In this project, my group and I were assigned to build a vehicle prototype with an alternative energy source that could travel a certain number of meters while carrying a specific load. Then in the end we would have to pitch our vehicle to potential investors and explain all of our findings of our prototype, how it worked and so on. Our driving question was, how can we create a vehicle prototype with an alternative energy source that can travel exactly 5 meters while carrying 0.25 kg of weight. This was where my group and I started our engineering design cycle to create our prototype. The steps we went through were first, researching and finding out what the most effective design would be. The next step we took was making a blueprint of what we wanted our car to look like. For my group we had two designs that we worked on, in case one would prove to be more consistent or successful then the other. Our next step was to begin building our car according to our blueprints, and this process took around 5-6 days to fully complete due to some set backs. Then my group and I found our calculations for our car and put those numbers and other features into graphs and a power point presentation as well. Our final step was to present our findings and pitch our product to Hyundai investors, Mr. Williams, and demonstrate our car for an audience. Below are pictures of our final product.
Our final product is a functioning car that consists of two large wheels, a seat belt, and a box to hold the "passengers." The car is rolled down a ramp to get it started, from there the wheels move forward, which carries the box holding the weight, and towards the middle and end the car uses weight displacement to creep forward and eventually stop. In the end, we had a functioning car that could travel 5 meters. We presented this information and design in a power point presentation. The main features of our final product are the two wheels, the box holding the pennies, and our seat belt. Our first main feature was our wheels, because of their quality and durability. While these wheels may have been on the steeper price range, they sure held up to a high standard and are able for almost any obstacle. The second main feature was the box holding the passengers because it was a good size and made our product compact. The size of our cabin for the passengers was built to hold them safely to their destination and also have some free room for comfort, and the overall compact design was simple yet effective. The third main feature on our product was the seat belts that were installed for securing the passengers. With the sting acting as a seat belt for the passengers it provided safety and security for, as well as being an easy exit for taking them out. Below is our power point presentation that my group and I created.
To Better Understand
Velocity- Velocity is the covered distance in a specific direction. In this case we found the velocity at each individual meter so our data could be as accurate as possible. We found the velocities by filming a video of our car running a total of 5 meters and then timing each 2/3 of a meter to find the most effective calculations. As it turn out our velocities are not 100% correct, due to some confusion of timing when we found our calculations but we know where we went wrong. Still our findings are completely in the realm of possibility for our velocities. The graph below is our velocity vs distance and as you can see the velocity begins to decrease as the distance increases meaning the car is coming to a stop. The x-axis represents the distance in meters, and the y-axis represents the velocity. The velocity decreases as the distance increases since the car is coming to a stop. There is also a table showing our velocities that we found every meter.
Velocity- Velocity is the covered distance in a specific direction. In this case we found the velocity at each individual meter so our data could be as accurate as possible. We found the velocities by filming a video of our car running a total of 5 meters and then timing each 2/3 of a meter to find the most effective calculations. As it turn out our velocities are not 100% correct, due to some confusion of timing when we found our calculations but we know where we went wrong. Still our findings are completely in the realm of possibility for our velocities. The graph below is our velocity vs distance and as you can see the velocity begins to decrease as the distance increases meaning the car is coming to a stop. The x-axis represents the distance in meters, and the y-axis represents the velocity. The velocity decreases as the distance increases since the car is coming to a stop. There is also a table showing our velocities that we found every meter.
Potential Energy- Potential energy due to gravity is the energy an object has due to its position at a height or gravitational field. The equation for potential energy is potential energy equals mass multiplied by gravity multiplied by height or PE=mgh . The unit for potential energy is Joules (J). We found the potential energy by finding the mass of our car in grams and then, multiplied it by 9.8 m/s^2, and measured the height from which our car is released on the ramp. The potential energy we found was 1.4 J.
Total Energy- Total energy is all of the energy in a system you are observing. Our total energy stayed the same as our potential energy, 1.4 J, because energy is neither created or destroyed.
