Category Archives: Science

My Maglev Transportation System ! By: Kayla Fieldston Blog post #4

My partners and I have worked on the MagLev system for a long time building and creating and all the MagLev steps. And it was fun so  have fun learning!

 

One of the problems my group and I faced is too much tape. At first we had a little tape then  the tape was not holding the magnet steady so we decided on the car to put more tape. So we put more tape on and then we didn’t think it would float over the track because it was to heavy with all the magnets and tape. We tested it and it did not work it was to heavy so we ended up having for the track was two long strip magnets and they went on the sides and the car the same we cut two little strip magnets from the big ones and we taped them to the sides to like the track. My final track that I made was two strip magnets taped on to the paper. And for final car my 2 partners and I cut little strip magnets up, and we did two of the little  strips and we taped them on the sides just like we did for the track. I think this worked because It floated over the track and we kept on putting marbles on top of the cup that was on the car with the car over the track floating over the track and pushing it and seeing if it would float and it did we got 28 marbles in the cup. 

I have realize that working with partners has helped me, I don’t know how I could do it by myself. For example, If I had to do it by myself then it would be hard because I would never finish and my partners sometimes give me tips and help me. 

One thing I learned from this Engineering design process is  to never put a lot of tape on because it makes it to heavy.And to not put a lot of magnets too because that also makes it heavy.

Another reason why I like to have partners is because you don’t have to do it all on your own so it makes it easier for you.

    What are Repel and Attract ? Attract is when it comes to the thing and Repel is when it pushes away from it.I hope you enjoyed my blog post hope you had fun reading it !

maglev blog post

The improvements that we made to our train was, we made the magnets on the train look the same as the track so our cart had two strip magnets on the side and the same with the track so it would float better because it would be lined up because before it was not lined up.

Our final track happened when Nash said, “We should put more strip magnets on our track to make the force stronger.” so we did that and then it floated 3 more inches and when we put a cup with 36 marbles inside. I think it worked because because we lined the cart and the track together and because we put more strip magnets so it made the force stronger.

What I learned about maglev trains is that if they are not floating it is because: the magnets can be facing the wrong way or because the magnets’ force is not strong enough. I also learned that EDP, Engineering Design Process helps because at first i didn’t think that it would help that much, but it did because if we didn’t have it well… we would be lost. Lost completely because we would be going in the wrong order. For example, we may have started building without working through our plan.

I think working with a group helps you a lot because when you work with a group you will all have different ideas but when you put all your ideas together it makes it be one super good idea. Because look what Nash did! He made the train repel more, and  if we did not have Nash, we would never be able for the cart to hold 36 marbles. So it is helpful to work with a group.

 

The Amazing Transportation System

My group has finished the ask,imagine,plan, and create stages and now we are on the improve stage.The improvements that I made to the train were improving the design and also improving the track. We improved the track by taking out the middle strip because we couldn’t fit two rows of ring magnets in between on strip magnet in the middle and one on each side of the box. So we took out the middle strip magnet so that we could fit two rows of strip magnets.

Our groups final train and track were had two strip magnets on each side because we had a problem with the magnets earlier. The problem was that the magnets were not facing the same sides and poles so we tried to fix it but we ran out of time so our final design was the strip magnets. The final design of our transportation system was less complicated and less hard to build but it did cary marbles and miss badurski said that if it carried at least a marble, and it still levitated, it would count as being successful, our group carried eight marbles.

I learned from the process that it is okay to mess up because you can always improve the design and you can always make it better. I learned that maglev trains levitate and can go very fast. I learned that the E D P helps you build the transportation system and help improve a design if you need to. When you work in a group, everyone has ideas for building the transportation system. More ideas, the better.

Amazing Maglev Blog Post

 An  improvement me and my partners made is we did the same pattern we did on the  track on the bottom of the train. Another improvement me and my partners made was we had to flip over the magnets because the magnets attracted and did not repel. The last improvement me and my partners made is we put disk magnets above the strip magnets to make the train float higher and it worked.

The track had strip magnets along the sides and then we put disk magnets on top of the strip  magnets. The train had two short strip magnets on the side and that made it float higher. Also we made it so the train matched the track. Also our design repels from north and north poles and not the south and south poles.

In the process I learned that working with a group is better because everyone has an idea and if one fails you can use the other one. Working with a partner is good because sometimes the magnet flips over when you put it down but a partner can hold it. The last good thing about having a partner is you can combined ideas to make a better one.             

 

Maglev Transportation System!

