Rube Goldberg

Posted on April 7, 2020 by smayer27

I thought that Rube Goldberg was fun and frustrating

I think that Rube Goldberg was fun because you can never go to big and when you do it, it is does not work for most of the time and when you finally get it, it is super exciting. It was also fun for me because my Rube Goldberg took up my whole basement and it was hard to get in. Now that we took it down the basement is empty and looks so much bigger.

I thought that it was frustrating because eighty percent of the time it did not work and when we tested it, it worked all the way until the last step. It was also frustrating because it was super hard to get into the basement and every time you touch the ping pong table, it fell down and sadly did not work. When we got it to work it was the twenty sixth time.

Launching Rocket #2

Posted on October 21, 2019 by smayer27

The launch did not go as well as I wanted it to go. Our rocket went really low. We were the first group and I was the rocket launcher and placer. The countdown master yelled “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one” and instead of the rocket shooting up so high we could not see it, it went sixty seven feet. That was very disappointing because our last launch, our rocket went one hundred ninety eight feet.

I think that we should have stayed with the old shape of our fins and change the body to a thin body instead. I think this because I think that maybe our fins had to much weight and we also made them a little big. I also think that we added to much tape because my group wanted to make sure that the nose cone would stay on, we put a little too much tape. There were a couple little error that I think we could have fixed but too late now.

I am happy though that we could agree on a lot and we tried to combine everyone’s ideas.I think that we could have done so much better though, but I do think that we tried to change it and we worked hard. It just did not work.

Designing and Building Rocket #2

Posted on October 21, 2019 by smayer27

My group has built our second rocket and I was so excited for the launch and I was very confident that we would win. This launch should possibly be better than the first launch, considering a new design , bit it can worse. My group worked hard on the rocket design and how we built it.

We changed the fin shape from a parallelogram to a triangle and we stayed with a thick body. I feel we should not have changed the fin shape because the last launch went so well that we should have kept the body so there could be a possibility that we do that well again. Besides that it went well. We thought think a thick body will hold more air like it did the first time. My group does not have a ton of patients so sometimes it was hard to work together. But our rocket looked great at the end.The building went fine but our nose cone is a little oddly shaped.

Though I still think that we should not have changed so much. I am still proud of my group because we tried our best to do a new and good design. I think that we could do better but I am still counting on it.

Launching Rocket #1

Posted on October 18, 2019 by smayer27

Today was launch day and I was really nervous that my rocket would not leave the launching machine. My group and I all had job during the launch. Two kids, including me were air pumpers and another kid placed the rocket and the last kid was the countdown master and he also retrieved the rocket. We were all so scared or at least I was and wanted to do our jobs right.

The machine we placed the rocket on was basically a big wooden box that has a pipe inside. Then we put the top on and then we put the launching pipe on. Then the air pumpers (Me and another one of my group members) pump until the needle was at fifty. Next the rocket was placed the rocket on the pipe and the countdown master (Aaron) yelled “ Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.” The rocket placer and retriever (Greta) pressed the launch button and the rocket blasted off into the sky. It went so high I had trouble seeing it.

Next I was a clinometer reader which shows the angle of the rocket. Then we converted the angle of the rocket into meters and then I converted the meters into feet. My group came in second and the feet my group’s rocket went was 139.5 feet. I th8nk our design should stay the same for the next launch because it went so well. I am really happy with the results of the height and I am very proud of myself and my group.

Designing and Building Rocket #1

Posted on October 18, 2019 by smayer27

For the past few weeks I have been doing rocketry with my group the Astros. It has been a big process that starts with brainstorming and at the end launching.There is a lot in the middle of that and it is long but fun. When you think of rocketry, you will probably think that it is all fun and you get everything your way, you are absolutely wrong. The first step in rocketry is brainstorming. During the first step we have to make a google doc and write down facts such as Newton’s Three Laws,Lift, Drag Thrust and Weight, Aerodynamics and Friction. We also put images and diagrams of launches, space shuttles and rockets. This lead to an inspiration board.

Finally we are ready to build our rockets. First we molded a body. We had a choice between a thick or thin body, my group choice the thick body because we think it will hold more air to make the rocket go higher. Next what we did was we made fins for the rocket, we did parallelograms for fins and we did three fins. We chose the number three because it will stabilize the rocket without much weight. The last step to building the rocket is the nose cone and it has to be very pointy. Without the nose cone the rocket will not get off the launch pad, so what we did is we hot glued the nose cone on the body and then we taped it on.

