G9 Engineering Project Energy Transformation Reflect and Share

One thing I did well in this project is starting to do practical work relatively early. It bought me more time to finalize the car and come up with the back up plan. The backup plan also worked well as it moved the car 30 times more than the balloon.

One thing I had to improve on this project is calculating the weight. I calculated that the sum of the materials should be at most 150grams, but it ended up as 163 grams, severely hindering the movement of the car. Another phenomenon I observed is that sometimes the car goes backwards instead of forwards due to the flaws on the wheel connections. Gravitational potential energy built up and dragger my car back as the heavier part of the wheels, the back parts, start falling down again.

One thing I would consider next time is to use materials that fit the need better, in this case of the car, probably lighter materials. I also need to smoothen up my techniques of measuring and making wheels function without potential energy building up to slow my car down.

G9 Engineering Project Energy Transformation Define and Inquire

Define and Inquire

 

Energy Transformation List:

 

M: mechanical

C: chemical

E: electrical

T: thermal

S: sound

 

Horizontal: transformed into

Vertical: Original energy

M C E T S
M x nnd mill friction bell
C Bomb x battery bomb bomb
E motor nnd x Short circuit speaker
T sun nnd steam x nnd
S nnd nnd microphone nnd x

 

dea 1: fan bell (mechanical to sound)

Rating: 5/10 difficulty

Attach a fan with a bell in a way that when wind passes the fan, the bell rings.

 

Idea 2: steam bell engine (heat to sound)

Rating: 9/10 difficulty

Have a pot of water that will boil under heat, triggering a bell.

 

Idea 3: water mill engine (mechanical to electric)

Rating: 6/10 difficulty

Have a water mill that spin magnets to generate electricity, eventually powering up a lightbulb.

 

Idea 4: balloon car (Elastic potential energy to kinetic energy) (choosing this due to nostalgia)

Rating: 6/10 difficulty

Having a car that acquires its power from a balloon.

 

Balloon Car Video (I will modify the recipe and procedure in my D&P section):

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RStgV8mA-gA&ab_channel=ScienceBuddies

 

Target Audience:

The balloon car is made for everyone with passion to hand-powered vehicles and are fond of balloons. The car could also be used to learn physics, therefore, is suitable for every student.

 

Success Criteria:

  1. Finish the product by the last 2 lessons of the unit.
  2. Have the car go at least 3 meters without pushing it.
  3. Have a simplistic design that is visually appealing.