Kevin+K

3/23/11 Prompt 1 Electric Equipment for Mars and How It Works

An Analog Signal is a signal that varies smoothly in time. A Digital Signal doesn’t vary smoothly but it rather jumps and or steps when traveling. An analog signal varies smoothly but a digital signal varies jumpy or it steps. Semiconductors can have their conductivity controlled by adding an impurity this is good for electronic devices because you can control if is turned on or not and you can control how much electricity flows to it. A diode is used by making the electric current flow in only one direction. A transistor is used to make signals in an electric circuit even bigger. Integrated circuits contain transistors which are in computers or it can have diodes, plus many other things. I think that it is important to have electronic devices to go to Mars and search for life. It is important because Mars is too far away for humans to get there so all we have to do is just send the electric rovers to explore for us. Having electronic devices is very important because they can be very far away like at mars and the NASA control people can still receive the signal given off by the devices. Through the signal people can see pictures; videos and anything that the rover does the control center can control what the rover does. It is important to use electric equipment because it doesn’t have to rely on oxygen or food to survive and keep on going. The only thing any electric equipment needs is battery life which you can get through solar panels, so electrical equipment is the best way to travel in outer space and to search for life on Mars.

//Ms. Mc: Good overview of electronics and ideas about how we would use electronic devices on a mission to Mars. Integrated circuits (ICs) are super-miniaturized circuits that contain thousands of electronic components so that electronic devices can be much smaller which would be important for our mission as space is a premium on the spacecraft and we need as little mass as possible. 9.5/10//

Prompt 2 4/5/2011 The Summary of Rocketry As We Know It

The history of rockets began with the Chinese officially. The Chinese started using gunpowder to launch rockets at the invading Mongols. The Mongols then used this to make their own rockets which is said to have led to the distribution throughout Europe. In Great Britain a monk named Roger Bacon was intrigued by these rockets and began working on a better gunpowder propellant instead of the Chinese gunpowder so that they could fire them even farther. A French man named Jean Froissart came up with the idea of firing the rockets out of tube for great accuracy. Joanes de Fontana took the rocket and turned it into a torpedo to shoot at ships. The Russian school teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky started trying to turn the rocket into a space craft. An American named Robert H. Goddard took Tsiolkovsky’s idea to a whole new level. Goddard started experimenting with different types of solid fuels but then turned to liquid fuel. Goddard successfully turned a small rocket into the future, with liquid fuels of fuel and oxygen. This experiment was then turned into warfare. The Germans made these fuel rockets into missiles and used the first of their missiles called the V-2 against the British, in World War 2. Soon everyone was making missiles but an all-time high achievement was made by the Soviet Union. They sent the first satellite into space. Then the Soviets and the Americans started to race to put people into space. The Soviets sent a dog into space that lasted for 7 days until put to sleep. The Americans then topped everyone with the first humans sent to space and the first landing on the moon. All of this research was turned into NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration.) This program is leading everyone to the future in space and beyond.





Ms. Mc: Excellent summary of the history of rocketry. I particularly like how you showed how one idea built upon the previous inventions. Your diagrams also were very creative and informative. The only suggestion I have is to include dates when you are discussing history. 14.5/15

Prompt 3

4/4/2011 media type="custom" key="8958232" Instructions 1. Press the green flag in the top right corner to start it. 2. Press the red bottom at the top right corner to stop it. 3. Turn on the volume to hear sound affects to.

Prompt 4

4/13/2011

Rocket Parts The Nose Cone pierces through the air causing the air to go around the cone. The Body Tube is the main part of the rocket containing the recovery system and the motor. The Recovery System is a parquet that when released will guide the rocket to a soft landing. Recovery Wadding helps protect the flames from the motor from getting to the parquet. The Launching Lug guides the rocket on liftoff. Fins help balance the rocket. Motor Mount keeps the motor in place and keeps it from moving. The Rocket Motor is a tube filled with gun powder that propels the rocket into the air.

Ms. Mc: Good labels and definitions. Please be sure to read over your entries before posting as you have the word "parquet" for "parachute." (-1/2). 19.5/20



4/17/2011

Prompt 5

Rocket Experiment Analysis

The purpose of this experiment was to see if the mass (g) of the rocket affects how high effects how it will go. The air resistance was acting upon the rocket as it flew upwards. Gravity was acting on the rocket as it was flying up and it overcame the rocket when the engine ran out of fuel causing it to fall back to the ground. Thrust was acting on the rocket propelling it upward. The rocket when it was coasting it's Inertia kept it going upward until it reached apogee. It was hypothesized that the rocket with the most mass would not go as high as the rocket with less mass because the rocket with the less mass would go higher, because it is lighter so the motor could propel it easier than the heavier rocket. The air would have a greater affect on the rocket because it is very lite.

