Casey

Casey

=Prompt #1:= After reading p. 66-71 of Chapter 3 in Electricity & Magnetism, create the following paragraphs. · Paragraph 1 – In first person, explain: 1) how analog signals are different from digital signals, 2) how semiconductors are used in electronic devices, and 3) how diodes and transistors are used. · Paragraph 2 – In first person, explain where electronics would be useful in a space mission to Mars where the goal is to ultimately search for life on Mars.

Analog siganls are sigals that move fluidly while digital siganls jump. For example analog clocks are examples of analog signals because the hands fluidly move from second to second. Then a digital signal is like a digital clock which jumps from minute to minute instead of fluidly flowing. Semiconductors are used in electronic devices because insulators can't conduct electricity and conductors can't be controlled. The other reason they use semiconductors are because if you add impurities you can control the semiconductor so you can use less electricity without losing entertainment. Diodes are mainly used for converting alternating current to direct current. Transistors are used to block and let flow the flow of electricity.

Electronics would be useful to send pictures and videos to the earth from mars and it could be used in the rover to move it around. The electricity would be converted form the sun's heat and this electricity could power heaters in the winter so the rover doesn't freeze.

Prompt #2:

Read the document entitled “Simple Circuitry: An Introduction to Electricity and Circuits”; this document was emailed to you. In a series of paragraphs, summarize the following: · Why some atoms allow electricity to flow and some do not. · What is necessary for electricity to flow? · An explanation of what voltage, current and resistance are. Additionally, include the units used to measure them. · An explanation of how electricity flows in a circuit. · A description and comparison of series and parallel circuits.

Some atoms allow electricity to flow because they have extra electrons in their outer shell which allows some of them to jump to another atom and keep the flow of electricity going. When the atom doesn’t have many or any extra electrons it is either a semiconductor or an insulator because it isn’t as good at conducting electricity as a conductor. Because it can’t conduct as well it isn’t used in as many products unless it is a semiconductor that is used in certain electronics.

Electrons are necessary for electricity to flow because all electricity is, is a flow of electrons. But, if the atom is a noble gas and doesn’t want to give up an electron the electricity won’t flow which means that electrons aren’t always what is needed it is extra electrons that are needed for electricity to flow. Figure 1:Example of atom that won't let electricity flow thus making it an imsulator

Voltage is the pressure that pushes the electrons. Current is the movement of electrons in the wire and resistance is the amount of pressure pushing the electrons the opposite way of the voltage. Voltage is measured in volts, Current is measured in amps and resistance is measured ohms.

The way electricity flows in a circuit depends on the source of power the bigger the source of power the faster the electrons flow through the circuit. The electricity comes from the source of power and flows through the circuit to the resistor which will slow down the flow of electricity and then finally the electricity flows to the other end of the power source ending the circuit.

The difference between the series and parallel circuits are huge because of compatibility and performance. The series circuit has many weaknesses because is if one light bulb were to go out the rest would go out while if the lights were in parallel and one went out the other light bulbs would still light up. Another thing is the performance because the lights in series aren’t as bright as the ones in parallel because they don’t each have their own branch of the circuit which means the brightness goes down for every added light bulb. Figure 2:An example of the advantge of the parallel circuit's reliability

Prompt 3

The history of rocketry started with the invention of black powder by the Chinese. This mix of ingredients include salt peter, charcoal dust and sulfur. But even before that people have been thinking of the rocket including Hero of Alexandria. Hero created an engine that was powered off of steam. This rocket was basically a kettle that spun around off of the general idea of rocketry. Even though these two simple inventions seem like they couldn't even come close to the rockets we have today they started the whole cycle that let us have the rockets that we have today.

Figure 1: The Hero Engine works by boiling water through two steel pipes which put the steam into the kettle which makes it spin

Even though these two examples may seem like they were the founders of rocketry they weren't the founders of modern rocketry. The father of modern rocketry is Robert H. Goddard; Goddard was one of the first to do many rocket tests. He was one of the first to try solid fuels to see how much exhaust velocity each one of them had. He eventually made his rockets have recovery systems like parachutes and even tools that could measure height speed and all other sorts of stuff. His experiments evetually led to the creation of NASA and the first satalite, Sputnick. Figure 2: This is one of the more complicated rockets Goddard used

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Intstructions: Press the Green Flag and the Simulation will start. This simulation is about a rocket that flies to Mars and launches an explorer that, in the end, explores Mars. --Prompt 4-Rocket Parts



The nose cone of the rocket is one of the main things that makes the rocket aerodynamic. The body tube is another thing that makes the rocket aerodynamic but it also holds all of the recovery systems and motors. The recovery system is simply a parachute inside of the body tube that is launched out of the rocket when it has reached its peak. The recovery wadding is simply something that stops the recovery system from getting damaged when the motors are started. The launch lug is just something that helps the rocket fly straight off of the launch pad; it is put over a piece of metal that helps the rocket fly straight. The fins are another thing that help the rocket fly straight because they make the rocket spin which provides a more stable flight. The motor mount keeps the motor in place and from falling out of the rocket. The motor is the piece of equipment that makes the rocket fly; it is ignited and the gases released make the rocket fly.

