Egg Drop Project

On Monday we finished our lab on kinetic energy. In this lab we calculated the kinetic energy of objects such as a marble,tennis ball,and golf ball. We finished collecting our data that we started last week. We consistently dropped the balls from different heights and calculated their velocity,potential energy, and kinetic energy.

On Tuesday we finished our calculations. This alone took up the majority of the class because we still were collecting some of our data. We partially started our graph but ran out of time at the end of class. We did not have to finish this lab though because we had to move onto our egg drop project.

On Wednesday we did a demonstration in class. In this demonstration a person dropped two balls that looked the same but they were made of two different materials. Both balls were dropped at the same time and there was a dramatic difference. One ball seemed to bounce and the other just hit the ground and did not move. The energy of each ball was not created or destroyed but took a different form. Have you ever noticed how when you drop a ball it never comes back to the same spot you dropped it from. That is because the energy may be transformed into heat or sound. We learned this lesson to help us understand some of the physics going into our egg drop project. Our egg drop project is a project where we will have to construct a contraption to hold an egg and not have the egg break when dropped from various heights. After finding out what the project was we got into our groups and made a checklist of what we needed to bring. 

On Thursday we started constructing our egg drop project. Our group members brought items such as memory foam, silicone swim caps,bubble wrap, hot glue, a container and marshmallows. We started out by gluing the foam around the exterior of the container. We then cut a block from the foam to sit on the inside and cushion the egg under impact. We wrapped a silicone swim cap around the outside to hold the foam steady while in motion. We used silicone swim caps because that type of material has the ability to bounce and flex.    

On Friday we worked on finishing our egg drop project. To begin our group started on filling some of the holes we missed the previous day with memory foam. We found that our design was good but needed something to stabilize the egg. We came up with the idea of ooblek. Ooblek is a mixture of cornstarch and water. It has the ability to be solid and liquid. We thought if the egg was submerged in the mixture then the ooblek would absorb most of the shock caused by the drop. It took a while to finish the mixture. We had to measure the water and cornstarch exact. After it was done we tested a raw egg in the mix. The egg kept rising to the top. We filled a bag with ooblek and put it on top of the egg. It finally stayed down and sunk to the bottom. 

One thing I need to improve on is remembering to log my Science Olympiad hours. I always do the hours but forget to log them.

For this link it is some cool things you can do with ooblek http://www.sciencebob.com/blog/?p=608 

 

New Unit and Lots of Prep for SO

On Monday we started the week out by reviewing for our test on Tuesday. This test was on centripetal acceleration, work, force, power, and the material that was on our quiz. We started by completing the last of our study guide questions. This helped me review the topics I had trouble on in the past. It also helped me to apply the concepts a lot better. After we reviewed our study guide we played grudge ball. During the game I wrote down the questions I didn't understand. Some of the topics were easier than others. Grudge ball definitely lives up to its name because everyone has a grudge against each other by the end of the game. To play grudge ball each team has the same amount of x's on the board if you get a question right you can erase the other team's x's.

On Tuesday we had our test. I understood most all of the questions and after the test I felt like I had done well. I guess my instincts were right because I got a 99 on the test! The one point I missed was because I put a direction on a scalar quantity. I thought because in the problem an object was falling meant it needed the direction down. Overall everyone seemed to do well on this test so we must have all studied very hard and understood the material.    

On Wednesday we started unit three conservation of energy and momentum. To start out the unit we did the unit vocab to understand some basic terms before reviewing the vocab. I was familiar with some of the terms before reading the definitions.The two terms I was mostly familiar with were potential and kinetic energy. I learned many new things while reviewing notes but one thing that stood out to me was mechanical energy. This is when all the energy is combined.

On Thursday we started a new lab. This new lab will teach us about kinetic and potential energy. To test this we are testing both types of energy on a golf ball, tennis ball, and a marble. Our group tested the potential energy and part one of the kinetic energy.  We tested potential energy from different heights. We tested it from the floor, the desk, and a group member's head. To test the kinetic energy we dropped the balls at different heights. We did heights ranging to .5 of a meter to a full meter. We tested each trial three times and then took the average.

On Friday we didn't have school because it was a teacher workday.

