Adv Engineering

Domes - Project Blog Post Summary:  This project was when we had to create a dome prototype to replace the Metrodome roof after it collapsed. Ours was made out of paper mache and withstood over 80 pounds (when the passing grade was roughly 1/3 of a pound). Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started? I knew virtually nothing about domes aside from the fact that they were used as for an aesthetic appeal in the Roman era, and that the only thing domes really did "OK" at was providing a roof over one's head and of course, looking pretty. I didn't know the proper term of a geodesic dome (domes that have geometric shapes that make up a rough dome form and distribute stress throughout the entire shape) and I didn't know anything about the Metrodome or the roof collapsing. Inward-Looking: How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like/dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piec...

Should We Expand the Use of Nuclear Energy? Radioactive waste. We’ve all heard about it. And we all know where it comes from — nuclear power plants. A nuclear power plant is an energy-creating facility where worker burn fuels such as uranium and plutonium to help generate electricity. Say no to nuclear power plants! Nuclear power plants are terribly expensive to run and release fumes into the atmosphere that are not healthy for the economy nor for the environment. And when the facility blows up, it creates a giant health hazard. I haven’t even mentioned how much waste is stored when these plants produce energy! Nuclear power plants are expensive, not to mention dangerous. To run a power plant costs at least nine billion dollars,  per unit . In the article titled, The Cost of Nuclear Power , from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the author states, “ The industry has failed to prove that things will be different this time around: soaring, uncertain...

Board Game - Project Blog Post Summary:  This project was when we had to create a board game in the hopes of being able to think like an engineer. We had to come up with a design for our board game and make sure it was fun for everybody.  Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started? I knew what made a board game fun, but I'd never really thought about the key components to making a board game in the first place.  Inward-Looking: How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like/dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this piece/work?  I was very proud about this piece of work-- I felt like it truly expressed how I am as a creator of such board games and as a designer. The parts that I liked about the board game were all the designs in general-- I liked the structure of the board and the design of the cards (though I felt the design of the box itself was a bit too basic). I can't say I ...

Charity Fair - Project Blog Post Summary:  This project was when we had to research different charities and decide which one was bested suited to our cause. Before this though, we had a debate over which charity type was more beneficial- small charities, or large charities. I learned that a lot of the money just goes to admin costs in large charities. I also learned that smaller charities are a little bit less-known, so they're more unreliable. Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started? I chose the subject of animal abuse for Charity Fair, and before we started, I knew that a lot of animals faced daily abuse and that only a few of the abusers were sentenced to prison. I knew that some animals faced psychological trauma for years when they went to shelters and that some cases were so bad that they were euthanized. Inward-Looking: How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like/dislike? Why? What...

 \ Are Paper Books Better Than Ebooks? You’re in the library with your parents. Which side do you prefer? The side with the computers and tablets for kids to read their ebooks, or the side with columns and columns filled with rows and rows of printed books, some with covers beaten with time, some with fresh, shimmering covers that reflect the rays of light in colorful waves? I suggest that you go to the printed book side for several good reasons. Printed books are much better than ebooks, for several good reasons. For one, paperback books can boost the retention of a reader. Second, the brightness of a tablet screen hurts your eyes, while printed books don’t emit such light. A study has found that infants learn more from hands-on/kinesthetic reading. Another study has found that ebooks can degrade our deep-reading skills. Furthermore, the light the ebooks emit can contribute to the ever-growing problem of visual fatigue, which is a condition “marked by tired, itching,...

Reverse Engineering - Project Blog Post Summary:  This project was when we had to find an object that had 7+ parts to it and take it apart. While completing this project, I learned a lot about the cordless phone that we were taking apart and I learned the names of a few components of the motherboard, such as a capacitor (holds the data of the motherboard) and a resistor (resists currents).  Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started? I knew a little bit about the subject since I had this class last year and we had the same unit, so I knew that we would have to take it apart, document it in a manual, and compile the parts into a BoM, and I knew that engineerings take things apart to find out how they work so they (the engineers) can apply that newfound knowledge to their work.  Inward-Looking: How do you feel about this piece of work? What parts of it do you particularly like/dislike? Why? What did/do you enjoy about this pi...

ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY Do you feel groggy in the morning? If you answered yes to this question, then are you a teenager? If you answered yes to this question, then note that you're not the only one — scientists have concluded that getting less sleep in the morning puts teenagers (and of course, other individuals outside the age group) at higher risk of traffic accidents. It has also been proven that sleep deprivation can result in poor academic scores. A National Sleep Foundation Poll has concluded that 28% of the teenagers who took the poll have fallen asleep in class due to lack of sleep. The reason? Early school times! Most schools have their start times before 8:30, which means that most kids wake up at around 7:00-8:00 to get ready for school, and this is just excluding the extra curriculum activities that start before school hours. For example, I do Zero-Period Band and the start time is at 7:10. This means that I have to get up at 6:00 to get ready — cram in the ho...

CONFLICT RESOLUTION APPLICATION My go-to style for conflict resolution is accommodating. Another conflict resolution style that I might try is the collaborating conflict style because that way some of my needs are met and some of the other person's needs are met.   The first step of climbing down the ladder of conflict is to...  Identify your needs. Once you identify your needs, then the other person can state what their needs are after you have finished, and then you can work on a negotiation that solves your needs and their needs. Listen to the other person without interrupting. When you listen to another person and you interrupt, it's like you're telling them that their views aren't important enough for you to be patient and listen to them for five minutes, because apparently, whatever YOU have to say is so much more important. When you listen to another person and you don't interrupt, then they feel like their views are actually being accepte...

Summary:  During this week, I helped my team on our build by building our mounds of clay. Then I painted them and put in toothpicks (the sandwich kind - the ones with the pretty plastic thing on them) to represent strawberries, celery, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables that are part of our garden model.     EDP: MAKE AND TEST A MODEL I am building a prototype using clay, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, and cardboard.  Image Link: What's the fruitiest subject? History, because it's full of dates.  

Summary: Over the course of our EOY project, I helped my team with our build for the garden and begun our document for our interior furnishings. I also helped my team with our rough draft for our blueprint.  Backward-Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started?  I knew nothing about the project or rather, the subject of an urban village. I recognized the village part, but I didn't understand the "urban" part of the two words.  Inward-Looking:  What does this piece tell you about yourself and how you learn? This piece tells me that I digest more through visual learning such as drawing out solutions or writing out problems. This piece also tells me that I don't need to make  3-D models to see the whole picture.  Outward-Looking: What grade would you give it and why?  The grade that I would give this project is an A- because we worked very hard on it and although it deserves at least 10 points for style, it was rather u...

Summary:  During this week, I helped my team on our build by building our mounds of clay. Then I painted them and put in toothpicks (the sandwich kind - the ones with the pretty plastic thing on them) to represent strawberries, celery, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables that are part of our garden model.     EDP: MAKE AND TEST A MODEL I am building a prototype using clay, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, and cardboard.  Image Link: What's the fruitiest subject? History, because it's full of dates.  

Summary:  During this week, I drew the group sketches and added the measurements for the second one that I drew. I also made the bathroom sketch for our client so they could have a reference of what we want them to build. We're going to be building a garden prototype in the same general area where the old garden was (not in actual physical form, but as a miniature version of the actual thing).     EDP: MAKE AND TEST A MODEL I am building a prototype using clay, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, and cardboard.  Image Link: Two melons were talking. The first one says, "Let's get married!" and the other one says, "No! We canteloupe!"  

Summary:  During this week, I added the final paper mache layers and then tested it out with my team. I also created and worked on our IGNITE presentation where we will confirm our results as well as discuss the pros and cons of our location and our base.    EDP: COMMUNICATE FINAL DESIGN I communicated our team's final design when we finished building our prototype and tested it out with the bowling ball being the asteroid (although by all technical means, the people of Alabraska are already dead because we had ten days to come up with a solution, and we took way longer than that). I did this by going up to the board which had a table and then putting our damage scale which was a 1.5 (very low - yay!). Image Link: Why should a bowling alley be quiet? So you can hear a pin drop!  

Summary:  During this week, I put paper mache all over our box to represent our cavern (to make the glue, just put one part flour and one part water). I covered our box in saran wrap and Ziploc bags (we didn't have saran wrap at first) before dipping the torn up newspaper and then putting it on top of our box.  EDP: GENERATE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS I generated possible solutions when our group didn't have saran wrap and so I improvised by tearing apart some Ziploc bags (like a psycho, I might add) and then plastering them onto the box with some tape.  Image Link: Ziploc Bags