I am going to tell you in this blog how our maglev train succeeded. When we were done with the maglev system for the first time and we tested it  it did not work. Some improvements we made were we took out the middle track and only used the side tracks. The problem with the middle track was it was making the cart to heavy so it would not levitate. Another improvement we changed was putting only one layer of magnets on the cart. We did this improvement because it was not floating high.

When we were done with the track and train the track had 3 layers of strip magnets on the sides but not in the middle. Our train had to little strip magnets then we tested it and it was not floating high so we put an even smaller one on top of the medium strip magnets. I think this train was successful  because it did not have a lot of weight on it.

When I did the maglev train it was hard at the beginning being in a group because two people wanted to do one thing and another two people wanted to do another thing. But at the end we sort of figured it out we had to agree on different things to make it work.

 

Maglev Blog Post

In this paragraph you will  read about the problem that me and my partners faced and how we became  successful. First we have to check what sides the magnets were on because the magnetic field will only work if  the magnets are both on the same side. So when we figured that out we put three magnets on the track one in the middle and one on each side. So then we did the same thing on our vehicle. But when we tried that it did not work. So then our teacher Ms.Badurski told us that maybe we did not need the strip magnet in the middle. So we took the middle strip magnets off then our vehicle floated. So our strategy was to put two strip magnets on the way ends of our  vehicle and we put the other two strip magnets on the way ends of our track. So the two magnets on the sides will match up with each other and sense all of our magnets were on the north side and if the magnets are on the same side they repel. So with all of that it made our vehicle floated across the track! By doing all of that work that I told you about in this first paragraph that is the problem we faced and how we became successful!

To improve our track and vehicle we did the same thing but we just added more magnets on top of other magnets. So first we put one more layer on then we put another layer on. so  we did the same thing just with more magnets our vehicle floated hire so it holds more weight and it makes our vehicle stronger and better. We also thought of some other strategies too like with ring or disc magnets. But we figured that the strategy that I told you guys about is probably the best and easiest way to improve our vehicle. So we ended up doing that strategy that I told you guys about. Also when we did it our vehicle floated hire and it could hold more weight so it can hold more marbles. We want to try and get the most marbles in the dixie cup on our vehicle and we ended up with 28 marbles. Maybe we could of had more if we added more layers of strip magnets. So there will be more power and more power is better so we could hold more marbles in the cup on our vehicle. Also not only did our vehicle have to float it also had to be able for someone to push it across the track and it had to still be floating and holding all of the marbles. But before we did that we tried to use ring magnets to improve are track and vehicle. But it did not work! Then we kepted thinking and thinking then we just tried everything with ring magnets and it did not work! So that is how we figured out that the problem was the ring magnets. That is how we figured out that improving strategy that I told you about in this second paragraph. That is how we improving our transportation system so it would work.

I liked working with partners  because they thought of ideas and if we had a problem they  would help us fix problems that we could not figure out. My partners also helped me put  everything together. They also helped me pick which magnets and what strategy that we should use for our maglev transportation system. They also had great ideas to improve like the one that I told you guys about in paragraph 2. We also thought that maybe our vehicle would be to heavy but we tried it anyway and it worked. One of the problems that me and my partners faced was after we did the design then we improved it did not work then we figured out the problem. The problem was that one of the magnets on the track was on the south side! So we just turned the magnet over to the north side then it worked! Our vehicle may have been more heavy than last time but it held more marbles and the more marbles our vehicle can hold and still be able for someone to push the vehicle across the track is better! With all of that super hard work that me and my partners did we ended up with a few different amounts of numbers for the marbles in the cup on our vehicle. But actually I think that the marbles filled up the cup and we had to start to put some of the marbles on our vehicle! Well with all of that hard work that we did are final number of marbles was 28! Also our first score of the number of marbles was I think about fourteen or maybe it was fifteen. So we really improved our vehicle sense the first time that we got our vehicle float and our vehicle to be able to float and with someone pushing the vehicle across the track and our vehicle is still floating. So we definitely improved our vehicle a lot! That is all of the reasons why I love working, creating, deciding, problem solving, and improving with partners.

 

Maglev Transportation System

My group and I improved by putting only one strip magnet on each side of the piece of paper that was the track, and putting one little strip magnet on each side of the foam, which was the vehicle. The time that my group failed was when we put all strip magnets next to each other and only one magnet on each side of the foam. The second time my group failed is when we didn’t test what side poles the magnets were on. I think the last one was successful because we tested what sides the magnets are on and we only put one strip magnet on each side.The poles had to be north facing north.

