Prezi fun!

 These are some "Prezi" presentations for the lab work done thus far, check them out and give some feedback!


http://prezi.com/7bv8ptkklwle/balloon-something/


http://prezi.com/l-9l9sqbwut_/candle-lab/

New project

We've moved on to new groups and outer space.

We've decided to pick a 4.0 project and figure out how to integrate the lower points into our overall presentation.  We've chosen #11; Zooniverse: Milky Way Project.  We intend to use this project to enhance our understanding of the points in the Astronomy Standard as assigned to the class.  We watched the tutorial for this project.

Balloon Project #9

Today in class we worked out some kinks in our Prezi as a group.  Some questions were raised about Potential and Kinetic energy being applied to our project presentation.  The fuel source was a good thing to consider in terms of this question as well as the flammability component of the envelope.  Energy is related to the forces at work in the Newtonian laws as applied to Balloon Shenanigans! Please look forward to our Prezi to see how we worked these concepts in.  We have also been working on diagrams for forces as well as motion to include in the Prezi.  We'll need to create some sort of graph to chart our progress and the impact of time......

some videos

Balloon Project #8

Yesterday, our group got together and did some work for the final push of our balloon project.  We had planned to do further balloon prototype testing. However, it seemed there were some other, more pressing matters that we decided needed to be addressed.

The first thing we talked about was being a group, and how to work together utilizing our various strengths.  There have been multiple instances where we seem to work independently in a way that is sometimes useful, and sometimes counterproductive.  We discussed ways to dissipate some of the ineffective elements.  If our group were a balloon and each of us were a component (envelope, fuel source, and gondola) we would each have separate functions, yet we would still need to work together in order for the contraption to fly.

Next, we brainstormed important elements needed for a good presentation of our project.  We have done many experiments and collected quite a bit of data.  We speculated about how to bring the information together in a meaningful way, and how we could apply the information to the assignment outlined in the Physics assessment.

Then, we set up a framework for our Prezi.  We put together a rough outline of what items should be included and the order we should use for our approach.  We talked about how to include pictures and videos; how to discuss the application Newton’s laws to our project; and determined what topics should be discussed in a chronological order to make the most logically comprehensive presentation.

We talked about how best to use our remaining time.  We determined the remaining work load to complete before Monday, and distributed the tasks between the three of us.  We have a plan for how we can best use our time together during next class, and what needs to be done individually beforehand for this to happen.

Harwood Activity Model for Inquiry

I'm working on this part of the project but I'll need some more time to focus.  Please look forward to my comments on our process for scientific inquiry before the weekend is complete! :-)

Balloon Project #7

Last night we worked on construction for the balloon we started on Monday with parchment paper; it still needs some work done before it's complete.  We also did some testing on the cube(ish) parchment balloon.  I'll work on getting some of the video posted for that test run soon.  The cube balloon did not lift, yet it did seem to hold better shape with fire inside.

Today in class we discussed Newton's first three laws of physics.  We talked about how they apply to our project and how we might address this application for our prezi.  Due to the use of candles (of various sorts) we feel that discussion of potential and kinetic energy should be fairly straight forward.  We discussed getting Isabel's awesome Balloon Fiesta photos into our prezi, and how to diagram forces and the motion of our project.  David started the force diagram, and has promised to work on the motion diagram.  Isabel said that she would get some videos up on her blog of our experiments from today.  I'm going to spend some time working on the "Harwood Diagram Activity Model for Inquiry."

We constructed some gondolas for the balloons we previously completed (Monday's tissue paper triangles).  We used "soylent" candles (cotton soaked in wax - not people this time, sorry) for this morning's test run.  We tested three balloons today during class time.  Each balloon did something different.

The first balloon tested was the alum-butcher-paper-equilateral-triangle.  This envelope caught fire a bit.  The damage was not beyond the point of another attempt, however we feel that this envelope is rather heavy, and may not be worthy of further investigation for the purposes of this project.

We then tested two of the three tissue-triangles.  The first tissue triangle caught fire, and burnt to cinders in a magnificent blaze of glory.  We did not use alum for any of these three tissue paper models, mainly because, the tissue fell apart when alum-water was applied.  I think I was being a bit too aggressive with my application technique.  We have documented with video the difference of tissue paper envelopes burning with (cylinder model) and without alum (the triangle model first attempt); the difference is significant.

The third balloon we tested today was by far the most successful of the attempts made today.  We had constructed a simple gondola out of three Popsicle sticks taped together with a tea light cup waxed in place to hold our homemade candles.  The gondola was balanced inside the envelope and the candle was lit from this position.  We set the first tissue model on fire trying to get the fuel into the balloon, so we started with the fuel in position inside the balloon for the next envelope (this helped quite a bit).  After a short bit of time, the heat from our candle filled the envelope, and the envelope was able to hold its shape.  Soon afterward, our team could hold the entire construction using only three fingers!

