Project Incredible is aimed to teach one concept of mechanical, civil, chemical, and electrical engineering through four rotating activities. It is important to research similar projects that have been done in the past in order to ensure there is no plagiarism of any project. It is also valuable to consider how these projects can be adapted and innovated. Build a Roller Coaster Dash’s station will teach the students about mechanical engineering and transforming potential energy to kinetic energy. The planned project is a spring and marble drop activity. In one of the scenes from The Incredibles, Dash must run a long horizontal distance to catch Violet from falling and hitting the ground. This activity will replicate that scene with marbles representing the characters. Students must configure a plan to ensure Dash’s marble travels at the right velocity to catch Violet’s marble from different falling heights. There have been previous projects that incorporate similar principles. One titled Build a Roller Coaster from the American Society for Engineering Education uses foam tubing as rails for a marble to travel through, an example can be seen in Fig XXX [eGFI, website]. Although the source is sponsored by ASEE, there …show more content…
should be some caution because the article itself is not peer reviewed. Fig.
XXX: A foam tube roller coaster track that illustrates the possibilities of roller coaster design [eGFI, website]. For this project, students are tasked with creating a design of a roller coaster and explaining the relationship between kinetic and potential energy. This project is successful because there are endless possibilities to how students can design their own tracks with loops, twist, and turns. To improve, the winner of the most elaborate design could receive a small prize, such as candy, as an incentive to foster creativity. Project Incredible intends on using springs and marbles to provide a deeper understanding of kinetic and potential energy while using The Incredibles to bring out the interest of the students. Kitchen
Chemistry For Frozone’s station, the goal is to teach the students about chemical engineering and the transfer of energy through heat. They will learn this principle by shaking a bag of ice cream ingredients inside of another bag with rock salt and ice. As their hands transfer heat to the ice, it will melt, causing the temperature to decrease. This experiment is common among teachers, one very similar to Project Incredible is titled Kitchen Chemistry which uses kosher salt, ice, and shaking of the ice cream in a ziploc bag to freeze the ice cream [Young Scientist Lab, website]. Although Discovery Education sponsors the Young Scientist Lab website, it should be viewed with caution since it is not a peer reviewed lab procedure. Kitchen Chemistry is successful because it explains the transfer of heat in simple terms for a fourth grade class to understand and it offers ice cream as an incentive to complete the activity. Project Incredible will improve on Kitchen Chemistry by adding more context as to how heat transfer is related to chemical engineering and comparing how different amounts of salt can change the ice cream production. Magnet Magic For Violet’s station, there will be an activity that will help students understand magnetic fields and how they relate to electrical engineering. Violets station is based off of another project titled Magnet Magic. This project teaches students the repulsion and attractive forces of magnets by experimenting with a hanging donut magnet and how it interact with nearby magnets when they take different positions, Fig. XXX illustrates and aerial view of this project [Babble Dabble Doo, website]. This source of Magnet Magic is a blog and should be taken with high caution. Fig. XXX: An aerial view of Magnet Magic’s set up demonstrating a possible position for the magnets to be set up [Babble Dabble Doo, website]. This project is notable because of its simplicity, the students observe how the central magnet reacts when another one is moved. However, this project is too simple to be a stand-alone activity. Project Incredible will build on the concepts of magnetic fields by having the students test how iron fillings interact with magnets in order to visualize and map the magnetic field. Also, the activity will tie into electrical engineering and magnetic levitated trains. Strength in Numbers The final station is based on Edna and will examine the material properties of various foods to civil engineering. Students will be tasked, just as Edna is in the movie, to design a superhero cape using food to represent actual fabrics and materials. Their designs will depend on the strength and elasticity of the materials which they will analyze using engineering principles such as compressive and tensile forces. Strength in Numbers is a similar project that uses spaghetti to teach compressive forces, Fig. XXX illustrates the setting [Scientific America, website]. This article was published in Scientific American, which is a popular science magazine, but should be taken with caution as it is not a peer reviewed article. Fig. XXX: The set-up for Strength in Numbers, demonstrating the force on the spaghetti on the middle of the strand In Strength by Numbers, students hang different weights on varying amounts of spaghetti strands that are placed over a gap between tables. This experiment is successful because it is interactive and engaging for the students as they can see the weights snapping individual spaghetti strands. It can be improved by adding different food-related products, such as gummy worms and pretzel sticks, to the test each of their properties. Project Incredible’s activity differs by adding more materials to conduct tests and strength, elasticity, and brittleness. Summary There was no one project that had all components similar to that of Project Incredible, but the individual activities at each station have been implemented before. Where other projects only teach an engineering principle, Project Incredible intends on showing the applications of that principle to an engineering field. Table 1 describes the differences in stations and compares the ease of set-up, whether or not the project has an interesting theme, if it meets the curriculum standards, if the project is applied to a field of engineering, and if food is used as an incentive Table 1: A comparison of Project Incredible to the researched projects determining that Project Incredible improves on previous projects. It it important to present the applications of engineering principles to create further interest for the students in these activities. Engineers are responsible for being role models to the future generation of engineers. Without engineers’ involvements in the education system, there would be a lack of students choosing the engineering path. The relationship between engineering and education is symbiotic, engineers require education to gain the knowledge needed to work in their respective fields.
