Jessica

Electronics, Computers and a Mission to Mars
In the reading it states what analog and dialog signals are. Both of these signals are different. An analog signal is a type of signal that varies smoothly throughout time. This signal is produced through an object that also varies smoothly and contains information. While an analog signal varies smoothly the dialog signal does the opposite by changing through jumps or steps. It also states in the reading that semiconductors are very useful in electronic devices. Semiconductors are elements that conduct less electricity than metals but, more than nonmetals. They are good in electronic devices because their conductivity can be controlled by adding impurities. Impurities are types of atoms that change conductivity. In the reading it is stated how diodes, transistors and integrated circuits are used. Diodes are solid state components that allow the current to flow in only one direction. Transistors are also solid state components that can be used to increase signals in circuits. It can also be used as a switch so it can allow the current to flow or block the flow. Solid state components are electronic components made from combinations of semiconductors. Finally, integrated circuits are circuits that contain large numbers of interconnection solid state components including diodes and transistors.

From the reading I learned that it is important to have electronic devices to be able to go to Mars and search for life. They are important because many things require electronic devices to do the things that need to be done. In the mission you need to go to Mars you need three main components. These components are a rocket to be able to get to Mars, a rover to be able to explore Mars and, a landing system so the rover can safely land on Mars without any damage. For the rocket, it needs to have a way that it can to communicate so the people at base can know what is going on with the rocket. The rocket also needs to have engines so it can defeat the force of gravity and propel into the atmosphere. Finally, the rocket needs to have a navigation system so the rocket can know where it is going and where it is. For the rover to carry out the search for life, it needs scientific equipment so it can figure out if life would be sustainable on Mars. It also needs motors so the rover can move across Mars and find out more about the planet. Like the rocket, the rover needs to communicate so the people back at base on Earth can see what the rover has found on Mars and ask it to do other things. And last, the rover also needs a navigation system so can knows where it is at and where it needs to go. Finally, the third main component, the landing system, needs to be able to communicate so the people at base back on Earth can tell that the rocket is about to land. It also needs engines and navigation so the lander can know where and how it needs to adjust the descent and slow down to be able to land safely on Mars. To top it all off it needs navigation so the rover can know where it is and how it needs to adjust to accomplish a safe landing.

//Ms. Mc: Good general overview of electronic components and I like your ideas about how we might use electronic devices on our mission to Mars. You do not need to refer back to the reading with statements as "in the reading it states." 9.5/10 //

media type="custom" key="8961910"
Instructions
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Summary of the History of Rockets
Everything has beginnings even rockets. The beginning of rockets starts back in 100 BC where the Greek inventor, Hero of Alexandria, invented a device called an aeolipile. This device has the principles essential to rocket flight. As seen in the picture below, Hero had a sphere placed over a water kettle. The fire below the kettle heated the water and turned it into steam. The steam went up the pipes that connected to the sphere and out the L shaped pipes on the sphere. The steam coming out of the L shaped pipes gave the sphere thrust causing it to rotate. Rockets next appear in China, although by accident. In the first century AD, the Chinese were filling bamboo tubes with gunpowder made from saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal dust, essentially creating a firecracker. Once tossed into the fire some of these tubes failed to explode and ascended into the air from the gases and sparks from the burning gunpowder. The Chinese began experimenting with the bamboo tubes. They found that they could attach them on to arrows and launch them with their bows. Soon they figured out that the tubes could launch on their own because of the power from the escaping gas. The true rocket was created. From the use of these �fire arrows� from the Chinese people all over the world began experimenting with them from monks in England to scientist in Italy. In 1898 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky idealized the exploration of space by rockets. He also figured out that using liquid propellants would be better for achieving greater range. He concluded that the speed and the range of the rocket were limited by the amount of escaping gases. For his work he became known as the Father of Modern Astronautics.

In the early 20th century an American man named Howard Goddard was working with solid propelled rockets to reach higher altitudes but with none of them working, he finally decided to try to build a liquid propelled rocket even though no one had been successful. Using a combination of gasoline and oxygen, he was able to successfully launch a rocket 12.5m in the air and it landed 56m away. Building on this, Goddard made his rockets bigger and they flew higher. He constructed a recovery system and a compartment for scientific equipment. For his wonderful discovery and achievements he was called the Father of Modern Rocketry.

From Goddard�s work, people began making liquid fueled rockets. Many rocket societies formed around the world. In Germany, the society Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) created the V-2 rocket by getting a great thrust from the burning of oxygen and alcohol (one ton every second). The rocket was built to bomb London during WWII and could destroy an entire city block on impact. Luckily for England, the rocket was built too late for the war�s outcome to change.

