5-11: I have been working on the design process and also the presentation. I think one of the main challenges is to balance and work in the paper analysis and findings well to the presentation while still making it an engaging presentation knowing that the majority of my audience will be high schoolers. I really want to talk about my analysis and findings because I believe it is particularly applicable for people in Massachusetts (since that is where the evaluation is set for) and gives valuable insight into the electric vs. gas vehicle debate with the strategy that it took. I do understand though that I have to be careful about diving into it too much and describing it in a way that would go far over the audience's heads or just make them lose interest. It should be fun to try and strike this balance and the practice rns with a wide variety of people should help a lot.
5-9: I spent the day (after my ap math test) editing and working on the paper. I added more tables (originally I just had the large table on the energy intensity of GV and EV manufacturing). It was good to put in the tables and I feel that the tables are an extremely helpful tool for summarizing the data and findings to the reader especially when the many paragraphs full of analysis strategy and the analysis itself may be overwhelming or just uninteresting for a person that is not used to reading this style of writing. I put other touches on the paper, formatted it, made the finalized bibliography, and posted it on my website!
5-8: I continued work on the environmental analysis and was able to complete the write up. I also went back to the CAPS class because it was restarting in the third phase, the presentation prep stage. Ms. Dietz, a public speaking specialist, ran the class and taught us some of the tips and tricks of the trade. It was very valuable to learn these strategies to become a better presenter/public speaker.
5-7: With the cost evaluation complete (aside from editing it) I have turned my attention to completing the environmental evaluation (the enviro eval. strategy was also finalized prior to today). I have was able to complete the “numbers and notes” evaluation and start the write up paragraphs by the end of the night. I also worked on more design analysis to get farther along in the design/build project of the moped.
5-6: I have been working on the economical evaluation of the EV vs GV comparison. With my final cost evaluation strategy finalized, I did a strictly “numbers and notes” evaluation and then put them into a “write-up” paragraph.
5-4: I made the maiden voyage of the go cart today (just down my street a little bit). It was interesting to see how it handled under load. I also wrestled some more with different studies of the manufacturing of electric vehicles compared to gasoline vehicle and how that affects the energy balance of the whole system. Although some of the figures for the energy that goes into producing a lithium-ion battery can be quite different study-to-study, I believe I have found a way to present the different statistics in an effective way that information can still be taken from.
5-3: I secured the rest of the components to the go cart so it can be tested tomorrow and researched more sources for the energy of the manufacturing side of the issue.
5-2: I have found a union of concerned scientists study and an argon labs study about the energy differences in the production of gas vehicles and electric vehicles to dive into that aspect of my paper/the issue more. I have been doing many calculations to apply the energy that these studies have found it takes to make the different materials of the car along with the batteries for an electric car.
4-30: I have been working on analysis for my moped, using the torque speed curve of the 500watt go cart motor along with other curves to learn about motor power and efficiency. I have also done some work in typing up different pieces of analysis/tests that may go into the paper and at least are helpful in the build project for learning about energy and design.
4-27: I interviewed Ozzie Zehner today. It was very interesting hearing his thoughts and arguments on the electric vehicle issue as well as his story and how he got wrapped up in the EV issue. I now need to organize the conversation and select potential quotes to go in the paper.
4-26: I have made progress on the build project and continue to work on the paper. Specifically, I have finally figured out how to take the cowlings (the plastic covering) off of the moped along with the seat. I can now get to the “meat” of the moped and what I will be working with. I also was able to get to the gas tank and get some rough measurements on it. I believe it is about a one gallon gas tank.
4-24: I ordered the parts I need to be able to test the go cart once again. I did some research online and found that the controller is able to draw more current than I previously thought so I had to order heavier duty parts. Its interesting to order from these companies who also work with engineering companies-feels pretty cool to go through this sort of ordering process and talk with tech reps. I also made some progress on different pieces of analysis.
4-23: I tested the go cart electrical system. I ran three tests in total, none of the were successful. In summary: 1st test: fuse blew, 2nd test: replaced fuse b/c thought the last one may have been old or faulty but this fuse also blew. 3rd test: straight wired circuit without the fuse and the shunt started smoking and the switch burnt out. I realized, even though I checked the wiring a couple of times before, the controller input was wired backwards. I have also been working on the paper and preparing questions for my interview with Ozzie Zehner this week.
4-20: I have been working on finishing the go cart electrical system so I could run and analyze it and move on to further design issues focusing on the moped. I also have been working on the paper and thinking about my analysis strategy and organization as I have been getting deeper into my question.
4-14: So far I have been working on the research paper through emailing several potential primary sources (people who are in the electric vehicle industry that I have found through their articles or companies they work for) and working on the roughly draft which will be posted tonight. There is one last potential source for my paper that I am planning on reaching out to though I will be asking them about helping sponsor my the build project so I have to prepare more specifics on what I need for the moped before I reach out to them. For the build project I am still in the prep stages (prepping for finalizing, ordering parts and designing the where all of the components will go within the moped frame and how to mount them). Tasks in this stage include weighing the moped as it is now (a regular gas moped), fixing any parts that I will need to keep for the conversion (one repair I am currently working on is replacing the back wheel's air nozzle) , and taking off the cowlings (the plastic covers all over the moped) to look at the real meat and frame-- what I am working with. I have also contacted the Newton Conservators about a possible grant they have am going to submit a proposal to them tomorrow most likely. A grant will allow me to buy better batteries mainly and increase the range of my moped, making it useable in longer distance trips to save even more energy by using the moped instead of needing a car.