Matt

Entry 1
There is much to say about Electronics and Computers. First of all there are different types of signals like analog signals and digital signals. The difference is that analog signals change smoothly and digital signals jump instead of changing smoothly. If represented in numbers, the digital signals come in clusters that skip a few numbers whereas if represented in numbers, the analog signals will go up one by one. Semi-conductors are useful to electronic devices because they can be used as on and off switches because sometimes they conduct electricity and sometimes they don’t. This can be affected by pressure or heat. Diodes are a one way current of electrons. It can be used in LED lights. Transistors are used to amplify signals in a current. They are used in lights to make them brighter. Integrated circuits are little chips that contain thousands of diodes and transistors. It is very important to have electronics on a “Mission to Mars”. It is important to have electronics like a computer program because it can be much more accurate than a human. If you are trying to land a craft on Mars that cost a couple billion dollars you don’t want a human being to try to land it using a remote control here on Earth because they could make an error which could destroy the craft and waste years of planning and billions of dollars. Instead of risking it, you could use a computer program which could very reliably be accurate to the nearest millimeter. Then your ratio of success to failure would be very high. You need to fail to succeed, but you could screw up a simulation instead of the real thing. You would have to program the computer and that may take failure, but if it is a simulation it would be all right. When you use a computer your not as much at risk because there is less room for error.
 * Electronics and Computers**

Ms. Mc: Good overview of electronics. You are correct about why it's important to use computers for navigation purposes on a mission to Mars but needed to include a few more specific examples of electronic devices that would be used such as ignition systems, communication systems, cameras, soil analyzers, solar panels, etc.). 8/10

Entry 2

 * History of Rockets**


 * Figure 1: Hero Engine- The Hero Engine was the First Known Type of Engine that was Powered with Steam.**

The Hero Engine, an early engine powered by steam, was a pot of water that was put over a fire. A sphere with two L-shaped pipes sticking out of it and two pipes going into the water, was placed above the water. As the water began to evaporate, the steam was pushed through the tubes into the sphere. Then the gas was evenly distributed through the two L-shaped pipes. The steam being exhaled through the pipes gave the sphere trust and caused it to turn. The Chinese used the rocket in many different ways. How it came to be, was, at celebrations, the Chinese would put gunpowder and such into a bamboo stick and throw it in the fire. Sometimes they wouldn’t ignite immediately and would shoot out and about. The Chinese then used this bamboo concoction as a weapon. They attached it to their arrows and lit it. How this was a weapon of mass destruction back then is unknown.

 Through lots and lots of research, Tsiolkovsky was able to find two main things about rocketry. Fir st off, he stated that rockets would fly better with liquid propellant. Up until then, only solid propellant had been used. Nowadays, liquid propellants and solid propellants are used. He thought liquid propellant could go farther. Also, he found out that the speed and range of the rockets were determined and only limited by the exhaust velocity of escaping gases. Goddard made the 1st liquid propelled rocket. His rocket flew for 2 sec. went 12 feet high and landed 58 feet away. This may seem like a small feat, but in their time, it was a huge accomplishment. The Germans made the V-2 rocket for WW2. They bombed London with it. Unfortunately for the Germans, they deve loped it much too late to sway the outcome of the war. NASA was formed to explore outer space. It was met to do so peacefully and for the benefit of all mankind. The first satellite in space was called Sputnik. It was by the Russians. They then sent a dog into space. The USA quickly followed and sent a satellite up called Explorer 1.

//**Ms. Mc: Good summary of the history of rocketry and nice drawings. Please refer to your drawings in your text when you discuss them (i.e., "as seen in Figure 1 . . .). When discussing history, it's important to include specific dates. Also, what has happened with rocketry between the time the US sent up the Explorer 1 and today? 13.5/15**//
 * Figure 2: German V-2 Missile- A Missile Used by the Germans in WWII.**

**Entry 3**
media type="custom" key="8958086" Instructions: Press the Red stop sign shaped button to stop the simulation. Then press the Green flag shaped button to make the simulation run. For sound, make sure you have you volume on
 * Scratch Project: Rocket Simulation**

Entry 4
Rocket Parts



Ms. Mc: Good labels and definitions. Please make your text a little larger. Please use proper English and not slang (this "guy") and rocket's apogee should be possessive (-1). 19/20

Entry 5
Results The purpose of the experiment was to see if the mass of the rocket affected its apogee. When the rocket was on the launch pad, the forces acting on the rocket were gravity (pulling down) and the launch pad (holding it up).The forces were equal. When the rocket was at liftoff, the forces acting on the rocket were thrust (pushing the rocket up) and gravity and air resistance (both pulling the rocket down). The force of thrust was greater than the force of gravity and air resistance. During powered flight, the forces acting on the rocket were thrust (pushing the rocket up) and gravity and air resistance (both pulling the rocket down). The force of thrust was a lot greater than the force of gravity and air resistance. While the rocket was coasting, the forces acting on the rocket were gravity (pulling the rocket down) and air resistance (pulling the rocket down). The reason the rocket was still going up was because the rocket had inertia which made it keep going. When the rocket was at apogee, the forces acting on the rocket were gravity (pulling the rocket down) and air resistance (pulling the rocket down). The forces acting on the rocket were equal, which is why it stopped for a split second. When the rocket was falling with its parachute, the forces acting on the rocket were gravity (pulling the rocket down) and air resistance (pulling the rocket up). Air resistance pulls the rocket whichever way it isn't going. The gravity acting on the rocket is greater than the air resistance because the rocket is falling. It was hypothesized that the greater the mass of the rocket, then the less the height was for the rocket's apogee.


