Tuesday May 10 our Stem Science class went to German Ridge Lake to try out or cardboard boats that we have been making for the last few weeks. Logan and I went with the barge approach where we used two rows of boxes taped together to be 8 feet long. We would then sit on top of our boat instead of inside of it. We used our first row of duct tape to hold our boxes together then used our second row to line the whole bottom of our boat. There were multiple different designs of boats from canoes to bathtub style (which won). So on race day we started at one side of the beach and timed to see how long it took to get to the other side, but there was no need because only one boat made it! So Logan and I were the last ones to go, we put “Fracasar” into the water and climbed on board. It wasn't but a few seconds later when i found myself upside down totally submerged by the water…. Our boat had flipped. We quickly flipped the boat right side up and tried to climb on again but, it flipped. We tried this for about 4 times but could not keep our balance. Although I do have to say that our boat did stay floating, it just didn't have the stability. If we were redesigning we would add another row of boxes to make it wider. I guess that our boat lived up to its name “Fracasar” which is to fail in spanish! After we cleaned up our soggy boats and ate some lunch we went for a little hike around the lake. We spotted two snakes that looked the same but nobody could identify them, but after some research I have concluded that they were black races. Which are a velvet black color with white on their nose and throat. All and all it was a fun day learning some science.
We have currently paused all of our individual experiments as we plan to have a cardboard boat race. As of right now we are going to be paired with the other student in our class that is in our grade. That would mean that my partner would be Logan. We are yet to decide on the final rules but most likely the 4 teams of 2 students will get into their cardboard boat which is constructed of nothing but cardboard and duct tape, then have to race a set length then after they cross the finish line, see how long their flotation devise will stay above water. Now it may sound like we are just going to be jumping in a cardboard box and hope it floats, but there is much more than just that. To get your boat to float it comes down to physics, the density of water vs the boat, and the buoyancy of the boat with the weight of its passengers. If a team masters that and can keep their boat above water then comes the aquadynamic which is how the boat moves through the water fast and smoothly but not taking way from stability. So lets say that a team has came up with the perfect boat design that is buoyant, fast and stable. Then comes the construction which only cardboard and duct tape can be used. They will have to figure out how they best way to construct the boat would be to where the seems of the boxes are strong and impermeable. All and all I believe that it will be a very challenging task but also a very fun project.
Here are some possible boat designs Me and Aaron have been working on experiments to show during the basketball game. We first played a Makey makey games where you are the switch on a circuit and when you connect the circuit (aka touch the metal,) then you jump on the game. Our next project was where we made a hologram video. We cut out 4 trapezoides of clear plastic and taped them together to make a pyramid. We then downloaded videos on our phones so that when we placed the pyramid on our phones it would project the image in thin air. We placed this in a dark box so it would be easier to see. The reaction was pretty awesome! Aaron and I have been working on experiments with magnets. Our first experiment was where we produced magnetic putty. Once we mixed up the putty recipe we placed a strong magnet to the putty and took a time lapse of how the putty surrounded the magnet. The putty is used to hold the iron in the putty together.
Putty Recipe 1/4th cup of liquid starch 1/4th cup of liquid glue 2 tablespoons of iron powder *mix well Video Aaron and I are taking the role as Mythbusters by testing different myths to see if they are busted, confirmed, or plausible. We started out our experiments with myths about salsa! We have heard that milk was the best cure for spicy foods. We would eat ghost pepper salsa then try different kinds of "cures" and record short term and long term effects. According to our data the best cures would be popsicles and ice cream. Our next experiment was testing how much spicy foods raised body temperature. I went up by about half of a degree but Aaron went up by about 1 degree so it could have registered as a low grade fever. We concluded that it effects different people different. We are now testing to see if the acid from salsa can erode metal. We heard about a myth that a man in Mexico escaped from prison by dumping salsa on his jail cell bars. Just after a week, a paper clip in salsa lost .005 grams and we are still testing it.
Milk is the best cure for spicy foods: Busted Eating spicy foods can register as a fever: plausible salsa eating through metal: Still testing Check out Mythbusters.com The past few weeks we had been preparing for a spooky science day to show off to 1st and 2nd graders. We had to research and test experiments that were related to Halloween and had to do with science! Logan and I were inspired to do our experiments from videos of Steve Spangler! We thought “What screams more Halloween than a Jack-O-Lantern!?” So our first experiment was carving a pumpkin the scientist way! This consisted of me carving the pumpkin at home, but the pieces that I cut out were placed back in their spots. I then cut a small hole in the back, just large enough to put in a lighter. The day of the experiment we would place a beaker of water inside of the pumpkin and have the pieces (eyes, nose, and mouth) back in there original spots so that it looked like a normal pumpkin. We then placed about 7 rocks of Calcium Carbide into the water. After that we placed the top back on the pumpkin as we waited for the gasses to build up inside. With the countdown of the kids, we placed the lighter into the small whole in the back and light it. This caused a small explosion inside of the pumpkin sending the carved out pieces air borne. Leaving a perfectly good Jack-O-Lantern.
I am currently still working on my experiment about heart rates. For the last week or two I have been collecting data and observing my heart rates at different times and this is going very smoothly. While I am collecting data for this, I have started a new project about GPS tracking and all of the ways that it can be used. I am trying to come up with new ways that we can apply GPS tracking in different devises to help make life easier. I am also studding on how a GPS works. I have learned that there is a chip that sends out signals and then either an app on your cell phone or another hand held devise intercepts this signal and receives it location. This is then placed on a map so you can use landmarks to find where the object is located. I have also been looking up how big these microchips have to be to work so I know what kind of objects they can fit onto. I currently have an idea of what I want to place a GPS microchip into, but you will have to wait until next blog to find out because it is a surprise! Have you even been scared or really excited and you can feel your heart beating out of your chest and you can hear it thumping? This is because these events trigger adrenaline to be released into your body. Adrenaline causes your heart rate to rise and your heart to contract harder. You may also notice that when you exercise such as running, biking, or weight lifting your heart will beat faster too! So for the next week or two I am going to be wearing a heart rate monitor and will be recording my heart rate at different times while resting. I will also be recording my heart rate during events that spike adrenaline such as being scared. I will record my heart rate while exercising too. I want to compare the heart rate by adrenaline with the heart rate by exercise because I am not sure which one will be higher or the most consistent.
A few years ago I had nerve surgery on my shoulder. My nerves died because of an accident skiing. You may ask what the big deal is if your nerves are not working, and that’s what I thought too but that is totally wrong. What happens is the nerves send out electrical signals to tell your muscles to move and work. So when your nerves do not work then your muscles do not either, so my muscle started to die also. So to fix this they took a nerve out of my tricep and placed it into my shoulder to get it working again. The problem that I had with the whole deal is how they test to see if your nerve is working. They use a needle with a cord coming out of it that is attached to a computer. Once they place this needle into your injured area (which really hurts) they move it around and make you flex! This need then reads the electrical signals and shows it on the computer. I think that there should be a device that would be able to detect nerves and their electrical signal kind of like an x-ray detects bone.
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May 2016
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