Archives: November 2015
Parachute Lab Conclusion
In this test, my group and I decided to test how the weight of a washer on a parachute would affect how quickly it would fall to the ground. We used 4 different washers, 2 large, and 2 small. We ran 3 trials for each washer. Our goal was to find out which washer would accelerate to the ground faster. Big washer 1 was 0.013kg, which is also 0.127lbs. It accelerated at an average speed of 136.1 cm/s towards the ground. Big washer 2 was 0.014kg, which is also 0.137lbs. The washer accelerated at an average speed of 213.44 cm/s towards the ground. It was a pretty big difference, even though the mass of the objects only have a difference of a thousandth of a kilogram. Small washer 1 was 0.005kg, which would also be 0.049lbs. It accelerated at an average speed of 137.97 cm/s as it fell to the bottom of the stairs. Smaller washer 2 was 0.006kg, which is the same as 0.059lbs. The washer accelerated at an average speed of 147.7 cm/s towards the ground at the bottom of the stairs. There was a much smaller difference between the two numbers for the speed of the smaller washers than in the bigger washers. The washer’s masses also only had a thousandth of difference between them. The reason why the larger washers fell faster than the smaller washers, was because they had larger masses. If you add in air resistance and gravity, the objects with larger masses fall faster, than ones with smaller masses. Friction would also have a larger role in how fast an object fell if it were a smaller object with a smaller mass. So, in conclusion, in our experiment the washers with the greater mass fell faster (on average) than the washers with the smaller masses.
Geometry Project
This is Striste-Kega-Oena, my group’s city. We decided to come up with a unique name because, well, no one else would’ve used it. Everything that a town would need, essentially of course, is there. Houses, apartments, a hospital, a doctor’s office, court house, gas station, park, Fire Department, Police Department, a lake, a creek, a school, a restaurant, and a bank. We thought that these would be the most vital structures for a city to have. Most of these things were required, of course, but it would be difficult for a town to survive without some of the things we added, like a Police Department.
We used lots of different angles and measurements to plan out this project. We used parallel lines, the angle at which a road was places, and several different angle types.
We used angles like:
– Vertical Angles (angles that are opposite one another where lines cross that have the same measure)
– Alternate Interior Angles (two angles on the inside of parallel lines on opposite sides of the transversel)
-Corresponding Angles (two angles of the same measure that if moved on top of one another would overlap perfectly)
I really enjoyed getting to help come up with the names for all the individual streets and buildings in our city, since I was the City Planner. Without counting all the buildings, our city has one line of symmetry. It would go straight down the main street in our city, Dreams Boulevard. It runs directly through the center of our city, so in the middle of that street is where that line of symmetry would be. If the line were in any other place, then our city would no longer be symmetrical. I really think that our group did really well on this project, and that we all did our best to make an original city.
1st Quarter Participation Activity Reflection
Original Directions:
Our world is growing increasingly connected and digital. Information is everywhere- from our phones, to computers, to televisions. Whether we realize it or not, these devices affect how we behave and what our brains need and want. If asked to do it, do you think you could sit in a room alone with no digital devices, with only your thoughts to keep you company? Researchers asked the same question and when put to the test, got some surprising results. Click the link below to read an article detailing what they found- the results may “shock” you!
Use information from the article to answer the following questions. Remember to include information from the article in your answer. Refer to the sentence starters below to help you along. You should cite the article at least once in your response. Don’t just pull out a random phrase or sentence- make sure it supports what you are saying.
Citing Evidence Sentence Starters:
-In the article it said…
-I read that…
-The author mentions that…
-Something that supports my point is….
Answer all 3 questions.
- Why do you think people chose to receive an electric shock, rather than sitting still and just thinking?
- Is it important for people to be able to “unplug” and go for lengths of time without digital devices? Why or why not? What are some of the pros and cons of “unplugging”?
- Do you think you could go longer than the test subjects without digital devices? Why or why not?
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My response to this question:
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Reflection Response:
For this assignment, you had to state your opinion on the general topic of the importance of “unplugging”. You also has to say why people would’ve chosen to be shocked, and if you thought you could’ve lasted longer than the test subjects. For the most part, I thought that people would’ve preferred to be shocked because they felt such a craving to use an electronic contraption that they’d shock themselves to get even the slightest taste of entertainment. I thought it was extremely important to “unplug”, mostly because there is so much else you can do in this world that you’re missing out on because you chose to sit around on your electronics all day! Also, people need to learn how to hold a real conversation, because texting doesn’t count! Through texting, there isn’t any emotion, any feeling, and often times people will misinterpret what you’re trying to tell them because of the lack of emotion. I thought that I would’ve been able to last longer than the test subjects, because you could sing in your head or have conversations in your head, and it isn’t really as difficult as people would think. I also thought I’d be able to last longer because I’d gone most of my life without access to electronic devices. I think that my strengths in this assignment were mostly with how thoroughly I answered the questions, but also with how my response describes the issues with our society and its obsession for distractions, especially electronic ones. If I were to redo this assignment, I would probably emphasize some of my points a little more, mostly because I really didn’t stress some of the issues well enough. I chose to feature this participation activity on my blog because I personally thought it was the best participation activity out of the ones I completed for first quarter.