Do It Better Project
This is our car from before:
Content
For our last project, we had to choose one of our previous project to improve and build a better project. Our group chose to redesign and rebuild our hybrid car project. We decided to have straighter wheels, a smaller body, and we also decided to combine an idea from the other group; we used a mousetrap. Our design was to have one pair of wheels in the back with a small wheel in the front. The mouse trap was going to snap and pull the string wrapped around the axel of the wheel forward. However, the mouse trap broke and we were unable to obtain a new one. We then decided to use a string to power the car instead. Taking an angled piece of wood, we attached it to the front of the car. With the angled piece of wood, the wood would not drag against the ground and cause any friction. We ran into many problems such as the wood splitting and the CD wheels cracking.
For our last project, we had to choose one of our previous project to improve and build a better project. Our group chose to redesign and rebuild our hybrid car project. We decided to have straighter wheels, a smaller body, and we also decided to combine an idea from the other group; we used a mousetrap. Our design was to have one pair of wheels in the back with a small wheel in the front. The mouse trap was going to snap and pull the string wrapped around the axel of the wheel forward. However, the mouse trap broke and we were unable to obtain a new one. We then decided to use a string to power the car instead. Taking an angled piece of wood, we attached it to the front of the car. With the angled piece of wood, the wood would not drag against the ground and cause any friction. We ran into many problems such as the wood splitting and the CD wheels cracking.
Concepts
Spring constant: It is the measure of elasticity of springs.
Spring Potential Energy (Elastic Energy): It is due to compression or expansion of elastic material
Friction: A force that resists motion (usually resisting). We needed friction from ground and wheels in order to have enough traction.
Kinetic Energy: It is energy due to movement. When the car moved across the ground, it created energy.
Pressure: It is the amount of force per unit of area. The equation is P=Force/Area.
Entropy: It's disorder, heat is lost to environment and can't be used; randomness.
Power: rate of doing work. The equation is P=w/t.
Thermal Energy: energy created by heat, usually because of friction. The equation is total energy minus kinetic energy minus potential energy. On our graph, the thermal energy starts low and rises while the other lines on the graph decrease
Spring constant: It is the measure of elasticity of springs.
Spring Potential Energy (Elastic Energy): It is due to compression or expansion of elastic material
Friction: A force that resists motion (usually resisting). We needed friction from ground and wheels in order to have enough traction.
Kinetic Energy: It is energy due to movement. When the car moved across the ground, it created energy.
Pressure: It is the amount of force per unit of area. The equation is P=Force/Area.
Entropy: It's disorder, heat is lost to environment and can't be used; randomness.
Power: rate of doing work. The equation is P=w/t.
Thermal Energy: energy created by heat, usually because of friction. The equation is total energy minus kinetic energy minus potential energy. On our graph, the thermal energy starts low and rises while the other lines on the graph decrease
Reflection
The result of the project was very unsatisfying. For the do-it-better project, I felt as if we had made it worse. The end result of this project did not go very well. We also did not plan very well. However, we all worked together and communicated with one another very well. Two pits were our CD wheels cracking and the wood splitting multiple times. That caused our project to slow down a lot. Two peaks were when we finally got the car to work, and when we all collaborated with each other. We definitely could have worked on time management better. We ended up having to take some time in the weekend to finish up the car. We also could have made a better plan in the beginning. For next year, I will continue to work on time management as that seems to hinder me the most. I have learned that sometimes, things can go very wrong and that I just have to try to work through it.
The result of the project was very unsatisfying. For the do-it-better project, I felt as if we had made it worse. The end result of this project did not go very well. We also did not plan very well. However, we all worked together and communicated with one another very well. Two pits were our CD wheels cracking and the wood splitting multiple times. That caused our project to slow down a lot. Two peaks were when we finally got the car to work, and when we all collaborated with each other. We definitely could have worked on time management better. We ended up having to take some time in the weekend to finish up the car. We also could have made a better plan in the beginning. For next year, I will continue to work on time management as that seems to hinder me the most. I have learned that sometimes, things can go very wrong and that I just have to try to work through it.