Into the Wild (Physics)
Soda Can Stove:
Making my Soda Can Stove, I learned about how to make a portable stove, and how to use a utility knife properly. I think that the end result (my stove) came out really well, as it cooked my food without exploding or setting anything on fire. I also think that making it was a lot of fun. I experienced the right amount of mistakes to teach me how to cut/drill/poke/fit/make it properly, but I also made a really good and functional end product. An obstacle that I faced in making this was not being able to fit the top and botton pieces together. I eventually figured out, though, that the top pieces that I was making were too small. If I could redo this part of the project, I would have made a better pot holder, as mine didn't work.
Making my Soda Can Stove, I learned about how to make a portable stove, and how to use a utility knife properly. I think that the end result (my stove) came out really well, as it cooked my food without exploding or setting anything on fire. I also think that making it was a lot of fun. I experienced the right amount of mistakes to teach me how to cut/drill/poke/fit/make it properly, but I also made a really good and functional end product. An obstacle that I faced in making this was not being able to fit the top and botton pieces together. I eventually figured out, though, that the top pieces that I was making were too small. If I could redo this part of the project, I would have made a better pot holder, as mine didn't work.
Mint Tin Headlamp:
By creating my Mint Tin Headlamp, I learned a lot about how to do (and not do) basic electrical wiring, the distance between positive and negative wires, and a bit about L.E.Ds as well. Something I enjoyed while making this headlamp was learning the electrical wiring. A few obstacles that I encountered were losing my mint tin and not getting another one until the day before the camping trip (therefore starting late), and at one point, not knowing what was wrong with it. What I could have done to overcome the second obstacle was use the internet and my friends as more of a resource. If I had the chance to redo this portion of the project, I would have started earlier so that I could get feedback from Mr. Vetter, and my peers.
By creating my Mint Tin Headlamp, I learned a lot about how to do (and not do) basic electrical wiring, the distance between positive and negative wires, and a bit about L.E.Ds as well. Something I enjoyed while making this headlamp was learning the electrical wiring. A few obstacles that I encountered were losing my mint tin and not getting another one until the day before the camping trip (therefore starting late), and at one point, not knowing what was wrong with it. What I could have done to overcome the second obstacle was use the internet and my friends as more of a resource. If I had the chance to redo this portion of the project, I would have started earlier so that I could get feedback from Mr. Vetter, and my peers.
Solar Oven:
Making this, I learned about how solar ovens work, and how to make them. By working in a team, I learned about how to get people who aren't really working very hard to help out more. A good thing that happened was that we were all optimistic even when our solar oven didn't work. Some obstacles that we faced were that our solar cooker was very flimsy, and our meal (bacon pancakes) was very difficult to make. We were not able to overcome these challenges, but some things we could have done were research more, and had more foresight with our meal. If I could redo this project, I would do the above mentioned things to prevent the faliure that happened.
Making this, I learned about how solar ovens work, and how to make them. By working in a team, I learned about how to get people who aren't really working very hard to help out more. A good thing that happened was that we were all optimistic even when our solar oven didn't work. Some obstacles that we faced were that our solar cooker was very flimsy, and our meal (bacon pancakes) was very difficult to make. We were not able to overcome these challenges, but some things we could have done were research more, and had more foresight with our meal. If I could redo this project, I would do the above mentioned things to prevent the faliure that happened.