We hypothesized that if the gondola was constructed with less weight the envelope might have a better chance at lift.  We went back to the classroom and worked on some other gondola designs.  We grabbed the two remaining tissue-envelope models, the gondolas, and made plans to get together this weekend for one last experimentation session and to start work for our prezi.

Balloon Project #6

Over the weekend, we constructed a cube(ish) shaped balloon and developed a design for a combination of the cube with the pyramid shape.  In class, we completed the construction of the equilateral triangle envelope (alumed butcher paper), as well as gluing together the three tissue paper models from last Monday.  We also cut out the pattern for the cube/pyramid design and started attaching the pieces.  This prototype is made using parchment paper.  We will not be using the alum solution for this model, due to the fire resistant nature of the parchment.
We tested the cylinder model for the last time.  We didn't do the best job of video documenting this test (there are some videos, but I thought I was filming when I wasn't), and the envelope did catch fire beyond the point of repair.  This time we did have lift, not just buoyancy!  The cylinder lifted about three inches.  There was not enough lift to float the entire contraption (the fuel source as well as the envelope), and the wind blew a side directly into the fuel, catching fire to the envelope.  I feel that this is the closest to success our group has achieved thus far.  We used re-lighting birthday candles.  These have magnesium incorporated into the wick, so they burn at a higher temperature.  I'll have to look at the footage to see if there are 10 or 13 candles used.

videos

Balloon Project #5

Over the weekend Isabel went to the Fiesta.  She got some fantastic photographs for our Prezi, and did some interviewing.  David and I did some testing with the construction we had @home.  We ended up setting it on fire twice; the second time to the point of ashes.  We did get some footage, which I hope will be posted soon.

Today in class we did further testing on the cylinder balloon.  We had attached 10 candles to the balloon, and started getting some lift.  A slight breeze caught the side on fire, and we were able to put out the flames before irreparable damage was done (thanks to Alum!).  The hole was patched.

We also worked on assembling the equilateral balloon, cutting out some tissue paper models and applying Alum to the tissue.  We discussed some balloon construction factors with the other balloon lab group such as:  potential energy of fuel sources; cubic foot space of the envelope ratio for lifting the weight of the entire construction; internal temperature of the envelope vs atmospheric temperature.

Balloon Project #4

Yesterday we ended up going to class.  The Balloon Fiesta was canceled due to weather.  We worked on our constructions and did some more testing.  We looked at the pattern that we drew out on Monday, and realized that the side flaps were all different lengths.  The pattern we had cut out on Monday had different length sides, and did not fit together well.  We attempted to fit the cut out design together and test it.  Sadly, one of the sides caught fire because we could not center the flame.  Luckily the fire was not terrible because of our fire retarding techniques.  We are thinking of trimming the sides so that they are all the same length, and continuing our tests.  Meanwhile, we flipped over the paper we had drawn our pattern on and made a slight modification to the design.  We are going to try the equilateral design for this model.  We also re-applied alum to this model and started cutting out the design.  We took the cylindrical model out for another test run, this time with more candles.  This time it showed more buoyancy than last time, yet still did not have enough lift to fly before the birthday candles burnt out.

this was our first test of the cylindrical balloon, using five candles.  although it did not try to take off it did seem to become somewhat more buoyant.  for the approximate size of this balloon one of our sources suggests a minimum of seven candles, today i designed a setup with nine candles since five did not produce enough lift however it also did not produce any singing on the paper.  one thing that i believe would be helpful is if we had an effective way to preheat the balloon before relying on the candles as a heat source.

Balloon Project #3

Today in class we cut out one pattern for a larger balloon and drew out another one.  Each of these patterns has a base with the 2 foot equilateral base triangle as determined from our math from last week.  The pattern we cut out has side flaps with an angle of 75 degrees and is in two pieces.  This is different from the test model built last week in that it is:  larger, the angles are slightly different, and it will have different seams to glue together.  The other balloon pattern has 70 degree angles for its flaps, yet it is drawn out over the span of two pieces of paper.  We are using our alum solution on our construction paper.  David finished construction on the cylinder-tissue model, and we took it to the Center of the Universe for a test run.  We used 5 candles, and found that there was some heat being produced inside the vessel.  The balloon "puffed up" some, but did not float.  Our formula dictates 7 candles would make it float, it seems that we are on the right track.  We have some video of this morning's test run, that will get posted to one of our blogs.  Fro Wednesday's class our group wants to go to the Balloon Fiesta for inspiration.  We plan to test one of our production models on site, although we will probably need to tether our balloon so as not to cause problems for the other aeronautic engineers on location.  We'll be bringing a camera to document our progress and take note of things we think will be useful for our final product.