Science 9 Engineering Task

ClaireScience 9

#1 Design & Inquire

The product I am aiming to make in this project is an automatic sanitizer dispenser. It can be used for restaurants and shops where customers should sanitize before entering, especially during COVID. The automatic dispenser detects motion and does not require any physical contact, so it would help to prevent diseases from spreading.

Environmental Impacts

This product would not create harmful impacts on the environment. It would be

1) using less materials as much as possible

2) reusable & durable

Design Precedents

Looking through the design precedents, I wanted to explore with water pumps that were used in water dispensers and vending machines. I found out that the water pumps worked with levers, switches, and buttons. Pressing the lever/switch/button started the electrical energy to make the pump work and water could be pumped up.

To make my design original, I decided to use a motion sensor that detects motion. Instead of using a switch or a lever, the sensor would detect a motion and start the pump automatically.

#2 Develop & Plan

Model

#1 Front View #2 Bird’s Eye View

When a hand is placed under the sensor, the sensor would trigger the chemical energy stored in the battery to be converted into electrical energy. The electrical energy then travels through the wires and allows the DC pump to work, electrical energy converting into kinetic energy.

My plan is to connect the sensor to the water pump that would let out the rubbing alcohol through a tubing. The resistor helps to ensure the components to receive proper voltage by controlling the flow of currents in the circuit. The transistor is for amplifying the signal.

Materials Needed:

  • DC water pump (1)
  • aquarium tubing (30cm)
  • motion sensor (1)
  • TIP32C PNP Transistor (1)
  • 1k resistor (1)
  • wires (0r an alligator clip) (1)
  • battery + holder (2 + 1)
  • glass jar (20cm)
  • sanitizer (400ml)
  • cardboard (10*10*20)

 

Success Criteria

(1) The sensor is able to detect the motion of hand under it, making the pump to work. (does not require physical touch)

(2) The pump can pump up the sanitizer.

(3) It is reusable & durable.

(4) It is usable, suitable to be used in real life (for restaurants and shopping malls).

(5) Convert electrical energy into kinetic energy.

The expectation I have for this design is the sensor properly detecting the hand motion so it is helpful during the COVID situation when a lot of people touching a same thing might increase the possibility of infection. The most important thing could be the motor being able to pump up the sanitizer, but I hope the sensor could start the pump to work.

#3 Create & Improve

The first week at the design lab, I looked for the materials I needed to use for this project. However, the DC water pump, PIR sensor, and the transistor I needed for this experiment were unavailable. So, I ordered those materials, but still looked for ways to replace some of the materials or reduce some.

After some research, an alternative option I came up with was making a water pump with a DC motor (that was available in school). A 9V battery that is connected to a switch and a DC motor provides electrical energy, which is converted into kinetic energy when the switch is turned on. Then, the propeller that is connected to the motor allows the water to be pumped up through the pvc tube. ⬇

However, this idea was not used because

1) This device had no specific purpose, for no specific audience.

2) It was too simple and easy to make.

3) The motor was not strong enough to pump up the water.

On the second week, all the materials I needed were here, so I could start on making an (rubbing) alcohol dispenser. I first put all the materials together following the wiring diagram. ⬇

Prototype

The challenge for me in this process was finding the correct in/outputs and connecting the wires together, since it was first time working with so many wires and complicated wiring system.

After trying out the prototype with water, some strengths I found were that the sensor could detect motion and the battery supplied enough energy for the water pump to work. However, some problems (weaknesses) were that the PIR sensor only worked when the hand physically touched it, and the pump did not turn off until there was another touch on it. I realized that this would be an obstacle in achieving my success criteria because my big goal for this project was to make a dispenser that does not require any physical touch. Also, having to touch the sensor again to stop it from pumping out the sanitizer would make it complicated to use it for customers. Moreover, another weakness I found was that the wires that were coiled around were very easy to fall off and disconnect.

Final Design

After I found some problems to fix, I moved on to working on my final design. I firstly disconnected all the wirings and put the components into place. But this time, I soldered all the wires in place so that the wires would not fall off easily. Soldering was very challenging for me since it was the first time trying it and it required very sensitive control of the amount of the metal and time to solder.

Feedback

  1. What can be done to make the design more convenient and usable in real life?
  2. What can be done to achieve your goal of making it reusable & durable?
  3. What can be done to make it better-looking?

