Why Are These Two Projects Are On The Same Page?
Our next two STEM assignments, Robot Art Show and Power Novato, are both on this webpage. Robot Art Show is a mini music show accomplished through coding. Power Novato is an assignment that entails making a self sustaining micro grid for San Marin High School. One of the reasons these two projects are on the same page is because they were done in the same time frame, we started work on Power Novato first, then did Robot Art Show, and came back to finish Power Novato. Another reason is that we had the same group for both endeavors, my group consisted of myself, Ashley Leonard, and Gigi Zarrehparvar. Hope you enjoy the journey through these two fascinating projects.
What Was The Robot Art Show Project?
As we use more and more electronic devices in our everyday lives, coding is also becoming increasingly important. So, for our next STEM project we dived into the basics of coding and how we can use it to activate so many things, ranging from songs to putting words on a screen. In the Robot Art Show assignment, we had to use the Ardunio coding platform to make a show that would play or play with a song and have effects to accompany the song. We started off this project by learning some important (more on this on in the context section). We then did experiments by building and testing circuits using a breadboard, which culminated in us making a circuit that would make a light blink. We then moved to using the Ardunio program and kit and did several tests to learn all the key aspects of the code and kit. After this we got to work on crafting our final product. We decided on doing the song "Last Christmas" by Wham. We also put a Christmas light show along with it. In this website you will find a video and pictures of our show, a copy of our code, key concepts for this unit, and a reflection of my work on this project and the Power Novato.
Our Final Product:
Our Code:
In the code, you will find notes that explain the purpose of each line of code. If a command is repeated, it will only be explained once.
What Was The Power Novato Project?
This next assignment is all about producing energy and using it to power our everyday lives. To start this off, we looked wind energy. We had to create the most effective wind turbine propeller. We took all the information we learned about the different turbines and presented it to the class. We then had to do a lab where we experiment on a different aspect of an electromagnet. We decided to see what would happen when we used various cores for it. After doing our Robot Art Show project, we visited a micro grid farm in Sonoma. This gave us an idea of how a micro grid works and what you need for it to work. We then planned out a micro grid to power San Marin High School. Below, you can find our electromagnet lab write up and our micro grid plan slide show.
Electromagnetic Lab Write-Up:
Concepts In This Project:
Coulomb's Law- This is the relationship between charges that find the forces of attraction and repulsion. The unit used to show this are Newtons and Coulombs. We used this thought the project as it applies to many aspects of this project.
Circuit- A full loop containing conductive material that joins the positive and negative ends of a power source. We built circuits on our breadboards and Ardunio board.
Voltage- The difference in potential energy from two different sides of a component; the "push" of a circuit. The equation for it is voltage=current(resistance). The unit for this are volts (v). We used a circuit's voltage to find what the other aspects such as current and resistance.
Current- This is the "flow" of the charge in a circuit, remaining the same thought the entire circuit. The equation for it is current=voltage/resistance. The units are amps.
Resistance- The amount of resistance towards the current, the amount "slowed". It is split up in a series. The equation is resistance total= resistance 1 + resistance 2 + resistance 3, etc. The amount of resistance you add depends of how many resistors you have in the circuit. The unit is olms.
Series Circuit- A circuit in which resistors and/or components are in one single loop.
Parallel Circuit- A circuit where resistors and/or components are on separate paths that all connect back to a power source.
Power- The rate of electrical energy being transferred by a circuit. The equation is power=coulomb+resistance and is measured in watts.
Circuit- A full loop containing conductive material that joins the positive and negative ends of a power source. We built circuits on our breadboards and Ardunio board.
Voltage- The difference in potential energy from two different sides of a component; the "push" of a circuit. The equation for it is voltage=current(resistance). The unit for this are volts (v). We used a circuit's voltage to find what the other aspects such as current and resistance.
Current- This is the "flow" of the charge in a circuit, remaining the same thought the entire circuit. The equation for it is current=voltage/resistance. The units are amps.
Resistance- The amount of resistance towards the current, the amount "slowed". It is split up in a series. The equation is resistance total= resistance 1 + resistance 2 + resistance 3, etc. The amount of resistance you add depends of how many resistors you have in the circuit. The unit is olms.
Series Circuit- A circuit in which resistors and/or components are in one single loop.
Parallel Circuit- A circuit where resistors and/or components are on separate paths that all connect back to a power source.
Power- The rate of electrical energy being transferred by a circuit. The equation is power=coulomb+resistance and is measured in watts.
Reflection:
is These two projects, I feel went overall pretty alright. I think to start off, the things I succeeded in. For the both projects, especially Power Novato, my team had good communication skills. A good example of this is when we worked on the designing our grid at the end of the project. Throughout this, members of our group were absent, and when this happened we still communicated and worked with each other on this project. Something I personally did well on in this project was my persistence. When I struggled through some of the coding, I tried my best to get through it. These, I feel are my strengths for the projects.
Now, on to some of the weaker aspects of my performance. Firstly, during the Robot Art Show, I think my group wasn't as effective as it could have been. We spent a lot of time trying to do the initial breadboard testing, and had to spend a nice bit of time catching up and didn't get to do all we wanted to do with the final product. Another thing I could have done better was my understanding of the material. Some aspects we studied, it took me awhile to understand them, and some aspects I've yet to fully understand.
Now, on to some of the weaker aspects of my performance. Firstly, during the Robot Art Show, I think my group wasn't as effective as it could have been. We spent a lot of time trying to do the initial breadboard testing, and had to spend a nice bit of time catching up and didn't get to do all we wanted to do with the final product. Another thing I could have done better was my understanding of the material. Some aspects we studied, it took me awhile to understand them, and some aspects I've yet to fully understand.