifications Source of Energy Energy Metal Friction on a microscopic scale Friction on a microscopic scale Plastic

On the left is our Alternative energy vehicle presentation. Instead of using google slides, We opted to use Prezi. For all of us, it was the first time we used this software. Using prezi allowed for the slideshow to be dynamic, and more visually appealing to the audience. Instead of packing a lot of words into every slide, we decided to instead put a picture into every slide. This is so we are not just reading off the slide, and to gain the audiences attention.

To the right is the spreadsheet used to plot our graphs. This was a great addition to the alternative energy car as it gave us a new way to calculate things and make graphs instead of doing it by hand. Overall, using a spreadsheet saved us time.

Copy of Hybrid Car Example Performance Graphs

Rehan Nazeem - Proof of Efficacy Document for Trebuchet

The proof of Efficacy was the main goal of the Fire Away! project. Similar to the alternative energy project, we had to pitch our trebuchet. Clearly stating your ideas was essential in this document.

Process of making an alternative energy vehicle

The starting point of building anything is generating ideas. After thinking about solar, elastic, and magnetic energy, we decided that our car would be powered by gravity. to make this possible, we knew that something would have to be connected to the axles to make the wheels spin, and make the car move. The only way to have something like this happen is to have poles sticking up. We connected the rear axle to a string, and then tied that string to the weights. Although this worked, It did not fulfill the distance requirements. We went back to the drawing board to come up with modifications. We decided that the wheels needed to be bigger, as it took too many turns to move the smaller wheels. We also needed much more energy. We increased the height of the sticks to increase potential energy. Finally, our car went 5 meters, and could consistently hit that mark .

Demonstration of our car working

Content

Spring potential energy

Spring potential energy is the energy stored in the stretch or compression of an object. our trebuchet has a Spring PE of 11.93 J.

Gravitational potential energy

Gravitational potential energy is the energy an object has due to its height or position in a gravitational field. Our Alternative energy vehicle had PEg of .245 J.

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic energy is the energy due to motion. Our Alternative energy vehicle had a KE of 0.000625 J.

Total Energy

total energy is the overall energy of the object. Our car had a total energy of .245J.

Thermal energy

thermal energy is the energy lost to heat. Our Vehicles peak thermal energy was .245J.

Distance Vs time Graph

velocity vs time graph

Energy Vs time graph

Rotational inertia

Rotational inertia is how an object that is rotating stays rotating. Rotational inertia can be found in the wheels of our car.

reflection

Overall, These projects were an immense success. Two areas that I did well on were Collaboration and critical thinking. I am proud of my collaboration skills this project because I worked well with my groupmates. No one did anything individually, we all collectively thought of how to do every step. These projects required a lot of critical thinking. I was proud that I never gave up, nor settled for good enough. Even if the task seemed challenging, I was up to the task and put the work in to help make it happen.

Two areas that I would like to improve upon for the next project is communication and conscious learning. From this project, I went with the flow. I think it would be better to set goals, so that I am more organized, and structured. I also want to clearly communicate my thoughts to my groupmates better. I felt like this project put me on the right track for this, but I want to further enhance that skill.