In this experiment we positioned a marble ball on a wooden roller coaster positioned on a physics stand in the sixth hole. Throughout the experiment, we used an electronic timer to record the time of the marble where it passed through the light beam of its clamp. We positioned the clamp at a certain point on the roller coaster and measured the distance from the marble to the clamp; the height of the clamp; and finally the time the ball traveled through the clamp. After we recorded these different figures we calculated the speed of the marble from the given distance traveled and the time. We repeated the step 14 times, then proceeded to graph the speed and the height. Next, we took the measurements of position of the clamp, height, and speed and calculated the potential energy, the kinetic energy, and the total energy. Total energy calculated as mentioned before. Potential energy is taking the mass (m) which is 28.1g times gravity (g) which is 9.8 m/s2 times the height. Kinetic energy is one-half times the mass (m) times velocity (v2). Finally we graphed the calculated kinetic, potential, and total energies of this experiment.
The Purpose of our Mouse Trap Car project was to find a way to use what we have learned from Physics and Newton's laws to make a mousetrap powered car. We had a goal to create a car out of material you already had that goes 3 or more meters across the room. We had to find a way to get all the parts and build it with nothing but glue and tape and whatever you had in you house. This challenged involved many aspects such as building/engineering, time management, focus, and most importantly science.
Ever wondered how roller coasters work? It’s not with an engine! Roller coasters rely on a motorized chain and a series of phenomena to keep them going. Phenomena are situations or facts that have been observed and proven to exist. A few types of phenomena that help rollercoasters are gravity, kinetic and potential energy, and inertia. Gravity pulls roller coasters along the track as they’re going downhill. Potential and kinetic energy help rollercoasters to ascend hills and gain enough momentum to descend them and finish the track. Inertia keeps passengers pressed towards the outside of a loop-the-loop and in their seat. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, and inertia are three types of phenomena that can be observed by watching roller
Two important, mighty Asian empires in history are the Ottoman Empire and the Ming China. These two empires are in totally different areas of Asia – the Ottomans were in the very west, the Chinese were in the oriental east. Therefore, these two empires, naturally, formed completely different cultures. However, surprisingly, these empires had many parts in common as well. The Ottoman Empire and the Ming Dynasty had both many different and distinct parts, as well as many similarities.
“How about we use a pulley system with a weight at the end to push the car forward?” my team member suggested. “Or we could use a hammer launcher,” I proposed. We went back and forth, contemplating different methods. We faced trials, tribulations, and troubles in the design process. Building and perfecting our designs took weeks, but our coach guided us throughout the process and encouraged us to “Never give up!” We researched the effects of different factors that could potentially come in the way of our success and analyzed all of the device possibilities. Even when research got arduous and we couldn’t agree on something, we never gave up on our dream of placing in the regional competition. This was one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced in my Science Olympiad career, but our unfaltering dedication and our belief in success helped us persist in the face of setbacks. Once we finished our plan, we began to build the device. It was exhilarating to see our plan come to
Foam rollers are made of cylindrical type of equipment used in both physical therapy and exercise.