⬇

With the feedback I received, I decided to make some changes in my original design, by removing the cardboard that I thought could have made the design better-looking. However, making another layer with cardboard is not competent with my goals to reduce environmental impacts as it would make the design less durable and reusable. It would be harder to refill the sanitizer, and the sanitizer might wet the cardboard.

From the feedback, I realized that the alligator clips are making the design look more complicated and not convenient to use it in real life.

 

Final Product

Unfortunately, the automatic sanitizer dispenser did not work out in the way I expected. My biggest goal for this project was to make a dispenser where there needs no physical touches so it can prevent further infections, but the sensor did not work out this way.

The reason why the sensor did not work properly is unclear but there are two possible reasons: one might be because the sensor or the transistor was damaged from too many trials; the other reason might be the wires were touching each other.

As seen in the video, the pump works when the alligator clip is connected to both the emitter and the collector of the transistor. This shows that there are higher possibility of the sensor not working because the design works when the sensor is not involved.

#4 Reflect & Share

Overall, I am proud of things I learned from this project. Through researching about the circuit, I learned the purpose of PIR sensors, resistors, and transistors, and how the electrical energy from the battery converted into a kinetic energy. Putting the actual materials together allowed me to learn how to connect the wires in correct in/outputs, and also how soldering works. Still, there were some struggles; The transistor was damaged by the alligator clips and the sensor was not working properly.

My biggest regret in this project is that I did not have enough time and materials to develop and fix my design. Although I wanted to make some refinements to my design, I did not have more time to work on it. If I were to do this again next time, I would do these things to achieve my success criteria:

  1. Research more about the circuits so that I could fix it according to the problems I have. (success criteria 1/2)
  2. Research more about the sensors to achieve my goal of not requiring physical touches. (success criteria 1)
  3. Fix the materials in place so it can be used without the parts falling off every time people use it. (success criteria 3/4)
  4. Test with sanitizer. (success criteria 2)
  5. Add visuals. (success criteria 4)

Although I have things to improve on, I think I was somewhat successful since I achieved the goal of converting electrical energy into kinetic energy. This device has a minimal environmental impacts as it does not create any waste product. If this design succeeded to work, the audience of this design project could have used sanitizer without touching it. I think this project was successful even though I had failed to make it work, because it was challenging and I learned so many new skills from it.

Lyrics & Type

ClaireGraphic Design

Exploring the Anatomy of Type:

  1. The baseline of the word HIPHOP is not consistent, and the kerning in the word is adjusted, which shows the various beat in the hiphop music.
  2. The baseline of the first two words of Jazz is the x height of the last two words of it. 
  3. The word POP has counter for all of its letters. 
  4. The stem of the word Classical is very thin.
  5. The baseline of the word TECHNO is tilted diagonally.

Inspirational Padlet:

Made with Padlet

The example with the word “LOVE” inspired me a lot. Looking at the letter “O,” which has a very small counter-space on the top right, I learned that the letter does not have to look like a perfect shape. So, I decided to use my drawing of cherry bomb as a O in my lettering.

Design Process:

1) Song Choices

  • Kick It
    • fast tempo
    • hiphop
    • powerful
    • R&B
  • Work It
    • energetic
    • lively
    • active
  • Cherry Bomb
    • high energy
    • electric
    • fast beat
    • edgy

2) Rough Ideas

I tried many different letterings, with different thickness, height, baselines, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Detailed drafts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Feedback

The three words that my partner thought of was lively, colorful, and energetic. She said I have used colors and shapes, and contrast and movement in my poster. The use of colors and the elements are good, but improve the fonts bit more.

The words on my first draft were only colored in a plain red color. My partner suggested for me to add shadows in the words too, so that the words can look more dynamic. So, I added shadow in my letters and drawings.

after
before

 

 

Finished Design:

I picked lettering instead of type because I thought making my own font could allow me to express how the music actually feels better. This song is an electronic rap song, which consists of fast beat rap and mixed sound of instruments. Through this poster, I wanted to communicate the fast beat and various sound effects with the angular shape in the letters. The cap height of the word “bomb” is higher than the word “cherry” because the song emphasizes “bomb” more than “cherry,” and I wanted to communicate that by adjusting the cap height. One of the design elements I used was colors. Through using different colors and creating shades using deeper colors, I tried to show how the song is active, lively, and energetic. I also tried to use the design principle of movement, by drawing the exploding colors, to express the exploding bomb in the lyrics. PDF here

Design Principle of Movement

ClaireGraphic Design

The role of the design principles is to help the authors to design in a way that the readers view the artwork the way the author intended to.