 * Graph 1: Showing Whether Rocket Mass Affected Apogee.**

The results of the experiment were found and analyzed. It was found that all of the masses of the rocket were pretty similar. They were all around 45 grams. The heaviest was 48.7 grams and the lightest rocket was 42.8 grams. That left a range of 5.9. Surprisingly, the lightest rocket went the highest, but the heaviest rocket didn’t go the lowest. It was in the middle. The rocket that went the highest had an apogee of 135 meters. The second highest rocket had an apogee of 104 meters. The rest of the rockets data was clustered around the high-seventies to mid-eighties. The rocket data had no relationship in terms of the mass affecting the apogee the majority of the data was clustered around the seventies to eighties. The rocket that flew 135 meters could have been counted as an outlier. The hypothesis that stated it was hypothesized that the greater the mass of the rocket, then the less the height was for the rocket's apogee was proven incorrect. All of the data was random. The lightest rocket flew the highest, but on that day, there were many variables that affected how the rocket could have flow. The heaviest rocket flew right smack dab in the middle (speaking in terms of height in meters). Some of the variables that changed from Tuesday to Wednesday launch days included the wind. The wind on Tuesday was horrible. Both the rockets launched that day flew over the hill, parking lot, bushes, and road into the trees across the street. There was no wind on Wednesday. Also, on Tuesday it was overcast. On Wednesday it was very sunny. Also, on Tuesday it rained a little bit. It just sprinkled, but on Wednesday there was no rain. On Tuesday, it was warm, while on Wednesday it was noticeably cooler. Some other things that affected the data were how much paint and glue was put on the rocket. Also something else that affected the data was how straight the fins of the rocket were and how straight the launch lug was.

Entry 6
Quarks are small particles of atoms. They are smaller than protons and neutrons. They are the smallest particles of atom. There are 6 known types of quarks, but only two are in protons and neutrons. They are up quarks and down quarks. They have different types of charges. They have fraction charges.

Our solar system is not as old as the Universe. The Universe is around 15,000,000,000 years old. It started out as little invisible point and expanded from there. Eventually (3 billion years later), our solar system came to be. Around 2 billion years after the Big Bang, atoms began to form. There were Hydrogen atoms and those combined to make Helium. Then gravity brought this matter to collapse on itself and it made galaxies.

Good answers and pictures. The first picture of the quarks inside of stars is very interesting but I can't read the text. What are the other 4 types of quarks? (-1/2). You don't need the work "showing" in your caption. The solar system wasn't created 3 billion years after the Big Bang but rather, our galaxy. Our solar system started to form around 5 billion years ago (-1). You wree to refer to the figures specifically in your text (-1). 7.5/10 (Matt, I just accidentally delected your second picture of the Milky Way galaxy. Please repost it. Sorry!)

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Entry 8
Describing Blocks Challenge 1: Challenge 1 was meant to follow the path of the line that Mrs. McCoppin made. It simulated a rover on Mars that has to follow a certain path. Block 1-A move block that tells the servomotors B&C to go forward 3.75 rotations at 100% speed and then brake. The robot goes forward quickly. Block 2- A move block that tells the servomotors B&C to turn 180 degrees (90 real degrees) to the right at 50% speed and then brake. The robot turns right. Block 3- A move block that tells the servomotors B&C to go forward 2 rotations at 90% speed and then brake. The robot goes forward quickly. Block 4- A move block that tells the servomotors B&C to turn 180 degrees (90 real degrees) to the left at 75% speed and then brake. The robot turns left Block 5- A move block that tells the servomotors B&C to go forward 2 rotations at 90% speed and then brake. The robot goes forward quickly. Block 6- A move block that tells the servomotors B&C to turn 1440 degrees (720 real degrees)to the right at 50% speed and then brake. The robot turns in two circles. Block 7-A sound block that tells the robot to play a sound file at 100% volume called Applause. Before the robot can continue with anything else, it must complete the sound file. The robot plays an Applauding noise. Block 8- A display block that tells the robot to display an image called Smile 01 at the X axis 12 and the Y axis 8. The robot displays a smiley face. Block 9- A wait block that tells the robot to wait 3 seconds. The robot waits. Block 10-A display block that tells the robot to reset. The robot resets the screen.