Figure1. Rocket experiment results of height (m) and mass (g).

In Figure1 above the results of the experiments that were recorded. In the graph it shows that the lighter rockets did not go as high as the heavier rockets. The mass of the rockets means that the heavier it is then the higher it will go so the apogee would be higher. Rocket four was 42.5(g), it was the lightest rocket out of seven. Rocket two was the second lightest out of the seven at 43.20(g), and rocket six was 44.00(g) and was the third lightest out of the seven. Rocket five was the fourth lightest and was 44.50(g), rocket one was the fifth lightest and at 44.60(g). Rocket seven was the sixth lightest 44.80(g). Rocket three was the seventh lightest out of seven and was 45.40(g). This was a Direct Relationship the data went in a strait line. As the rockets went up like rocket five it was one of the heavier rockets and went the highest. The apogee of the rockets shows that the lighter rockets didn't go as high as the heavier rockets. Rocket four went four went 61(m) it was the lowest flight, rocket two went 67(m) it was the second lowest flight and rocket three went 82(m) it was the third lowest flight. Rocket six went 83(m) it was the fourth lowest flight, rocket seven went 85(m) it was the fifth lowest flight and rocket one went 90(m) and was the sixth lowest flight. Rocket six went 93(m) it was the highest flight out of all of them. The rockets flight pattern was No Relationship because it wasn't a persistent pattern.

The hypothesis was false because the lighter rockets didn't go as high as the heavier rocket. This was false because the lighter rockets were affected by the wind. The wind had more effect on the lighter rockets than the heavier rockets because the lighter rockets were too light so the wind could push them and change their direction. The heavier rockets had more mass than the lighter rockets so the wind didn't have as much of an effect on the heavier rockets so they went higher than the lighter rockets. The heaviest rocket didn't go as high because it was too heavy. Rocket number one and number six went the highest because they had the just right amount of mass but rocket four and two were too light to go that high because of the wind. The heavier rockets went higher than the lighter rockets.

4/25/2011

Quark is a smaller particle than neutrons and protons this can be seen in figure1. There are six types of quarks that exist; two of them are up and down quarks. A galaxy is a group of millions of stars that stay together because of gravity; this can be seen in figure2. Galaxies are formed by gravity collapsing the matter causing galaxies to form.



Figure 1. Different levels of protons and nuetrons. Figure 2. A galaxy.

//Ms. Mc: Please add more detail to your answers. What are the other 4 types of quarks? (-1) Great figure showing the different sizes (not levles) of the particles. What types of galaxies are there? When did the galaxies form? What type or what galaxy is in figure #2? (-2). 7/10//

5/5/2011 Log Entry 8

**Mindstorm Programing Challenge 1.**

The purpose of this experiment was to make the robot go straight on tape line and then turn right on the line, go straight, make a left turn on the tape, back up on the tape and then make a left turn 2 times. This experiment was to test the robots precision. This is being used with the rovers on mars so that they know where the rover is going to go and how to get out of dangerous situations. This can be used to avoid objects.

Block1. A movement block tells port C and B servomotors to move forward for 2 rotations of the wheels at 75% power and then brake. This made the robot move forward 61.5cm. Block2. A movement block tells the ports C and B servomotors to make a sharp right turn (approximately 180 degrees) at 75% power and then brake. The robot made a right turn. Block3. A movement block tells ports C and B servomotors to go forward 3 rotations of the wheels at 75% and then brake. This made the robot go forward 31cm. Block4. A movement block tells the ports C and B servomotors to make a 170 degree left point turn at 50% and then brake. The robot makes a left turn. Block5. A movement block tells the ports C and B to move backwards 1.5 rotations at 75% and then brake. The robot went in reverse for 28cm. Block6. A movement block tells the C and B ports make a point turn to the left for (1390 degrees), which were 2 full circles to the left at 80% power and then stop. This made the robot make two left turns. Block7. This is a sound block which generates a sound through the robot, the sound was applause at 75% volume and then stop. The robot made a clapping sound. Block8. A display block that shows Smile 01 at x=12, and y=8 for 3 seconds and then clear the image. The robot had a smile face appear on its screen. Block9. A wait block which lets the robot know how long it should wait before it’s programed to make any more moves for 3 seconds. The robots sits there until it needs to be reset.