“Even though roller coasters propel you through the air, shoot you through tunnels, and zip you down and around many hills and loops, they are quite safe and can prove to be a great way to get scared, feel that sinking feeling in your stomach, and still come out of it wanting to do it all over again (1).” Thanks to the manipulation of gravitational and centripetal forces humans have created one of the most exhilarating attractions. Even though new roller coasters are created continuously in the hope to create breathtaking and terrifying thrills, the fundamental principles of physics remain the same. A roller coaster consists of connected cars that move on tracks due to gravity and momentum. Believe it or not, an engine is not required for most of the ride. The only power source needed is used to get to the top first hill in order to obtain a powerful launch. Physics plays a huge part in the function of roller coasters. Gravity, potential and kinetic energy, centripetal forces, conservation of energy, friction, and acceleration are some of the concepts included.
Roller coasters come in all sizes and configurations. Roller coasters are designed to be intense machines that get the riders’ adrenaline pumping. Ever since my first roller coaster ride, I knew I was hooked. I cannot get enough of the thrilling sensation caused by these works of engineering. When people board these rides, they put their faith in the engineers who designed the rides and the people who maintain and operate the rides. In this paper, I will bring to your attention a specific instance when the operation of one of these coasters came into question and led to a very tragic incident. From this, I will look into the events leading up to the incident and evaluate the decisions made by the people involved.
The simple machines we used are wheel and axle, 2 pulleys, multiple inclined plane, and a screw. The device progress’ through the following step: 1. A marble triggers a mousetrap, releasing a peg stuck on a peg board. 2. The peg detaches from the pegboard, releasing a marble. 3. The marble progresses down a marble run going through a wheel and axle. 4. The marble then drops down a small tube, encountering a screw in which it circles around. 5. The marble drops down another small tube, landing in a pulley in which the other end of the pulley goes up triggering a marble to be detached from a groove in a piece of wood. 6. The marble is triggered and rolls down a hot wheels ramp, down an incline plane with dowel rods guiding it in a zigzag motion eventually being tunneled into a wheel and axle with a detached ramp. 7. The ramp (or inclined plane) is pushed down (since it 's tied to a wheel and axle) by a marble which causes it to fall down onto another inclined plane. 8. The marble rolls down the hot wheel track guided in a zigzag motion. 9. The marble falls onto another ramp, rolls down the ramp and is slowed by a piece of tape.
Not far from the opening gate, I glanced at the first ride I was going to experience, the Cork Screw. The whole entire family was going to ride on the rollercoaster, even my sister Alissa who is terrified of coasters. As I walked up the narrow path that led to the Cork Screw, I could see that there was a large number of people waiting to get onto the ride. While waiting patiently to board the coaster, I gazed up in awe at the Cork Screw, one of the newer roller coasters, which sparkled high above our heads. Twirling hoops and loops were the main attraction of this roller coaster.
I made a cube like structure out of Popsicle sticks that was nice and firm. I cut out the corner of the Ziploc bag and tied it to some string and tied the string to the Popsicle sticks. I took more Popsicle sticks and made edges to hold up the cube. I made my finally touches by making the parachute and putting it on the cube. The parachute was made of a Walmart bag that I cut the handles off of and tied some string to it. I rapped the string around the four sides of the Popsicle sticks. I took
Landis, Raymond B. Studying Engineering: A Road Map to a Rewarding Career. Los Angeles, CA: Discovery, 2013. Print.
The project that Deadpool, Nemo and I chose was to work with the Center for Children and Families Inc. (CCFI) to host an after-school engineering event for the children in this program. The objective of our project was to reach out to local children and inspire an engineering mindset in the next generation. To accomplish this task, we initially started by contacting Oklahoma University’s SEED (Sooner Engineering Education Department) to receive training and instruction for the ping pong ball launcher project. After receiving training from Olivia Blount, we made arrangements with Tayler Taliaferro, a representative for The Boys and Girls Club Norman, to meet and discuss the implementation of the project. Both our group and The Boys
Once at the top, the roller coaster has enough potential energy to make it back to the loading station. The roller coaster uses its stored potential energy and converts it into kinetic energy to carry the car throughout the track. Further examining the wheels on a rollercoaster, the wheels operate under circular motion, and roll without slipping. Looking at figure (3), we can further examine rolling motion.
Amusement parks are by far one of the most thrilling places on earth. As you wait in a long line to get in park, you can hear numerous kids, adults, and tourist shouting off the top of their lungs due to a tremendous jaw-dropping drop on their beloved roller coasters.