I thought working with a group is helpful because if someone didn’t have a successful idea the other person can add something that maybe will get your plan a little better. I also thought that the maglev transportation system was very fun. I think it was fun because we got to test what side all the magnets are on and the most fun part is when we started to build our maglev transportation system, and then test it to see how many marbles it held.

Making A Maglev Transportation System

I have completed the ask, imagine, plan, create and now I am on the improve station. I made a few improvements, I made a final track and I learned a lot from this process.

One of the few improvements was that we  needed 3 long strip magnets and three short strip magnets. For the track I lined up 1 long strip magnet at both of the edges of the box, and 1 long strip magnet in the middle of the box. For the vehicle we needed three short strip magnets. 1 short strip magnet on the both edges of the vehicle and 1 short strip magnet in the middle of the vehicle. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. We realized that it didn’t work because, the middle magnet on the track was not exactly lined up with the other middle magnet on the vehicle. Which caused it not to levitate.

The final vehicle and track was easy to make. But it didn’t come to us for a very long time.  My final track needed 2 long strips and 2 short strips. For the final track, I needed to put 2 long strips on both edges of the track. So for the vehicle I used 2 short strips on the sides to match. Then I tested it out. Guess what, it worked. I thought and thought why this vehicle and track  was successful and finally I knew. The track and vehicle had to be lined up so it could repel easily. This design held 14 marbles. I was impressed.

During the process I learned a lot. I learned about maglev trains. Maglev trains have to match the poles of the track so that it will float in the air. I also learned that the real Maglev Train would not be able to float unless something was holding it, just like the box was holding my Maglev Train. I learned about the Engineering Design Process and how it’s used. First comes the ask process. Then comes the imagine, the plan, create and improve. I learned that when you work with a group they might help you understand something you don’t know. Or something you knew about the wrong way. I personally think that when you work with a group you have more minds to get to work. All around you have people to help you.

To conclude, making final  improvements and designing our track. Furthermore, learning, contributing and understanding the process of the E.D.P. is really important. Maybe someday you will construct your own Maglev Transportation System. Be sure to work with someone.

 

My Maglev Train reflection

In this post I will explain how my group struggled to create my train to levitate, my final working levitating track, and what I learned from the process of creating a maglev train with a group.

When we first got our materials for the maglev train, our original plan was to put all the magnets in line one next to the others in line but the problem with that was that the sides of the magnets are also magnetic, causing the magnetic poles (north and north)  to repel against each other move around when they are all facing the same way as the magnets on the bottom of the car to levitate.

Then an idea shot to my head. If we only used 2 magnets on the sides they could face the same way because the magnetic forces are not strong enough to push away each other and it will be able to hold the piece of styrofoam. This worked successfully because not only were  the long magnets able to stay in place, but the magnetic forces were still strong enough to hold the piece of styrofoam in the air with a cup and marbles on it.

A couple of  things that I have learned through the engineer design process is to work with a group and let everybody share their ideas, how magnets work and how they attract to each other and levitate against each other, and how magnetic fields work, And lastly I learned other uses for magnets then just magnet tiles and magnets that go on cars and refrigerator. Doctors also use magnets to take a look inside a persons body without having to do any surgery!

                                                            Thanks for reading my post

Super Scientist

“Hello,” said Mr. Line he came in our classroom in the morning at 9.30  as a special presenter for us so he could teach us about energetic electricity. But there were a few rules we had to follow they were… don’t touch anything that we were not told to touch, and always have fun.

“Everyone to the rug,” called Mr. Line. He showed us a little black thing and he said do you think the connection will work with a pickle and the electricity running through it. Most people in our class thought no but I thought and thought and remembered that water water can flow through salty water. He tried to do it, guess what… it worked. He also said that it could flow through salty water hey isn’t that what I thought? We were assigned a partner so we could experiment with a light bulb. I was assigned with Griffin. We were the first people to finish the experiment. Then with the help of Taylor and Marcos we got to fix two light bulbs full speed just using our heads. Now was exciting part I got to touch a disco light he said,

“These little, I mean really little things are electrons that are shooting out onto our body’s.” Finally he said,

“The last thing we are going to do is make an electroscope and were going to take it home, So this is how you make it, first you need a cup a small piece of tinfoil and a piece of paper and one paper clip, you put it together put electrons on it and watch the tinfoil split apart.”

“Bye everyone,” he said “maybe i’ll come tomorrow, bye.”

It was a fun morning I can’t wait for tomorrow.