We are always careful about the weight, balance and anything that will bring the rocket down. We had to be cautious that the body is not too tight or lose because it won’t slip on to the pipe that you place the rocket on to launch with ease, if it is to lose and it slips on with ease air will come out the bottom and it won’t fly. If there is too much weight well then of course it won’t go high, also if there is not balance it won’t fly either.

You always have to be careful about all of these hazards and I hope my groups knowledge helps my group’s rocket go the highest. You also have a lot of compromising with your group to do and it is a lot of arguing in my opinion, but then you finally find a way to compromise your rocket turns out the way everyone wants it and it has everyone’s ideas and it really looks amazing. The rocket launch is going to be really cool and I am one hundred percent sure that my group is going to have a great time.

Plant Blog Post 2

Posted on June 7, 2018 by smayer27

In science we have been doing a project about plants. I will be telling you about my plants.

I will first tell you about my controlled plant. My controlled plant looks healthy with only a few yellow leaves but mostly green. Today the biggest plant was 11cm and the smallest plant was 5 cm. On my controlled there are some big leaves which have a smooth feel and some small leaves which have a rough feel. My controlled has been growing slowly but it is ok. There are little yellow flowers. It has grown pretty tall since the start.

My manipulated plant is dying slowly. The color is green with more yellow leaves than usual. The biggest plant is 8cm. The smallest plant is 5cm. The plant droops a lot. At the start it was doing well, until we added fertilizer. There are little yellow flowers. The are still little buds.

My controlled is doing well because it has the right amount of fertilizer My manipulated is probably not doing well because it does not the perfect amount of fertilizer.

Plant Blog Post 1

Posted on June 1, 2018 by smayer27

In science we are doing a plant project. My group and I had to think of a question. When we thought of it we would do it on one of our plants. Our question was what would happen if we add fertilizer? We also made a hypothesis and mine was ‘’it might stop growing and the leaves will turn brown because once I spilled to much food in my fish tank and the two of the fish died, so maybe it would be the same for the plant.’’ There are two plants that we have, they are controlled and manipulated. Controlled has water, air, sunlight , soil and fertilizer. My manipulated one has everything but more fertilizer. So we are manipulating the soil.

After the first week I am noticing that the plants are growing and that they seem to be doing well. The color is green. The controlled is doing a bit better than the manipulated because it is more upright. The soil is very moist from watering it. There are some little leaves and some big. The bigger leaves are smooth and the small are ruff. I noticed that the manipulated is not looking great. I wonder why and if my prediction is right.

Maglev Train Final Design

Posted on May 10, 2018 by smayer27

For our maglev train we used six strip magnets. We three one the train and three on the track. We new that the more the magnets the better the magnetic field and that would help more marbles stay on the train. So we put three magnets on the train and track instead of two.

What failed was a lot of magnet stacked on top of each other because it made a gap witch attracted the magnets on the train. What we learned was don’t stack magnets on top of each other and be careful where you put them. What we did about this failure was we took four magnets of.

What we learned about the engineering design process was you can almost never succeed on your first try. It is very frustrating. I also learned think before you do something. Working with partners are easier than working alone. Working with them is also fun. It is good to connect your idea and there’s. It’s being a good partner when you encourage them.

Reflection Day One

Posted on May 8, 2018 by smayer27

A maglev train is a train that levitates with magnets that repel. The train goes fast because it has less friction. The poles repel when north and north or south and south face each other. For the track and train we put strip magnets on the train and the track.

What failed on Friday was the magnets were overlapping and that the magnets were in the wrong places. That kept the train from levitating.

My group is very helpful and nice when we were working. They were especially good at filling me in.

These are some people in my group.

Technology is …

Posted on April 26, 2018 by smayer27

What makes something technology? I think technology is something that solves a problem. Like a basket helps you carry something.

My object is technology because it helps you. It is also man made. If something is man made and solves a problem it is technology. It is like a better version of just looking with your eyes.

My object helps you see thing closer. Imagine seeing a cool ant, you feel ”Oh” I want to see it closely, that’s when you need a magnifying glass.

My object makes life easier because it is small so you can carry it instead of a huge microscope. If it is small it can have more then one lens so you can see different size objects.

My object improved on a microscope. Microscopes are to big and don’t make any sense to use if you have a small magnifying glass.

smayer27

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