My experience in Technology

I think that this class was a great quarterly and I learned a vast amount of things.  I learned about the ways of the universe and, to be more specific atoms, building and energy. We have done many experiments. I don’t have a specific favorite but I really liked the static energy balloon assignment and the Catapults. I think that the best part was learning about philosophical theory’s about the universe and getting very deep into the conversation. One thing that I am going to remember is how atoms are made of electrons. Another is how protons and neutrons work. I really love this class.

Breadboards

This week in Technology, we created breadboards. Breadboards are used to make a circuit lighting up the LED light. The materials that we needed were, a breadboard, wires, a LED light and a resistor. First, we had to cut two wires four inches long and then strip half an inch. Next you stick the LED light into the breadboard and connect both strings to it, one on the positive side and one on the negative side. Finally, we connect the resistor and the LED will light up.  This is because it is a full circuit. I think that this was a fun project and I learned a lot from it.

Electroscopes

This week in tech, we created electroscopes. The materials needed was a balloon, a glass, tinfoil, a paper clip and cardboard. Fist you had to get your cardboard and cut a circle and cut a line through it until you get to the middle. Next, cut your tinfoil in to two tear drops. Stick the paper clip through the hole and put the teardrops on there. Tape that onto the top of the glass. Then rub the balloon on a sweater or your hair and bring it close to the glass without touching. This will make the test drops move. I think that they move because the energy is creating a change in direction from the electrons and they are resisting the pull.

Building our cranks

I found that building my crank was very challenging for many reasons. I lost a few of the pieces and had to make them out of paper. I also think that the pieces got stuck a lot in the holes so they had to be fiddled with. Those two things made it much harder. I do think that even though it was challenging, it was fun. I put a little polar bear at the top and it finished the whole thing. Luckily, it worked even though there was a lot of editing. I think that it does help to know this because it is important in life. I would probably do this again.

Catapults

A few weeks ago in tech, we made catapults. I made one of my own design and it was pretty simple. The materials that I used were popsicle sticks, rubber bands and a bottle cap. I got a bouncy ball and used that for my material that I was going to catapult. This was all based of what we learned before about a lever, there is a effort arm which is the input, a load arm which is the output and the fulcrum. I did the experiment in my living room because it is one of the biggest rooms and the ball went more than halfway across. Overall, I think that it went very well. The only thing that I would change is I would make sure that it was easier to pull back the load.

Outer Space In Tech

In Technology class, we have had many conversations about outer space. We have learned about the technology that is sent into space and how it works. One thing that we learned was how one of our creations, they fastest moving object we have ever created, ventured outside of our solar system. It was a huge accomplishment because it took 35 years for this to happen. We have also learned about what the universe is made of and how many galaxies we know of which is estimated to be 200 billion. The last thing that we discussed was the milky was and how it works. The Milky Way is spiraled shape and whenever we see a milky stripe in the sky, that is it. I really enjoy talking about space in this class.

Building a Better Beam

One project that we did in technology was building a I beam. I beams are a extremely strong structure that is found everywhere. We did a experiment creating an I beam, trying to figure out how much weight it can hold from house supplies. My I beam was super strong and I kept on having to go back and add supplies to it. Finally, it was holding so much that I had to stop. In all, my I beam held twenty one cans. I would change two things about how I did the experiment, I would change the distance between the chairs because the I beam was slipping in the beginning and the width of the I beam because it was bending and that was bad for holding all that weight.

Technology

I have really liked technology so far. We are learning about many things and one thing that we are learning about simple machines. The six simple machines are a lever, a wedge, a screw, a pulley, a inclined plane and a wheel. Right now, we are focusing on lovers. There are three types of levers, type one is when the fulcrum is in the middle, type two is when the load is in the middle, and type three is when the effort is in the middle. This is very interesting because so many things are levers. Some levers in our every day life are, a light switch, a seesaw and a scale.

Technology Truss Experiment

One of our projects in technology is to build a cube with triangular supports and see how many books it can hold. I build mine out of toothpicks and baby carrots. I created a very odd looking cube and the triangles were not even. I was able to hold five books on my structure, they were not to heavy but, they were not to light either. It held Harry Potter, Winn Dixie, Coraline, Almost Home and Finally. I think that it did very well and I am pretty surprised how strong it was.

Final Project

For the last project of this quarter. I created a science quiz and swift play grounds. I had four questions. What is a independent variable? What is a dependent variable? Parachutes should have ___ porosity? Is yawning contagious? I found the coding a little hard but it was a fun project where I got to mix two subjects together.