The purpose of this design task is to communicate and educate the design elements and principles.

Practicing different design elements and principles
Drafts in ProCreate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I illustrated using lines, shapes, colors as I expressed the movement, because I wanted to communicate the principle of movement thoroughly at the same time making it visually appealing.

Process 1. a draft made using ProCreate
Process 2. my work in Affinity Designer

During the process of making this poster, I struggled because I used ProCreate for my rough draft and it was difficult to make similar artwork in Affinity. However, I decided to import my draft to Affinity and copy it using the vector technique. That way, I could use affinity to make my design. Through this I could really explore new techniques and different ways to make a design. The lessons provided me time to fully use the vector technique and play with layers as I was to decide which lines to go over which.

 

 

Draft 1 (choice 1)
Draft 2 (choice 2)

 

Between these two designs, I had to decide which one to be my final product. With my partner, I decided to use the second design because we thought both communicated movement well but the second one could pull the audience’s attention more with its colors.

 

 

 

 

Final Draft

 

Partner Feedback: When my partner looked at my design, he talked about how I used a lot of “lines” and “colors” and how it can confuse to the audience. So, I tried to focus more on the curve and the thickness to really communicate the “movement.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Below is my finished design. PDF here

The Paper Menagerie

ClaireEnglish 9

9/29

In Ken Liu ‘s short story, “The Paper Menagerie,” Jack’s identity changes and develops through the use of symbol, characterization, and actions.

10/12

In Ken Liu’s short story, “The Paper Menagerie,” the first-person point of view reveals how Jack’s opinion towards his mother and her cultural identity changes throughout the plot. In the beginning, Jack spends time with his mom, laughing, startling, and stroking the paper tiger under his finger. The detailed description from Jack’s perspective indicates a very tight relationship between Jack and his mom. However, as Jack enters his teen years, he loses this close connection. He wants to maintain the friendship with his friends who are different from him and decides not to embrace his mother’s culture. Looking at Jack’s thoughts when he looks himself in the mirror, repeating, “I look nothing like her, nothing,” shows how Jack’s mindset towards his mom and her culture is changed. Moreover, when his mom tries to behave like an American, Jack thinks her behaviors are “exaggerated, uncertain, ridiculous, grassless.” Through his perspective, a negative change in Jack’s attitude towards his mom is clearly displayed. In the end, before his mom dies in the hospital, Jack thinks about his “resumes, transcripts, and … interview schedules.” Also, he denies that he knows the Chinese calendar she was talking about, although he describes the Qingming festival. With Jack’s thoughts and feelings present in the story, it becomes clear that Jack is not anymore accepting his mother, who is Chinese. Overall, Jack’s opinion of his mother and his cultural identity changes, clearly shown through his point of view.

Persona Poster

ClaireGraphic Design

This is my padlet with inspirations I looked at in this Unit.

Graphic design is a graphical artwork created to communicate messages.

Me as a designer:

My most memorable experience of designing something was when I first created a poster about my favorite song. It is memorable to me because I’ve never designed something like it ever before creating that piece.

By learning different ways to present an idea, learning how to use various ways of design such as drawing, photo-editing, etc.

I usually like to draw on my iPad.

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This is a piece of a kelloggs logo design that I created using vector technique in affinity designer. Through this practice, I learned how to use vector technique and how to use the tools in affinity.

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This is a picture of one of the earlier stages of my artwork. I used procreate; I had my reference image pop up next to my drawing page and tried to copy the image on the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This is a picture of my artwork in the middle of the process. As I drew, I used different types of brushes to show the different textures for skin, hair, and others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Below is my finished artwork.

Jocelyn’s Journal

ClaireHumanities

Jocelyn is a 18 years old (1770) girl living in Boston with her father. Her father and she came to America to search for a better life where they could become anyone they want. However, she struggles as her opposition against Britain and her father’s loyalty and desire to remain attached to Britain clash. In 1775, Despite her father’s strong opposition, she volunteers as an army nurse during the revolutionary wars. This journal tells about her story throughout the whole American Revolution from 1770 to 1783.

