Robot Art Show

Process:

In this project, we began by learning about circuits. We did this by playing a game on them where we would observe multiple set-ups and see how they worked. We also finished some problems about circuits and had a quiz where we were asked to set up a circuit on a breadboard and make a light blink. We finished some other experiments and eventually moved onto the Arduino Experiments. These were a series of tasks that would get us set up for our robot art show. After these experiments, Nathan and I concluded that we were going to make a light blink to the beat of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" while playing the lyrics on a screen. We then finalized our project in about three days and presented it out to the class.

Content:

Circuits - Connected from one side of a power source (+) to another (-). They have conductive materials and form a complete loop. A circuit that is in series is right next to each other (straight line) and a circuit that is parallel branches off into separate paths and splits the current.

Current - This is the flow of charge/electricity through a circuit. This is measured in Amperes or Amps (A). The variable for current is "i". (V=ir)

Voltage - Potential energy difference from one side of component to the other side. Voltage is measured in volts (V) and it's variable is "v". (V=ir)

Resistance - This is the amount that current is slowed or resisted through an obstacle. Resistors and light bulbs are some components that may make a circuit have more or less resistance. Resistance is measured in ohms and has the variable "r". (V=ir)

Power - Rate of transferring electrical energy through a circuit. This is measured in watts and uses the variable "p". (V=ir)

Forces between static electric charges (Coulombs Law: F=kq1q2/r^2) - Two static electric charges are both proportional and inversely proportional to their charges. We use Coulombs to find the forces of attraction between static electric charges.

Electric Current can produce a magnetic field - We ran an experiment where we wrapped wire around a nail and observed it. We noticed that more wraps caused the power of the electromagnetic field to increase and the force to increase as well.

Programming taught me how to persevere. I had no prior programming experience before this project so it was a large task at first but I eventually learned the basics of it and was able to set up a circuit. I had to also learn a little bit about coding when we set up a code for our project. These concepts were all new to me so I had to teach myself about them. This was extremely frustrating at times but made me feel overwhelmed when I had success.

Reflection:

In this project, I struggled with communicating with my partner, Nathan. We tended to get side tracked and do our own things instead of working together to understand more about programming and coding. Also, I aim to work on my creativity. Many groups in our class coded a similar project. Instead of following them, I could have thought outside of the box a little bit more. Although I struggled in some areas, I was doing well in others. For example, I used my critical thinking skills to teach myself through the hardship and understand the aspects where I had never been taught anything before. I also did well at collaborating with my partner to create our best work. Nathan and I both had no prior experience with coding and worked well together when it came to being on the same page educationally and ensuring that we understood what was happening.