Power- Power is the rate of which work is done. We found power by using the equation power equals work divided by time, P=W/t. The power for our car was 0.046 Watts.
Distance vs Time- Distance is defined as how far something has traveled. We used 5 meters as our distance in all of our equations, because meters is the correct unit for distance in physics but also because our car traveled a total distance of 5 meters. Time is defined as the progress of events. The time it took for our car to travel 5 meters was exactly 6.46 seconds. We used the method of distance vs time in our project to compare how fast our car moved in the distance it was required to go, 5 meters. So the farther the car moved the more the time increased as well.
Friction- Our goal of using friction was to increase friction grip with the ground. Other than that we left the slowing down to weight displacement. The wheels we got had rubber treads on them which resulted in a lot of grip and traction on the ground. To grip the ground we needed friction on a molecular scale to occur to let the wheels spin the body. We also needed a ramp to accelerate our car.
Thermal Energy- Thermal energy is energy converted to heat. Since energy can neither be created or destroyed, it has to go some where and one of the ways it is transferred is through thermal energy. The thermal energy continued to rise/increase as our car began to move, which makes sense because all energy is eventually transferred to thermal energy. We found the thermal energy by subtracting the total energy from the kinetic energy for every meter.
Kinetic Energy- The kinetic energy we found was for every meter, and we found this by subtracting the total energy, 1.42 J, from the thermal energy for ever meter. What we found was that the kinetic energy decreased as the distance increased in meters.
Below is a graph showcasing our findings of kinetic energy, total energy, thermal energy, and potential energy together to visually show our calculations in a color-coded graph. The x-axis represents the distance in meters (m), and the y-axis represents the energy in Joules (J).
Total Energy- Total energy is all of the energy in a system you are observing. Our total energy stayed the same as our potential energy, 1.4 J, because energy is neither created or destroyed.
Power- Power is the rate of which work is done. We found power by using the equation power equals work divided by time, P=W/t. The power for our car was 0.046 Watts.
Distance vs Time- Distance is defined as how far something has traveled. We used 5 meters as our distance in all of our equations, because meters is the correct unit for distance in physics but also because our car traveled a total distance of 5 meters. Time is defined as the progress of events. The time it took for our car to travel 5 meters was exactly 6.46 seconds. We used the method of distance vs time in our project to compare how fast our car moved in the distance it was required to go, 5 meters. So the farther the car moved the more the time increased as well.
Friction- Our goal of using friction was to increase friction grip with the ground. Other than that we left the slowing down to weight displacement. The wheels we got had rubber treads on them which resulted in a lot of grip and traction on the ground. To grip the ground we needed friction on a molecular scale to occur to let the wheels spin the body. We also needed a ramp to accelerate our car.
Thermal Energy- Thermal energy is energy converted to heat. Since energy can neither be created or destroyed, it has to go some where and one of the ways it is transferred is through thermal energy. The thermal energy continued to rise/increase as our car began to move, which makes sense because all energy is eventually transferred to thermal energy. We found the thermal energy by subtracting the total energy from the kinetic energy for every meter.
Kinetic Energy- The kinetic energy we found was for every meter, and we found this by subtracting the total energy, 1.42 J, from the thermal energy for ever meter. What we found was that the kinetic energy decreased as the distance increased in meters.
Below is a graph showcasing our findings of kinetic energy, total energy, thermal energy, and potential energy together to visually show our calculations in a color-coded graph. The x-axis represents the distance in meters (m), and the y-axis represents the energy in Joules (J).
Reflection
In this project my group and I had a lot of learning experiences that we had to work through together, since we were in these groups for such an extended period of time. Our team's problem solving was a little complicated at times, but we always seemed to work out in the end and everything would come together. Some of the other things that my group and I struggled on in this project was time management and collaboration. One of the issues my group and I struggled on was time management. This was an issue for us because, it was tough for my group to figure out how we were going to come up with a starting plan for our project. We also struggled with this because we did not finish our car in the first time building day, and had to work on our presentation all the way up to a day before we had to present. The other place my group and I could work on was collaboration. Though we did not always have trouble with this area of skill, but we did have our moments when we could have worked better. In the future I will be more aware of these specific skill sets and discuss them with my other teams if they become an issue.