As shown in the journal, various things have changed after the American Revolution. More people were involved in politics, as it gave political power to all the white men who owned property. Out of monarchy, America had a president leading their country, and Britain was no more in control of their laws. Additionally, birth was not destiny anymore: anyone could become anything they wanted to. However, some things remained the same. White, rich men were still in charge. On the contrary, women like Jocelyn had no political power, slaves stayed the same as slaves, and Native Americans even got worse treatment after the Revolution. Although American Revolution had its limits on its results, it is still considered a valuable historical event as it showed people’s power to fight for their liberty.

A Glorious Morning for America

ClaireHumanities

American Revolution Common Craft Video by Claire and Chelsea

 

American Revolution is a valuable historical event that showed the power of people winning the huge battle against the Great Empire. Under the control of Britain, American colonists start to feel unfair and declare their independence from Britain.

Revolutions happen when people wish for a change in certain political power or organization and decide to fight for themselves. Through looking at different revolutions, I learned that revolutions take the form of organized movements that aim at a certain goal. In American Revolution, American colonists had the desire for a system of self-government, which was undoubtedly incapable under Britain’s power. Thus, all 13 colonies of America united together, setting up Continental Congress and Sons of Liberty, and fought for their liberty. Similarly, in Russian Revolution, peasants who felt high suppression under the Tzar gather forces themselves and stand against the Tzar.

Even though the American Revolution might seem not much like a revolution, it was truly ahead of time in its revolutionary ideas. While the Russian Revolution ends up being under the complete control of Lenin, the Americans develop a system of self-government, allowing ordinary people to gain political power.

The Survival Under 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert

ClaireHumanities

Below are my video and writing about the theme and the central ideas from the book “Trapped.”

 

“Trapped” is a book written by Marc Aronson that explains the story of 33 miners trapped under 2,000 feet below in San Jose Mine, Chile. This book describes in detail both above and below the Chilean desert, how the trapped miners survived together and how the process of the rescue went. One theme of this book is that cooperation and teamwork are important for survival.

The trapped miners held each other to not lose hope, and whenever they started losing hope, as a team they cheered up again. In addition, the rescuers were cooperating, too. They really worked together to save the miners not knowing if they are alive or not. Due to this teamwork and supporting one another, all 33 miners were able to be alive until the rescuers reached them, and the rescuers were able to reach them as quickly as possible.

There are two main reasons why you should read this book. First, it is a true accident of trapped miners that we have to recognize and have a think about. Today, many of the employees work in unsafe workplaces (including mining). However, the jobs cannot be stopped because it is an important job that affects our daily life (mining – electricity, fuel). By reading this book, we can realize the situation of the workers and pay more attention to the issues. Second, this book is not only about how the world rescued the miners, but also a story that shows how cooperation is an important key to survival. It is very interesting to read how the trapped miners got together and hold each other to not lose hope and stay alive. It makes the readers to think about the power of cooperation and putting ideas together. Since the end of 2019, coronavirus had spread throughout the world widely. To quickly get out of this Covid19 situation, all of us have to cooperate together. Thinking of our current situation, this book is inspirational and relatable.

One thing I learned in this unit and reading this book was rereading an important part of the book for a deeper understanding of the content and finding the connection with main ideas. Before, I never tried rereading a part even though I did not understand it well, because I thought it was a waste of time. However, now I know that it is an important process that helps me to come up with deeper ideas.

The Boxer Rebellion and the Legation Quarter

ClaireHumanities

The Boxer Rebellion deserved a bad reputation because of the violence they committed against foreign powers. The Rebellion was organized by people who believed in martial arts and magic, who resented foreign powers. The organization first targeted its government, which was Manchu. However, as their government started to support them, the boxers turned their back to the foreigners completely. The boxers did not have a complete and agreed thought, but they had a strong belief that they committed violence and tried to remove foreign powers. They killed foreign missionaries including innocent Chinese Christians. Over 230 people were killed by the boxers and churches and houses of the foreigners were burnt. Additionally, the boxers cut off the telegram of the French post office where every communication in and out of Beijing was passed through. They also blocked the railway at the railway station, and therefore no one could neither enter nor get out of Beijing. This isolated not only people that were a threat to the boxers but also innocent foreigners in the legations and churches. The newspapers reported the death of foreigners in Beijing because they could not communicate with each other. This was blocking the freedom of communication during the business and commerce they were doing in China that was agreed on in the treaty. Also, the German Minister Clemens von Ketteler was murdered by the boxers in the legation quarter. Boxer Rebellion, a group of people who had a strong belief and who did not try to accept the foreign culture, deserved a bad reputation because of their violence and brutality that can never be justified.