Siobhan

=Log 1= =3/23/11 =

=**Diodes , Transistors, Integrated Circuits and Why We Need Them to Get to Mars ** =

The difference between an analog signal and a digital sgnal is that an analog signal moves steadily from one number to another, and a digital signal jumps from one number to another. This means that a digital signal records a collection of numbers, and an analog signal has a smooth transfer from one number to another, to another. Semiconductors are useful in electronic devices because they allow you to control a current powering an electronic device. Diodes are used to make sure that electricity can only flow in one direction. Transistors are used to make electronic signals stronger and there are two different kinds, n- type and p-type. Integrated circuits are made to be smaller than transistors, so that you can fit enough to power a computer, and it’s not too big.

The electronic devices are important in controlling a robot that is going to Mars because it means that the robot can be turned on and off from earth. It also means that when it is winter and the sun is not shining on Mars, the robot can conserve energy. Because the robot isn’t doing anything in the winter it can conserve energy, and the diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits allow it to do that, and we can direct it to do so from Earth.

//Ms. Mc: Good overview of electronics. Your second paragraph could use more specific examples of electronic devices (a piece of equipment that uses electronic components in circuits to do a particular job) such as cameras, navigation systems, soil analyzers, etc. I like the different colored title :) 8.5/10 //

Log 2 4/5/11 Mission to Mars Scratch Project media type="custom" key="8971800"

Instructions: Click Red button to stop program running. Click green button to start program running. Turn sound to volume 20.

Log 3 4/5/11 ** A History of Rockets Summary **

In 100 B.C. something called the Hero engine was made, it worked when a fire was lit under a hollow sphere with two L shaped hollow tubes coming out of it. The pressure coming out of the tubes when the water evaporated made the engine turn. Around this time the Chinese also came up with something like a rocket. It was a bamboo tube with gun-powder on the inside of it. It was used in battle sometimes, but most commonly they were used in religious ceremonies.

Since these times rocketry has come a long way and a lot of that started with a Russian school teacher called Tsiolkovsky. He explored how to power rockets with liquids, and make them go farther for longer. On March 16, 1926 an American, Goddard, made the first successful flight with a liquid propelled rocket, a huge leap in the developments of rockets. The V-2 rocket was developed by a small community of scientists in Germany and was used in WWI against England, as a bomb. NASA was formed as a way to peacefully explore space, and it was created after the Soviet Union launched a satellite into space, so the Americans were almost trying to keep up with or one-up the Soviet Union, this was because if the Soviet's could send radio signals, and it would not be long before they could intercept them. This was bad news for the Americans, but they launched their own satellite only weeks later.

Chinese Rocket

Aeolipile

//Ms. Mc. Good summar of rocketry and drawings. Please insert your drawings/photos in your text when you discuss them and also, specifically refer to them (i.e., "as seen in Figure 1 . . .). Also, don't forget to include "Figure #_" in your captions. When discussing history, it's important to include specific dates. A few more details would have enhanced your paragraphs. 13.5/15//

Log #4 4/13/11

Figure 1 (below) is a rocket labeled with all its different parts, the definitions of these parts are; Nose cone: helps to make the rocket more streamlined . Body Tube: houses the parachute and rocket motor etc. Recovery system: keeps the rocket from braking when it comes back down to the ground. Recovery wadding: Stops the parachute from melting when the rocket is ignited. Launch Lug: Keeps the rocket straight when it is lifting off. Fins: keeps the rocket flying straight. Motor mount: keeps motor still. Rocket motor: powers the rocket, but it is non-reusable. 