This week I think I can definitely improve on getting ready for Science Olympiad and telling my brain that it is not over until after states. These few weeks we haven't really practiced for long periods of time for picture this but on Monday we will have lots of time to practice.

Pink is the Color of Victory

On Tuesday we worked on our lab. this lab taught us about centripetal force. Centripetal force is force moving in a circular motion. Centripetal means center seeking.  We tested the force by swinging nuts on a string. For each part of the lab we tested something different by simply adjusting the radius or weight. To adjust the radius you would make the part where you hold it in the center smaller or bigger. To adjust the weight you would add more or less nuts tied to the end of the string.

On Wednesday we started a new lab. This lab dealt with work, force,and power. We started on part one which was to calculate the newtons of a fishing weight. We had to get the mass of an object in newtons two ways  by calculating it with an equation and weighing it with a spring scale. Both of our weights were the same so that means there was no error in our procedure. The goal of this was to get the most accurate weight in newtons and the ultimate goal is having them be the same which is what our group did.

On Thursday we worked on the other half of our lab. We tested the power, force and horsepower of our arm. We did this by timing someone from our group as they wounda weight tied to the end of the string of a stick. We then used that data to determine things like power, force and horsepower. This part helped me learn how to calculate things like power and force and also learn some of the equations.

On Friday we worked on finishing our lab. For homework the previous night we tested our leg power. We calculated the distance of our stairs by measuring one step and multiplying that number by the number of stairs. We then timed how long it took us to walk from the first step to the last. No ones horsepower was very high so that means our legs aren't as powerful as I thought they were. We also finished lab questions. These lab questions helped us prepare for our next test and helped us learn how to use the equations.

One thing I can improve on this week is not forgetting my glasses at home. Ever since science Olympiad  they have been in my room and I cant seem to remember to take them out. I still cant believe states are just a few weeks away. I cant wait to win again.

For this week's link it is the footage of WAAS science olympiad team on the news.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1fifczDCbA&feature=youtu.be

One week away from VICTORY!!!!!

On Monday we finally tested our catapults. I had been waiting to test our catapult all weekend so the suspense was high. We did three events that tested power,accuracy,and distance. Our catapult did the best in the accuracy round. We got four out of five cotton balls in the bucket every time. We did okay in the other tests but not as well as the accuracy round. After we tested our catapult we worked on our data sheet. One way our group could have improved on the catapult was by changing our design completely. Our design had too many flaws because we had to replace the spoon twice and cut out the back panel of the bow for it to even work.

On Tuesday we had a"snow day" I put snow day in quotes because it was more ice than snow. I don't really care if we had snow or not I am glad we didn't have to go to school.

On Wednesday we worked on finishing our lab. One thing I learned from this lab is projectile motion. I learned that a projectile has both horizontal and vertical velocity. We also reviewed our unit two notes. We reviewed terms such as terminal velocity, free fall, and weightlessness. Aside from what you may think free fall is, free fall is when the only force acting on you is gravity. You can only be in free fall when in a vacuum or space. Weightlessness is when you have no force of support on your body. Have you ever been on a roller coaster and you feel like your stomach is jumping for a split second? This feeling is considered being weightless.

On Thursday we worked on a new lab. In this lab we tested terminal velocity by dropping a coffee filter from different heights. We dropped it in intervals of 25 cm. For each different height we had to calculate average speed and velocity. After we had our data we did two graphs. I think two things we could have improved on this lab is keeping the coffee filter steady and keeping the meter stick straight.

On Friday we  worked on finishing our coffee filter lab. I had a hard time with the graph because it was different than some of the graphs I had done before. In this lab we learned about terminal velocity. Terminal velocity is when the net force on an object is zero so it stops accelerating. I think this lab helped me see visually what terminal velocity is.

For Science Olympiad this week we all worked extra hard because we we are only a week away. We took another trip to Panera Bread to make sure we were prepared. I worked on Picture This for almost all of the time we were there. I worked on Picture This for about 2 hours. I worked for bout an hour redesigning some features of my rocket and then met on Sunday at the park to shoot off the bottle rockets. We met for about an hour launching rockets.

For this week's link it is all about SO. http://www.sciencenc.com/