Prompt 5 The purpose of this experiment was to find out more information about rocketry and the way a mission to Mars would work. The forces working on the rocket were gravity which is a force is the attraction of any two objects in the universe; this force will pull the rocket down. Thrust is the force that will push the rocket off the ground and to do this it must overcome the force of gravity. Another force is air resistance which opposes the rockets flight upwards; this force is kind of like friction in the air. It was hypothesized that the lighter a rocket it is the higher it will fly because the lighter the mass the easier it will be to propel the rocket into the air. The results of this experiment show that the lighter a rocket is the higher it flies. This graph below shows this with and inverse relationship. Graph 1: The Apogee of a Rocket Depending on the Weight of a Rocket This data clearly shows how the lighter the rocket is the higher it flies. As you can see the rocket that went the highest was the lightest at 45g while the heaviest rocket at 51g—while it wasn’t the lowest height—was one of the lowest. In the end, my hypothesis was confirmed the lighter the rocket is the higher it flies.

Prompt 6 4/29/10 The history of robotics began in 350 BC when Archytas of Tarentum builds a robot called "The Pigeon" it was powered off of steam and was probably the first model airplane ever. The history of robotics then continued in 200 BC when Ctesibus invented water clocks that had moveable figures on them. This invention inspired the Greeks because it was way better than the hourglass that they were currently using. This invention inspired them so much that it probably led to the invention of mechanical watch.

The history of modern robotics started in 1495 when Leonardo Da Vinci invented "Leonardo's Robot" Picture 1: This is an example of "Leonardo's Robot" "Leonardo's Robot was designed specifically for entertainment, it moved like it had a real person in it and it began a whole chain reaction of robotic inventions. The next great step forward didn't come till 1898 when Nikola Tesla made a remote controlled boat that was demonstrated at Madison Sqaure Garden. Picture 2: This is an actual phote of the remote controlled boat designed by Nikola Tesla This thing was one of the main events that launched robotics to what it is today.

Prompt 7

DATE: 5/9/10
Title of Challenge: Dance Party

In this challenge the robot was supposed to dance to a song. The robot was supposed to hear the sound of the music and start dancing. The robot will do the dance an then at the end it will display a smiley face.

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Each of these blocks does something. The first block tells the robot to stop before it hears any sounds. The second block says that when the robot hears a sound it shold do an action that the following blok dictates. The next block is that action which is moving forward one rotation. The next blocks are in a loop which makes the blocks inside repeat a certain amount of times. These blocks repeat twice. The first block inside of the loop tells it to turn left 90 degrees. The second says to move forward. The hird block tells the robot to move backwards one rotation. Then the fourth block tells the robot to move forward .1 rotations to make it seem like the robot is hopping. The next blcok tells the robot to turn 90 degrees to the right. After that it tells the robot to move forward one rotation. Then it tells the robot to turn 90 degrees to the left. The next blcok tell it to move forward one rotation. The last block inside the loop tells the robot to turn 180 degrees. This then repeats once more because of the loop. The first block out of the loop tells the robot to turn around five times. Then the next block tells the robot to move forward one rotation on all motors. After that it tells only motor A to move forward three rotations. The next block tells the robot to move backwards one rotation with all of the motors. Then the robot is told to spin around five times to the left. The next block gets the screen to display a smiley face. The block after that says that the picture should stay on screen for three seconds. The blcok after that says to reset the screen to its original form and the final block tells the robot to stop.

Prompt 8

The Amazing Characteristics of Life There are eight characteristics of life that classify things into living, non-living, dead and dormant. The first one is, is the object made of cells. Cells are not just things that make up something they are made up of organelles; this is the main thing that makes a cell a cell. The second characteristic is the need of materials for the object to stay living. For example, humans need water and food to create energy. The third characteristic is homeostasis, or the ability to stay in the same state for awhile. The fourth characteristic is the response to stimuli. Stimuli can be anything a sound, the sun or even a sight you see. The fifth characteristic of a living thing is the ability to reproduce sexually or asexually. Sexual reproduction involves two parents while asexual reproduction involves only one parent. The sixth characteristic is growth or the ability to develop. All living things must grow at one point in their lifetime. The seventh characteristic of life is the ability to adapt. Adaptations are modifacations that make an organism suited to it's way of life. The eight and final characteristic of a living thing is respiration. This is the releasing of energy stored in the chemical bonds of sugar. Picture 1: An example of a plant cell and what it is made up of