Mug Insulator Design Challenge
For this unit in science, the Penguin Project, we were asked to design and make things to help as understand the transfer of heat. In this particular design challenge, me and my fellow Ice Cube People made a box for teachers and other people to keep their coffee or whatever hot liquid warm.
We started by each doing a sketch of what we think will work best, this is the one I drew:
Then we compared our sketches, talking about which one would work best and how we can fix it to make it better, this is our final sketch before we made the prototype:
After we have a pretty good idea of how our insulator will look like, we started making a paper prototype. We only made 3 layers of the side because they are pretty much the same. So this is how it looks like:
So then we started making the real prototype. We changed and added somethings during we were making it. For example, we changed the mylar into foil because there wasn’t any. We also wrapped yarn around on the outside so it looks good and also help keeping the heat inside the box. So this is how it looks like:
We started testing with the help of Logger Pro. We started from 81.9 degrees celsius and ended with 75.6 degrees celsius after 20 minutes, so the difference was 6.3 degrees celsius, I think that’s pretty good. Here’s a screenshot of our Logger Pro graph:
Our design materials were chosen from the can demo that we did. During the can demo, we found that foil works best to keep food and other things warm or cool, so we used a lot of foil. We also used other things that worked well in the can demo, such as the fabric and wool/yarn.
I’m pretty proud how we made a box and not an ordinary insulator that you wrap around the mug. Making a box keeps the heat inside of the small space, and because we have foil on all 6 sides, the heat is reflected back and forth so the heat won’t easily get out of the space.
ALthough there is something we could do differently. At the beginning 3~4 minutes, when we touched the lid, it was already hot, which means the lid is not keeping heat down that successfully, so next time we could fix the lid a little, maybe add more material.
Our product is reusable so it’s not going do any damage to our environment.
Something hard about this project was dividing our work as a group so that everything can be done. Sometimes we didn’t know what was left for us to do, and making all the layers was a bit confusing.
At the end, our product looks pretty good and it worked well too. The group that was giving us feedback said:
During this project, I learned how to use radiation, convection and other ways of heat transfer to design, make and fix an insulator.
My Metaphor Map
For this unit in humanities we made metaphor maps which includes environmental characteristics that represent me.
Here is why I used the things in my map as I did :
Violin is a mountain with an unseen peak, because no one can reach the top of violin;
Mornings are volcanoes, exploding without warning, the tiniest speck of fire sets everything alight;
Classes on weekends are a desert where nothing grows and everything is the same until you somehow reach a oasis;
Bubble tea at Meet Fresh is an oasis, a rare extravagance in the middle of tiresome and boredom;
School is a rocky coast where all kinds of trouble occur;
My thoughts form a river in my head, overlapping and interwinding, swirling and flowing, drowning everything else and washing and burying them away into the sea;
My bed is an island, giving me everything I need, providing me with safety, but at the same time, danger. It is where my worries swarm back and surrounds me.
Around the island, there is sleep, the sea that’s still and calm. Though of course creatures roam the deep blue water, hunting me in my worst dreams.
Music is a forest, enveloping me with “I’m just looking for some real friends“s and “I promise that you’ll never find another like me“s and nothing can reach me.
Books are a valley, sealing everything out. It is where I shut myself when my day isn’t going well.
Also, my island is in the shape of a badminton shuttlecock because I love playing badminton and it reposes me.
I Am From Hot Pepper and a Cherry Tree
Our project this time for humanities is to write a “Where I’m From” poem. I wrote about people, places and other things that means a lot to me. Before starting to write this poem, our teacher showed us a couple of “Where I’m From” poems to read and then we started to make a list of things that are important to us. Finally we started to write our own poems. I found the things that should be fit into the same stanzas and added figurative language into my poem, like personification, onomatopoeia and similes. The file below is a PDF of my poem.
Water Filter Reflection
Me and my partner designed an apparatus that can filter and clean water.
Why is engineering important?
Engineering is important because we can design and build things that are useful for us, and also solve problems.
What was your challenge?
We found that the sand actually had dirt on them and so did the rocks, so we got rid of the sand and washed the rocks so they’re clean.
Why did you choose that design?
We chose the design because there were so many layers and it’s sophisticated so the dirt will all get stuck and the water will be clean and filtered.
How does it work?
The fabric and mesh on top stops the bigger chunks from going with the water, the rocks takes away another part of dirt and another layer of fabric and mesh makes it even cleaner.
Was your design successful?
I think we did a great job of filtering the big chunks, but we could have cleaned out the dirt too.
Was your redesign successful?
Our redesign didn’t have a lot of dirt at the bottom as the first time, so I think it’s much better.
How I Feel About Middle School
I used to be nervous for middle school because of the homework and my new class, but the we only really have a little bit more homework and I like my classmates.
Welcome to Your New Blog!
When you blog you create posts and posts are categorised according to your subject. Some categories have already been set up for you. If you need more categories you can add them as needed. It’s important that your posts have the following:
- An engaging title – this should not include the name of the subject since this is referenced in the category.
- Body – this is where you share your learning. This can include text, images, embedded videos from Dragons’ Tube or elsewhere. You should always consider how your post looks to your audience. Is it engaging? Do they want to keep reading?
- Category – select one that has been set for you or add a new category. Posts can have more than one category e.g. Humanities and Myself as a Learner
Click on the images below to learn more about blogging: