After our four day weekend we returned to find that both of our bridges had completely dried so it was only a matter of choosing which we would like to use for the bridge test. We chose to go with the bridge that had a beam on both ends but ended up getting disqualified even though when we first created the bridge we were told otherwise but that's ok.
Today we worked on a new Wednesday challenge which had us be put in new groups so that we could all work together to solve and write a solution that included the addition of a device that could tell whether or not there was a cat or a dog in said box without harming the animal in any shape, way or fashion. I was assignedto a group with Tyler, Elizabeth and Will though I was hoping to be assigned with other students in today's Wednesday challenge. cat and dog Wednesday Challenge Form
Returning after a relatively easy day Mr.Miller informed us all (including the "veterans") that he was going to take some time out of his weekend to grade our websites. We are going to be graded on three components. 1)Content = 60% of grade. 2)Style = 20% of grade. 3)Mechanics = 20% of grade. Thankfully I wasn't one of the students who was scrabbling to catch up to get a good grade.
As a pattern begins to appear on Fridays of each week Mr.Wilton came to visit us but mainly supervise/analyze the work in process of our JPL as they have implemented the rules into the creation of their future winner projects. An idea that really stood out to me in the total of 5 proposals was the Kevin Arm because it combined gravity and the centripetal force to keep the water and fish in it's desired location until dumped into said funnel leading to the receiver.
This week we began learning how to use sketchup by creating our own cities out of rectangular blocks lowering and raising them according to either make the buildings longer by width or by vertical height and also being able to manipulate the blocks color and material. I began by laying out a city layout with just rectangles then I just had to raise the block at my will to match the image of it in my head and at the end add color to each of separate buildings.
Tuesday was literally a continuation of Yesterday except today we learned how to input measurements for a desired shape or object to smooth out the long and extremely process of getting the exact measurement on said shape or object. We all grabbed a jenga block and ruler to measure each of the sides of our jenga block then input the measurements into google sketch up and then input more measurements that belong to two different blocks so we could get more practice with the measurement system.
Wednesday our Wednesday challenge day once again split us up into several groups that again secluded my friend and I from one another but luckily I was in a group full of familiar faces that included; John, Evan, Rohin and another student who was our "veteran" whose name I forget. The challenge of the day was to measure then cut a piece of wood to exactly two inches and in our approach we cut really fast to be as precise as possible but cut too short.
Today we continued our work on the wednesday challenge with a new block but took a completely different approach to better our final product. So the second time we cut slowly and ahead of the two inch line then sanded a lot to get the edges down and in doing so we got four edges in a hundredth of an inch of each other. Today my group and the whole class learned three components of work; consistency, precision, and teamwork.
That Friday we were given a presentation on the "veterans" prototypes lead by each of the tree team lead builders who presented their ideas and hopes along with a time frame for the upcoming weeks leading up to the competition at JPL where they will be accompanied by Mr.Wilton. Though we were unable to physically see the prototypes we were given a representation of them in the handy Google Sketchup.
To start of the week of the 19th Dr.Neato took the "veterans" to the shop area and Mr.Miller showed us how to accept our invitations to our safety course. For some reason I wasn't receiving the invitation through email so Mr.Miller and I attempted to find a solution for the email difficulties.
The next day we were instructed to measure three pieces of "perfectly" cut wood blocks also known as jenga blocks. After measuring the jenga blocks we were told to then create a structure with the three blocks on google sketch up.
Wednesday which is our Wednesday challenge day started off with the class being split in half into teams. Our challenge was to transport a marble from one side to another with half a piece of tubing with everyone holding a piece at some time during the challenge.
The next day we were again separated but from rookies to "veterans" so that they could work on their JPL project. For us we were able to update our websites while Alex S. taught us how to add a youtube video which is a few entries above.
On Friday we were joined by Mr.Wilton who first watched with the class as the "veterans" presented their inventions. Mr.Wilton then proceeded to constructively critique with Dr.Neato to help improve their inventions with no sense of favorites.
On returning to school on Monday we reviewed our grades for the quarter and showed us how he graded our websites with the guidance of the rubric. I received a 40% due to the fact that my website was forbidden meaning that no one including me was able to view this website on the world wide web.
The next day we began with watching a video about the SpaceX explosion with a scientific professor guiding us through the entire video attempting to give us some personal insight into the sudden failure of the rocket. Someone once again took my computer hostage so I sulked for a good 30 minutes until it's capturer set it free for my use so that I could add all of this wonderful information.
Today was our next wednesday challenge which included the class being placed into several groups of four which for me included the following persons; Justin, Sofia and Monty. Our challenge this week was create a arch bridge that was larger than the material used to build it in a ratio. Here are the rules Arch Bridge Competition Rules
Thursday I was unable to make it to class because I'm on the CVHS freshman team and we had to leave early so that we could make it on time to Palmdale to play and be punctual. We ended up beating them 28-8 with us leading them the entire the game thanks to successful run plays and long yard gains from our very athletic receivers whom don't always "receive" the credit they deserve for amazing blocks and catches.
Finally it's the last day of school (for the week) with a good time to wind down during 5th period with the very intellectual Mr.Wilton who was here again to check up on the "veterans". Though I spent most of the time fixing an error in my website but also listened in on the disagreements that the JPL group had with Mr.Wilton as they progressed in their endeavor to win the JPL challenge.