Two things that I did well on in this project with my groups was work ethic and presenting. I did well in the work ethic category because of how quickly and efficient I did all of my calculations and also of how I worked on our presentation as well as contributing to building our car. An example of this happening was when I came in at lunch time to complete my groups calculations and also to create our presentation. The other area that I did well in during this was presenting. I feel that I did well in this category because during our final presentation I had to explain where our calculations went wrong, and I think that I did a good job explaining it to the class.
Two things that in the future I can work on are communicating ideas and empathy. The first thing that I can work on is communicating ideas with my group members. An example of when this proved to be a problem was when my group and I had to find a pair of wheels for our car, but no one could find any so we ended up paying a lot of money for four pairs of wheels at the last minute. This situation was not ideal for anyone in our group and it will not happen again in another group for me, because next time I will make sure to clearly communicate all of my thoughts and findings to my group so nothing like this every happens again. The second area that I can work on in the future is empathy. An example of when this became a problem was one day while we were building our car I was not in the best mood and was a little frustrated with my group. We later worked it out, but to prevent it in the future I will be more aware of how I present my self and how to calmly explain my ideas to my group without becoming frustrated.
All in all, this was more or less a very successful project with my group and I had a lot of fun meeting new people and expanding my group working skills as well as collaboration ideas. Although we had our struggles, in the end my group and I always came together and figured everything out. This was a truly exciting and eventful group project, and I can not wait to see where our next project takes me.
In this project my group and I had a lot of learning experiences that we had to work through together, since we were in these groups for such an extended period of time. Our team's problem solving was a little complicated at times, but we always seemed to work out in the end and everything would come together. Some of the other things that my group and I struggled on in this project was time management and collaboration. One of the issues my group and I struggled on was time management. This was an issue for us because, it was tough for my group to figure out how we were going to come up with a starting plan for our project. We also struggled with this because we did not finish our car in the first time building day, and had to work on our presentation all the way up to a day before we had to present. The other place my group and I could work on was collaboration. Though we did not always have trouble with this area of skill, but we did have our moments when we could have worked better. In the future I will be more aware of these specific skill sets and discuss them with my other teams if they become an issue.
Two things that I did well on in this project with my groups was work ethic and presenting. I did well in the work ethic category because of how quickly and efficient I did all of my calculations and also of how I worked on our presentation as well as contributing to building our car. An example of this happening was when I came in at lunch time to complete my groups calculations and also to create our presentation. The other area that I did well in during this was presenting. I feel that I did well in this category because during our final presentation I had to explain where our calculations went wrong, and I think that I did a good job explaining it to the class.
Two things that in the future I can work on are communicating ideas and empathy. The first thing that I can work on is communicating ideas with my group members. An example of when this proved to be a problem was when my group and I had to find a pair of wheels for our car, but no one could find any so we ended up paying a lot of money for four pairs of wheels at the last minute. This situation was not ideal for anyone in our group and it will not happen again in another group for me, because next time I will make sure to clearly communicate all of my thoughts and findings to my group so nothing like this every happens again. The second area that I can work on in the future is empathy. An example of when this became a problem was one day while we were building our car I was not in the best mood and was a little frustrated with my group. We later worked it out, but to prevent it in the future I will be more aware of how I present my self and how to calmly explain my ideas to my group without becoming frustrated.
All in all, this was more or less a very successful project with my group and I had a lot of fun meeting new people and expanding my group working skills as well as collaboration ideas. Although we had our struggles, in the end my group and I always came together and figured everything out. This was a truly exciting and eventful group project, and I can not wait to see where our next project takes me.