Ms. Mc: Good labels and definitions. What is the recovery system? (-1/2). One spelling error; "braking" should be "breaking." (-1/2). Please include a title for all of your entries (-1/2). 18.5/20

Log #5 4/18/2011

** Introduction ** The purpose of this experiment was to simulate a rocket launch as a rocket might be launched to go to Mars. The rocket reached several different stages between takeoff and landing. While the rocket was on the launch pad the forces acting on it were force of gravity, and the force of the launch pad. The rocket was not moving anywhere because the forces were equal. During liftoff there was the force of gravity acting on the rocket and the force of thrust, the force of thrust was stronger than the force of gravity, so the rocket accelerated up into the air. When the rocket reached its apogee it stopped in the air for a moment before it can me back down, this is when the force of gravity overcomes the rockets inertia. The rocket then came back to the earth and the parachute opened to allow the rocket to float. It was hypothesized that the less massive the rocket the faster and higher it went into the air, and the lighter the rocket the slower it would drift down to earth. This was hypothesized because the less massive an object the less inertia it has so it is easier to slow down and speed up.  ** Results **

 The data for this experiment was extremely close together. The range of the results is 64. There was an extremely small difference between the mass data; the data was 43.9, 42.8, 43.6, 48.7, 44.1, 42.9, and 46.1grams. There is no relationship between the data. There are seven pieces of data, and when a best fit line was drawn, there were two pieces of data on the line and two or three pieces on either side of the line. That meant that there was no definite trend in the data. The fact that there was no direct or indirect tend in the data this means that the hypothesis was incorrect. It was hypothesized that the heavier the rocket the lower it would fly. Because there is no trend in the data it means that the mass had no effect on the flight of the rocket. The rocket with a mass of 43.9 grams had an apogee of 87 degrees, but a rocket with a mass of 42.8 grams had an apogee of 135 degrees, and a rocket with a mass of 43.6 grams had an apogee of 74 degrees. This shows that even though rockets with masses about a gram apart, can have a difference in apogee of 64 degrees. This shows that there is no effect on the apogee because of the mass. There may have been error in this experiment which includes wind strength, and the accuracy of the measure of the angle gun.

<span style="color: lime; font-family: 'Adobe Gothic Std B','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Quarks and Our Galaxy <span style="color: lime; font-family: 'Adobe Gothic Std B','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Log Entry 6 <span style="color: lime; font-family: 'Adobe Gothic Std B','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">A quark is a particle that is even smaller that proton or a neutron. There are 6 different types of quarks on nature. Protons and neutrons are made of quarks, and there are two different types of quarks in a proton or a neutron. There are two up quarks and one down quark in a proton, and two down quarks and one up quark in a neutron. <span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'Adobe Gothic Std B','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">When answering the question “Which is older our galaxy or the universe?” there are two different ways you can look at it. All the materials that make up our galaxy and the universe were created at the same time, in the big bang. So that would make them the same age. But the actual shape of our galaxy, and the planets in it did not form until millions of years after the universe, making the universe much older. There is also the view that the universe is still expanding, so it is not fully formed yet, and our galaxy is fully formed. So that would make our galaxy older. <span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'Adobe Gothic Std B','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">



Ms. Mc: Good answers and pictures but a few more details would make them better. What are the other 4 types of quarks? (-1/2). I like the different approach you took to the second questions. Try to include dates when discussing age (i.e., the Big Bang occurred about 15 billion years ago and our galaxy formed about 12 billion years). (-1/2). You were to refer directly to the figures and explain them in your text (-2). 7/10

<span style="color: #ff0066; font-family: 'Adobe Gothic Std B','sans-serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">﻿ The Blocks in Challenge 3 5/5/11 Log Entry 8

This function is important to the Mars rover becasue it means than the rover will not fall into a dark hole, because it will stop when it sees the difference in light.

Block 1- Activated the sound censor plugged into port 3 to activate when it received a sound about the level 50. Block 2- When the sound censor detected sound it activated the servo motors c and b to make the robot move forward in a straight line at 75% power. Block 3- The light sensor was activated to make the robot stop when it detected a light that was darker than level 33. Block 4- This block made the robot stop when the light sensor detected a light darker than level 33. Block 5- This block made the robot applaud when it stopped. It was a volume 75 %.