Following the Germans use of rockets during the war, the United States and Soviet Union discovered that rockets would be a useful military weapon and could now reach space. Rockets were soon built which started what became known as the Space Race. The Soviet Union was the first in space when it launched a satellite called Sputnik I. As seen below Sputnik was a sphere with four radio antennas. Soon after Sputnik I, the U.S launched a satellite called Explorer I, which paved the way for the United States to create NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) with the goal of peaceful exploration of space for all of mankind. Now at this at time we have been able to launch people to the moon, explore Mars with rovers and see nebulas, galaxies that are millions of miles away from earth with satellites like Hubble. We still continue to work with rockets and create new things every day. // Ms. Mc: Excellent summary of the history of rocketry with great details! I like your drawings too. Don't forget to include a figure # in your caption and the entry # in your title for the entry. Good work! 15/15 //

Model Rocket




In a model rocket, all the components that make it up help make the rocket fly. The components of the rocket are labeled above in figure 3. At the top of the rocket is the nose cone which helps the rocket guide the airflow and make it go around the rocket. The nose cone is attached to the body tube, which is one of the main pieces of the rocket. The body tube helps keep the recovery system, recovery wadding and the motor mount inside the rocket. Inside the body tube is the recovery system which is pushed out during ejection and helps the rocket return safely without any damage allowing the user of the rocket to launch it again. Also inside the body tube is the recovery wadding which helps the recovery system not get damaged from the gasses produced by ejection charge. Lastly, the body tube contains motor mount which holds the motors inside the rocket and makes sure the motor doesn't come out during the flight. On the outside of the rocket is the launch lug which guides the rocket to launch straight up off the launch pad instead of going in different directions. At the bottom of the rocket are the fins which stabilize the rocket and help it go straight during the flight. Finally, the rocket motor which makes the rocket defeat the purpose of gravity and launch off the launch pad once ignited.

//Ms. Mc. Excellent definitions and photo! Great work! 20/20 //

Rocket Experiment
The purpose of this experiment is to find out if the mass of the rocket would affect the apogee. Mass is the amount of stuff in an object which is usually measured in grams (g.) The apogee is the highest point of the rocket during its flight. During the whole flight of the rocket there are forces that might alter the results of the experiment. Some of the forces that are acting on the rocket are gravity, air resistance, thrust and floor push. Gravity is the attraction between any two masses in the Universe. Gravity depends on the distance between the two objects and the mass of the objects. Air resistance is the resistance to an object�s motion by the particles in the air. Thrust is a type of force that is created to push something, which in this case to push the rocket of the launch pad. Finally, floor push is the force from the ground to keep an object up. While on the launch pad the force of gravity is pulling the rocket down while the push from the launch pad keeps the rocket up, this makes the rocket neutral. During lift off and the rocket is lifting off the launch pad it still has gravity but, not as much as the thrust from the motor. The thrust causes the rocket to defeat the purpose of gravity and go off the launch pad. Once in the air and the motor is still running the air resistance is slowing the rocket down, gravity is pushing the rocket down back to earth, and the thrust from the motor is continuing to make the rocket rise. After the motor goes off at the rocket is coasting, air resistance and gravity are still acting on the rocket trying to make it go down. The rocket is still going up because of Newton�s first law that says an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force, also known as inertia. At the apogee, gravity is the only force that is acting on the rocket, but the rocket still has inertia. For this experiment it was hypothesized that if the rocket has more mass it will then affect its maximum height (apogee) because the more mass the more gravity that pulls the rocket down.

After the measurements of the apogee and the mass were recorded, the results were examined. It was discovered that the average of the masses of the rockets was 43.7g. It was also observed that the average of the apogees of the rockets was 67.1m. After looking at the graph (as seen in graph 1), it was concluded that the data was a direct relationship. This means that if the mass goes up so does the apogee. When looking at the graph there is a forward trend even though some of the rockets did not prove this point of a direct relationship. From this data it shows that the hypothesis was wrong and that if there is more mass then there will be a higher apogee. Some of the results of the rockets proved this. One of the rockets with a mass of 44.5g reached 81m as its apogee. Although in the experiment there could have been some things that alter the results. Because the experiment was tested at different times, it was unknown if the wind pattern changed during the experiment. Another thing was that the mass and the angle gun users were different. Finally one of the big differences was that there is a small amount of data and could have been more accurate with more rockets and more launches.

