Friday, May 22, 2015

Physics Project Reflection #2 - Conchita

Hey again! Science has been fun but at the same time, pretty hard. Because we have to think about our roller coasters AND about our learning of physics. I am really into physics, I don't know, but it's really fascinating to me. I now think of every single movement in the way of physics. But let's put that all aside, for now. 
Next class, I hope to finish the first parts of our roller coaster. Yes, we have done building it but what I mean by finishing it, is that if we try it with the marble it will go through successfully. I also hope to finish the background we are planning to decorate to show more of the theme of our roller coaster. And to start planning out our presentation and what we want to say.

Tape is a wonderful tool for these types of projects, but sometimes it can be pretty hard to deal with. But we shall talk about the good things tape can do for us. First of all, there are lots of kind of tape that are unique to their use. For example, you've got sticky tape, you've got double-sided tape, duct tape, washy tape, clear tape, and so many more. And they all come in good use. Tape unlike glue, is easy to peel off when you think that something just doesn't work out on where you put your tape. If you needed something to stick on a wall, it would be hard to stick it on with glue. A, I don't think it will be easy. B, I don't think that's a good idea to stick something on a public wall with glue.
Now to the cons of tape. When you use tape, you can clearly see it. And sometimes, it's not a very pretty view. Unless, you find out a way to use tape without showing signs of it. Then, you've got the biggest struggle of using tape. It's sticky. I mean real sticky. It gets stuck to your fingers, if you don't be careful from that happening, it leads to the tape becoming uglier. You know, when the tape sticks to itself and sometimes we all just get too lazy to get another roll of tape? Of course you know.

Too much energy has caused our marble to fly off our roller coaster track before it even stops at where we finished building. We had to remake our first hill over three times to make it work. But that's ok, because mistakes that we make become lessons that we learn. Too little energy has made our marble to not be able to make it through two loops. We always have to be able to measure and make sure we aren't giving too much or too little energy. So, that our marble can go through successfully.

Newton's 1st Law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless, an unbalanced force is acted upon it. The very first evidence of this law on our project is when we first let go of the marble at the very first hill. That's when the marble is at rest and then we, our hands let it go which means we are the unbalanced force that put the marble in motion. And when the marble is at motion, there's no way to stop it, so if it falls out of the track, it falls out until an obstacle or if friction starts to get in its way. It's amazing to think about every movement, every motion in the way of science. It's really, really amazing. Seriously.

All in all, I think I'm pretty proud of my project AND of course, my teammates. The project is going well, and I just hope that it won't stress out any of my teammates. And that we can be each other's support when we need it. It looks plain for now, but let me warn you, it will steal the eyes of lots of people. Preferably children. And me. Haha.
We are really excited about how our roller coaster might look like, we have just started to decorate and put in the fun stuff to customize our roller coasters. A frustration I have is that sometimes our roller coasters just doesn't work out, and there have been times when we had to destroy what we did to somehow make our roller coaster work. Basically the frustration is mainly the building of the roller coaster and the self-learning of this big unit. But I think I am handling it pretty well, by staying in for lunch to build, doing the worksheets and required learning early, and spending a lot of time to piece this project together.
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Physics Project Reflection 1 - Conchita

Hello! It's me Conchita! I will be talking about science. More specifically, physics. In science class, to get a good understanding about physics in a fun way, we are made to demonstrate our understanding through making a roller coaster. With a group that we have chose by ourselves. A roller coaster fit for a marble, not a real one. After all the building and learning phase about physics, we will be able to present our roller coasters to an audience. And show them our knowledge through talking about how the roller coaster works. 
My group and I have just started building the first hill and are still coming up ideas on how we want our roller coaster to end up looking like. Our roller coaster will be a roller coaster and Rube Goldberg combination. We have made a decision on our theme, a theme that can reflect on all of our personalities! A theme that we all will be passionate and happy to work with! We are very excited for it!
Our frustrations have been trying to come up with ideas and ways on how to have a good, working Rube Goldberg machine. And also finding a way to have a pretty high, first hill without having the marble fall off half way. We tried as a group and helped each other by listening to everyone's ideas and being able to be flexible when we had to change it all over again.
We are hoping to finish at least the first parts of our roller coaster and start planning on the decorations - the fun stuff and the Rube Goldberg parts of our roller coaster. Also since we still have to be learning about other things throughout the process, we want to finish most of that to be able to focus on our building. 
Our progress...