Caroline

3/22/2011
 * Entry #1, Prompt 1: **

The Facts and Importance of Electronic Devices and Components.

Electronic components are used in many items such as computers, phones, and cd players. An electronic device uses electricity to store process, and transfer information. These electronic items, especially televisions, may use a signal. There are different types of signals and two of them are analog and digital. An analog signal is a signal that varies smoothly in time. In an analog electronic signal the electric current increases or decreases smoothly in time. An analog signal can be produced by something that varies in a smooth continuous way and contains information. Some devices, such as cd players, use the signal of a digital signal. The difference between a digital signal and an analog signal is that a digital signal does not vary smoothly but changed in jumps or steps and can be represented by a series of numbers. In electronic devices it is important and useful to use semiconductors. This is because semiconductors are an element that is a poorer conductor of electricity. Also, because a semiconductors electrical conductivity can be controlled by adding impurities. Another important thing to know about circuits and electricity is how diodes, transistors and integrated circuits are used. Diodes are used to control the flow of electrons through a circuit and electrons will only flow through a diode in on direction. A transistor can be used to enlarge signals in an electric circuit and an integrated circuit can be used in computers, phones, and other electronics to resemble a transistors. Electri city with circuits is fun and easy and I recommend it to anyone.

There is an extreme amount of importance for electronic devices in a space mission where the goal is to travel to Mars and search for life. This is because without certain circuits in the object searching for life, it does not function properly. Also since it would take thousands of years and money for a human to search, they would have to send a robot that runs on electricity causing a more need for specific electronic devices. The robot also has to have a mind of its own programmed into it so it can function and search. This may cause it to be able to move a camera, dig a hole, and most of all move in a safe and wanted direction. Also, in Mars’ case, it has to be able to get to a point where it can get enough sunlight to survive the cold dreadful winters on Mars. Also, it has to report the information all the way back to earth. To be able to do this you need many signals, electronic devices, and smart people.

//Ms. Mc: Great overview of electronics and ideas about how we would use electronic devices on a mission to Mars. The only improvement I would suggest would be to include more specific examles of electronic devices (i.e., navigation systems, communication systems, soil analyzers, etc.). Your statement that it would take "thousands of years" for humans to search on Mars is an overstatement. NASA has been preparing for a manned mission, however, currently the funding for this project has been rebuked. Good job! 9/10 //

Entry #2, 4/3/11, Prompt 2:
 * Rockets Take Time **

The history of rockets is just as or more exciting as the history of light bulbs. The science of a rocket was discovered near the year 100 B.C. by a Greek inventor. This inventor, named Hero of Alexandria, used steam as a forceful gas. The “engine” contained three simple items: a fire, a kettle of water, and tubes for the steam to go through. It is not truly defined when rockets started to be used. Some believe that the first true rockets were accidental and mistakes. However, the Chinese were the first main inventors of rockets. They attached a tube of gunpowder to an arrow and lit the tube on fire. The first true and backed up report on rockets was during the war between the Mongols and Chinese in 1232. After this battle, the Mongols invented rockets of their own and a trend of rockets was spread to Europe and all around the world.

In 1898, the Russian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky thought of the idea for space exploring by using the science of a rocket. He studied rockets and found ways to give it much greater range, speed, and power over time. Eventually, he was given the great name, “Father of Modern Astronautics.” Another rocket scientist became known by achieving the first successful flight with a liquid propellant rocket. Robert H. Goddard studied various ways to make solid propellant rockets but came to the conclusion that it was unsuccessful. His first successful rocket only reached 12.5 meters high and landed 56 meters away. This was not far but it led to even bigger inventions. He continued his experiments in liquid propellant rockets for many years. His rockets kept growing and he has been giving the name, “The Father of Modern Rocketry.”

Through the 20th century, many more rockets had been invented. In 1957, the first rocket was successfully orbited in space. Space travel continues to grow as we send more and more rockets into space.

2nd picture inspired by: []

Figure 1: Goddard's Rocket Figure 2: Mongol Rocket Launcher

//Ms. Mc. Very good summay of the history of ancient rocketry and the beginnings of modern rocketry but it is important to also discuss the the contributions of Russia and NASA. Very good drawings too. Please insert them in your text when you discuss them and refer to them in your text (i.e., "as seen in Figure 1 . . . "). Please copy and paste your text into your page as opposed to creating a link. I corrected this for you. Please see me if you don't know how to do this. 14/15//

Entry #3, 4/4/11, Mission to Mars

Instructions:
 * 1) Click the green flag to play file.
 * 2) Turn on sound to hear it.

media type="custom" key="8957670" Figure 1: Mission to Mars Scratch Program Project

Entry/Prompt #4, 4/12/2011, Parts in Rockets

Figure 1: Madeline and Caroline's Launch rocket

First, the launch lug, a part used to guide the rocket straight off the launch pad, is placed through the rod on the launch pad. Then, the rocket motor is ignited which causes a reaction with the gunpowder in the motor mount. This then makes the rocket thrust in the angle placed in. The recovery wadding is used to control the burning of the gunpowder so the rocket doesn’t catch on fire. The nose cone is located at the top of the rocket and guides the airflow around the rocket. It also creates a streamline for the rocket. The fins, located around the bottom of the rocket, help steer the rocket and keep it moving straight forward. When gravity starts taking effect on the rocket, the recovery system pops out. The recovery system is used to safely get the rocket to the ground with the least amount of damage. Each and every part of a rocket is important and everybody should get a chance to learn about them.