Galaxies and Quarks
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">1. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">What is a galaxy? How did they form?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 27pt;">A galaxy is a group of stars, gas and dust bound together by the force of gravity. Galaxies formed about 2 billion years after the Big Bang. Galaxies formed when gravity collapsed the matter created during the Big Bang (Helium and Hydrogen). In Figure 1 is the Andromeda galaxy which is the closest to our galaxy (The Milky Way), about 2.5 million light years away. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 27pt;"> <span style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 27pt; tabstops: list .5in; text-indent: -0.25in; vertical-align: middle;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">2. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">What is a quark? What types of quarks are there?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 27pt;">A quark is the smaller particle that makes up protons and neutrons. There are 6 different types of quarks which include charm, strange, top, bottom, up and down. Protons and neutrons are only made up of the up and down quarks. An up quark has a charge of +2/3 while a down quark has the charge of -1/3. Every proton and neutron has 3 quarks each. As seen in Figure 2 a proton is made up of two up quarks and one down quark.



//Ms. Mc: Excellent answers, figures, and captions! 10/10//

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Log Entry #7 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">5/1/2011 ** **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">History of Robotics ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">From the 4th century BC to the present day robotics have been used. Back in the 4th century BC, a Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum created a mechanical bird he called "The Pigeo" that was propelled by steam. Also created around that time was the clepsydra also known as a water clock invented by Ctestibius of Alexandria. In 1088, China's Su Song created the Cosmic Engine, a clock tower featuring mechanical mannequin that would chime the hours and ring the gongs. Finally in 1206 Al-Jazarii, an Arabian inventor invented the first programmable humanoid robot. Al-Jazarii's robot was a boat with automatic musicians that were made to entertain party guest. The first recorded design of a humanoid robot was made by Leonardo di Vinci around 1495. His drawings contain a mechanical knight that was able to sit, wave its arms and move its mouth and jaw. In Figure 1, it shows a model of his robot. Some of the most famous works around the 18th century were created by Jacques de Vaucanson in 1737. These works include an automaton flute player and a tambourine player. Around 1781 Richard Arkwright built a water power weaving machine and factory, beginning the Industrial Revolution. Also around that time a Japanese craftsman Hisashige Tanaka created many types of complex toys. These toys were capable of serving tea, firing arrows and sometimes draw a Japanese kanji character.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Advancing into the 20th century, the first robot was constructed in the United States in 1927. This robot was a humanoid named Televox which operated through the telephone system. A year later Makoto Nishimura created Japan's first robot named Gautensoku. In 1961 Unimate, the first industrial robot created by George Devol, began work on the assembly line in General Motors. The first mobile robot able to be aware of its surroundings was Shakey, built in 1970 by the Stanford Research Institute. Shakey combined multiple sensors including TV cameras, laser ranger finders and bump sensors to navigate. In the winter of 1970, the Soviet Union explored the surface of the moon with Lunokhod 1, the first remote controlled robot to land on the moon. In 1977 Voyager 1 and 2 were launched into the solar system and still continue to transmit data back to Earth. The Cyberknife, invented by John Adler in 1994 was a stereotactic radiosurgery preforming robot that represented a faster method of preforming surgery than one done by human doctors. Also in 1977, the Sojourner rover finally quit after successfully operating for 83 days, 76 more days than expected. This robot preformed semi-autonomous operations on Mars as part of the Mars Pathfinder mission. Moving into the 21st century, the twin robotic rovers Spirit and Opportunity landed on the surface of Mars in 2003. In Figure 2, it shows Spirit. though Spirit has been unable to transmit since 2009 we still continue to explore Mars with Opportunity allowing us able to learn more about Mars every day. NASA is soon going to launch Curiosity to Mars on November 25, 2011 and is expected to land on Mars on August 6, 2012. Nuclear powered and larger than a minivan, Curiosity represents the biggest step yet in robotic exploration of space. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">

//Ms. Mc: FANTASTIC summary of the history of robotics and great pictures. I especially like how you tied it into space explorations! 10 extra credit points.//

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">I chose to have my robot do the On The Edge challenge. This challenge must have the robot wait until someone says go and then move forward until it sees a different shade of light. After seeing the light and before falling off the table, the robot will then stop and say, �Watch Out!�

Block 1- Time block that makes the rocket wait until a sound it produced. The 2 stands for what port the sensor will be connected to. The sound has to be louder than 50%. The robot doesn't move until there is a loud sound near the sensor. Block 2- A movement block that makes the C+B motors move straight at 75% speed for infinity. The robot moved forward for infinity. Block 3- A wait block that makes the motors C+B continue to move until the light sensor detects a different shade of light. The 3 stands for what port the sensor will be connected to. The light has to be less than 20%. The robot continued to moved until it reached the edge of the table. Block 4- A movement block that makes the C+B motors brake after it has seen the different shade of light. This block caused the robot to brake. Block 5- A sound block that makes the robot play a sound that is 75% loud. This block causes the robot to say Watch Out.