With Daniel Ford and Maddie Cinelli
For this assignment we used our knowledge gained from the trebuchet project to move 2 rolls of pennies (250 grams) a total of 5 meters. The requirements were lenient but we decided to go with a more classic mode of transportation and built a model car.
This slide show presentation includes the mathematical and scientific specifications of our vehicle, along with a video of our car in action and the selling points of the vehicle.
New Content
Distance vs Time: This graph in our presentation shows how the speed of the car changed over time.
Velocity vs Time: This graph shows how our vehicle accelerated and decelerated throughout its 1 meter journey
Spring Potential Energy: Spring potential energy measures the elasticity of a spring. The spring's potential energy can be calculated by using the equation PE=1/2kx^2, where k is the spring constant, and x is the distance the spring is stretched/compressed.
Thermal Energy: Not all of the potential energy is transferred to kinetic energy. In fact, in our case, a lot of energy turned into thermal energy.
Friction: Our car lost a lot of energy due to friction. Friction always acts in the opposite direction of the moving object. Friction eventually causes everything to stop. Friction occurs when, on the molecular level, rough edges between the two surfaces catch onto each other, slowing the moving object.
Velocity vs Time: This graph shows how our vehicle accelerated and decelerated throughout its 1 meter journey
Spring Potential Energy: Spring potential energy measures the elasticity of a spring. The spring's potential energy can be calculated by using the equation PE=1/2kx^2, where k is the spring constant, and x is the distance the spring is stretched/compressed.
Thermal Energy: Not all of the potential energy is transferred to kinetic energy. In fact, in our case, a lot of energy turned into thermal energy.
Friction: Our car lost a lot of energy due to friction. Friction always acts in the opposite direction of the moving object. Friction eventually causes everything to stop. Friction occurs when, on the molecular level, rough edges between the two surfaces catch onto each other, slowing the moving object.
Reflection
Throughout both the Fire Away and Move It projects my group and I encountered a lot of setbacks. For Fire Away, about 1 day into the project, we realized our prototype was far too big and had to completely start over. Also, when we got to the modification stage, the projectile kept falling off of the string. We also had a lot of setbacks during the Move It project. For instance, our original plan, magnets did not work out. We figured it would be too complicated to get the magnet arrangement just right and it would be difficult to actually get it moving. Also, our plan of using rubber bands did not work, so that was about 2 days worth of working time wasted.
One thing I got better at during both projects was rethinking my plan, because our group changed our mind about things a lot, like I said earlier. Also, I got a lot better at working cooperatively with my group. In the beginning, I was kind of lazy in the fact that I was not very productive. With that being said, throughout the duration of the project, I got more and more productive and I got used to working with this group.
One thing that I feel I could have done better or improve on is my attitude toward the project. Several times when we encountered problems I more or less gave up a bit and did not try to help fix the problem. This is something I can definitely be better at. Also, I could have been more of a leader in the sense of dividing work evenly throughout the team.
One thing I got better at during both projects was rethinking my plan, because our group changed our mind about things a lot, like I said earlier. Also, I got a lot better at working cooperatively with my group. In the beginning, I was kind of lazy in the fact that I was not very productive. With that being said, throughout the duration of the project, I got more and more productive and I got used to working with this group.
One thing that I feel I could have done better or improve on is my attitude toward the project. Several times when we encountered problems I more or less gave up a bit and did not try to help fix the problem. This is something I can definitely be better at. Also, I could have been more of a leader in the sense of dividing work evenly throughout the team.