//Ms. Mc: Good labels and explanation of the function of the various rocket parts but you left out the fins and body tube from your paragraph (-2). Also, what is the recovery system? (-1/2). 17.5/20//

Prompt/Entry #5 4/15/2011 Rocket Mass Compared to Height

The purpose of this experiment on rockets was to determine if the mass of the rocket affects the apogee of the rocket. In this experiment, the rocket was launched off the launch pad and the angle of elevation was determined at the highest part of flight. Then, trigonometry was used to determine the apogee. In this experiment, many forces acted on the rocket such as gravity, air resistance, and the rule of inertia. First, the rocket was set on the launch pad where the force of gravity that was pulling it down, and the force of the launch pad was keeping it up, were equal. This relates to Newton’s third law, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. Then, as the rocket took flight, the force of the thrust was far greater than the small forces of gravity and air resistance acting upon it through the powered flight. After, the rocket started coasting when there was no longer any force from the thrust was acting on it. While coasting, the rule of inertia is used because the rocket was in motion and it stayed in motion. The only force still acting on it was a small force of gravity and very little air resistance. It soon reached its apogee where the only force still acting on it was gravity. Before the experiment, it was hypothesized that the less mass the rocket has, the higher it will go because there is less weight, air resistance, and gravity.



The mass and apogees for the rockets tested were calculated and graphed (above). As shown in Figure 1, the masses were found to be varied from 42 grams to 46 grams. The apogees were found to be anywhere from 61 meters to 93 meters. The graph proved a direct relationship because the more mass the rocket had, the higher it flew. My hypothesis was incorrect because the outcome of this experiment was that the more mass the rocket has, the higher its apogee is. The data turned out to show exactly opposite of what I had predicted. An example was that the rocket with the highest apogee, 93m, had a mass in the higher range, 44.5g. The only complication found in the data recorded was the single outlier. This data had the largest amount of mass but only flew to an average apogee. This might have occurred because of an error in the flight. Different people were used to determine the angle of elevation so it is possible that the data could have been incorrectly recorded. Another thing that could have affected the accuracy of the data is the wind. The wind could have pushed it down or caused it to fly on a diagonal making it unable to reach its full, potential height. Also, the temperature varied between the days the data was recorded which could affect the rockets flight. Overall, it was concluded that the more mass the rocket has, the higher it will travel.

Entry/Prompt #6 4/24/2011 Astronomy Review Questions

**Question 1: What is a galaxy? How did they form?**
====<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;">A galaxy is a system of millions or billions of starts, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction. A galaxy is made up of stars, gas, and dust. A galaxy can also be classified as large collection of stars because of how many it holds. Galaxies are classed according to their shape. There are three common shapes; elliptical, spiral, and irregular. ==== ====<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;">Galaxies form when gravity collapses the matter of two objects. Our galaxy formed three billion years after the Big Bang. When there are merges of galaxies, it causes spiral arms. Galaxies slowly form by particles teaming up. Slowly, the particles will gradually form stars, star clusters, and eventually galaxies. ====

<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;">**Question 2: How did our Moon come to revolve around the Earth?**
====<span style="color: #404040; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 80%;">There are four main theories about how the moon came to revolve around the Earth. Some believe that it was broken off from Earth. During the early days of the solar nebula, scientists believe Earth wasn’t spinning fast enough for the whole moon to break off. The second theory is that it is the Earth's “baby brother.” As the Earth was forming through accretion, the moon might have formed the same way, right next to Earth. Some scientists doubt this theory because the moon doesn't have the same physical composition as the Earth. The third theory is that two large planetesimals, or planets-in-progress, collided in the solar nebula. The core of one of the planetesimals was pulled in by Earth’s Gravity and has orbited around Earth ever since. The final and believed to be most accurate theory is that a moon from somewhere else in the universe just caught on to Earth’s gravity and it stayed. There are many ways the moon could have come to revolve around Earth, yet it is still hard to predict how it actually happened. ====

//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿Ms. Mc: Good answers and pictures. If you state that something occurs after something else (i.e., our galaxy formed 3 billion years after the Big Bang), you also should state when the first thing happened (i.e., the Big Bang was about 15 billion years ago). In Figure 1, the red dot represents our solar system and the blue dot is a another galaxy (-1/2). You were to refer directly to the 2 figures and discuss them in your text (-2). 7.5/10 //

**__Log Entry #8__**


 * __Instructor Challenge #3: On the Edge__**


 * __5/6/2011__**

//The purpose of this challenge was to make the rocket start moving when you said, “Go!” After said, the rocket would then move forward using the light sensor to determine when the end of the table was reached. Once the robot reached the very end of the table, about to fall off, it would then stop and say, “Watch Out!” This relates to the mars rovers because if the robot senses a sudden drop, it will stop and not break. Also, if you want to robot to start moving, then you can just say go from earth.//

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden;">﻿ //

//Block 1-// Wait block that tells the robot to wait for a sound greater than 50% to be sensed (go) though port 2.

//Block 1-// movement block that tells the robot to move forward an unlimited amount of seconds or rotations by activating servomotors B and C at a power of 50%.

//Block 3-// Wait block that tells the robot to wait until the color being sensed has changed through port 3.

//Block 4-// Movement block that stops the robot to stop by activating the C and B servomotors by braking.

//Block 5-// Sound block that plays a sound file at 75% volume saying “Watch Out” and isn’t said till the block series is completed. **After this was programmed into the robot, the program ran. "Go!" was said and the robot started to move forward. It moved until the end of the table was sensed, stopped and said, "Watch Out!"**