What was this project?
Shortly following our last STEM project, the rest of our school year was completely upended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This forced school online and everyone into our homes. Despite this, our STEM education carried on with a study into energy transfers. For this unit's project, we were tasked with putting together what we had learned into some media that emphasized a specific device. My group (consisting of myself, Derek Dela Cruz, and James Wreden) decided to focus on nuclear energy, with our device being Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Glen Rose, Texas. Our report on nuclear energy was split into four sections: the history of the energy form, the power plant itself, the pros and cons of nuclear energy, and the chemistry behind it. We worked on the entire project remotely, using the application Discord to communicate and share ideas.This web page includes our report (which doubles as the content section), the lab writeup from a lab this unit dealing with makeshift food batteries, and my reflection.
Our Report:
Lemon Lab Write-up:
Reflection:
One thing that went well during this project was our collaboration as a team. Aside from a few minor disagreements, our team was able to agree on most things and didn't have any detrimental hiccups. An example of this is how we were able to rally around nuclear energy as our topic of choice without any major trouble. Another thing my team did well in for this project was our commitment to this project. Initially, our project was missing some of the components that Mrs. Vogl required. At this point in the year, grades were set in stone and we could have easily walked away from fixing this project when Mrs. Vogl pointed out our shortcomings. Instead, we didn't want to abandon our STEM education and worked together to bring it up to a more acceptable standard.
A shortcoming for me in this project was that I didn't quite achieve the standard of quality I usually strive for in my STEM projects. This was mostly due to the COVID situation, burnout from the end of the year, and the pressure of AP exams. However, this still doesn't excuse myself from not putting in the appropriate effort and is something I will be trying not to repeat. This is exemplified by the fact my group initially missed aspects of the project. Related to the first point, as a group we could have done more to make our project stand out. Our report is fairly bland and to the point and could have greatly benefited from some more extra excitement. The reason our project was so bland is mostly related to the first point. This is something I usually strive for in STEM projects and something I will try for moving forward.
A shortcoming for me in this project was that I didn't quite achieve the standard of quality I usually strive for in my STEM projects. This was mostly due to the COVID situation, burnout from the end of the year, and the pressure of AP exams. However, this still doesn't excuse myself from not putting in the appropriate effort and is something I will be trying not to repeat. This is exemplified by the fact my group initially missed aspects of the project. Related to the first point, as a group we could have done more to make our project stand out. Our report is fairly bland and to the point and could have greatly benefited from some more extra excitement. The reason our project was so bland is mostly related to the first point. This is something I usually strive for in STEM projects and something I will try for moving forward.