History of Space Travel

From yesterday's video, discuss what you feel to be the most significant development in thew history of space travel.

• What was the development?
• Who was involved?
• Why is it so important?
• What events led up to this development?
• What event followed from this development?

.

Thermo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb05CaG7TsQ

.

Quizlet

Answer the following in a comment to this post.

1. What is work?
2. Compare/ contrast conduction vs. convection.
3. What is an R-value?
4. List and describe 4 types of energy.
5. A calorie is a unit of what?
6. Why is a rabbit as it spins?

Answer the questions below, after defining the following terms:

• British Thermal Unit
• Calorie
• Chemical Energy
• Conduction
• Convection
• Density
• Elastic Potential Energy
• Electromagnetic Energy
• Gravitational Potential Energy
• Heat Capacity
• Heat Engine
• Infiltration
• Kinetic Energy
• K-value
• Mechanical Energy
• Nuclear Energy
• Radiation
• R-Value
• Thermal Energy
• Thermodynamics
• U-Value
• Work

1. How can I take the energy from a camp fire and use it to cool my ice chest?
2. How does a jet engine move an airplane?

DUE AT THE END OF CLASS TODAY

.

MouseTrap Car Final Report

Mouse Trap Car Final Reports are due at the end of class tomorrow!

Materials to be submitted:

• Cover Page - Project title, picture, name, period, date, etc.
  
• Preliminary Sketches - paper and pencil concept development
• Inventor Model - Orthographic & Isometric views - must have dimensions
• Engineers Report - write a short report describing and defending your design
• Completed Vehicle - evaluated on: Matches drawing/model - Quality of construction

.

MouseTrap Car Schedule

The class is divided into 3 groups:

• Group #1: Marshall, Devon, Aaron, Joe, Kieth
• Group #2: Jordan, Alex, Tyra, Garrett
• Group #3: Allen, Machalynn, Makenna, AJ

The schedule of events:

• Speed: (fastest car across 6')
• • Group #1: 7:53
  • Group #2: 7:55
  • Group #3: 7:57
  • FINAL: 8:00
• 
  
• Distance: (furthest distance traveled)
• • Group #1: 8:03
  • Group #2: 8:05
  • Group #3: 8:07
  • FINAL: 8:10
• 
  
• Twelve Feet: (closest to exactly 12')
• • Group #1: 8:13
  • Group #2: 8:15
  • Group #3: 8:17
  • FINAL: 8:20
• 
  
• Tractor Pull: (most weight pulled 6')
• • Group #1: 8:23
  • Group #2: 8:25
  • Group #3: 8:27
  • FINAL: 8:30

MouseTrap Car Variables

In a comment to this blog, discuss the different design variables involved in the mousetrap car and how those variables effect performance. You can use any format that you'd like.

.

Simple Machine Videos

Our assignment today involves counting the simple machines in the following videos:

1. Angry Asians
2. Mythbuster's Xmas
3. Homegrown Sweetness

.

Marble Sorter - Submitted Materials

· Cover Page - Project title, your name, partner's name, course name, date, etc.?

· Initial sketches – You will conceptualize your design and prepare a quality sketch of your system. This will be the concept you develop to completion.

· Program Narrative – A written step-by-step description of how you want your team’s marble sorter to operate. Include your motor ports, switch ports, analog input ports and associated values. Be as detailed as possible.

· Daily Entries – Every day keep track of your progress. Your entries must be made in the following form.

o Date:

o Tasks yet to be addressed

o Tasks Accomplished

· Print out of Program – A copy of the RoboPro program, and each subroutine in that program, will be copied to Word. A written description of each part of the program will need to be included.

· Device Pictures - You must include a series of photographs of your marble sorter.

o Side - Front - Top

o Orthographic

· Reflection - Write a one page reflection about your design. What worked well? What was problematic? What would you change? How well did your group work together?

.

RoboPro Study Material

Click Here to Download the files.

I don't think that Mac users can open .zip files...

.

IRobot

Answer the following questions by Monday morning:

• 1.) If in the future machines have the ability to reason, be self-aware and have feelings, then what makes a human being a human being, and a robot a robot?

• 2.) If you could have a robot that would do any task you like, a companion to do all the work that you prefer not to, would you? And if so, how do you think this might affect you as a person?

• 3.) Are there any kind of robots that shouldn't be created? Or that you wouldn't want to see created? Why?

• 4.) Automation and the development of new technologies like robots is viewed by most people as inevitable. But many workers who lose their jobs consider this business practice unfair. Do you think the development of new technologies, and their implementation, is inevitable? What, if anything, should we as a society do for those people who lose their jobs?

Robotics Tutorials

The robotics tutorials are due TODAY, including the Conclusion questions.

That means Activities A - J.

.

Solar Power

Check out this article:

Answer the following:

1. What university is conducting this research?
2. What is the efficiency of "old" solar cells?
3. What is a photon?
4. Why is this type of solar cell not ready for commercial production?

.

The Engineering Design Process

We'll be using the following resources today:

• Grey Wolf Innovations
• NASA

.

Excel - lent

Today we're going to start an Activity involving Microsoft Excel.

Go to My Computer/Shared/PLTW/Howard POE/Activity2_3a_Graphs_Using_Excel.doc


.

Excel

• Table
• Cell
• Chart
• Data
• Graph
• Histogram
• Line Graph
• Pictograph
• Pie Chart
• Plotting
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
• Spreadsheet
• Statistics
• Table

• 
  

Alphabet of Linez Quiz

What it is...

SketchesSketchesSketches

Answer the following:

1. How do they know Leonardo Da Vinci came up with the concepts of the parachute and helicopter?

2. The mayor of your town has asked you and two friends to design a sitting area in the town park. He would like to speak with you next week about your concepts. What types of sketches should you bring to the meeting to be sure he understands your ideas?

.

Chapter 1 Terms

Here are the terms that we should be familiar with from Chapter 1:

• ABET, Inc.
• 
  
• Automation
• 
  
• Bronze Age
• 
  
• Chronological
• 
  
• Engineering
• 
  
• Engineering Technology
• 
  
• Experimentation
• 
  
• Fulcrum
• 
  
• Hypothesis
• 
  
• Inclined Plane
• 
  
• Industrial Age
• 
  
• Information Age
• 
  
• Innovation
• 
  
• Iron Age
• 
  
• Role Model
• 
  
• Screw
• 
  
• Space Age
• 
  
• Stone Age
• 
  
• Synthetic
• 
  
• Theory
• 
  
• Time Line
• 
  
• Benchmark
• 
  
• Constraints
• 
  
• Contribution
• 
  
• Gender-Bias
• 
  
• Innovation
• 
  
• Interactive
• 
  
• Interpersonal Skills
• 
  
• Racial-Bias
• 
  
• Solution
• 
  
• Stereotyping
• 
  
• Systematic
• 
  
• TQM
• 
  
• Working Relationship
• Conflict Of Interest
• 
  
• Ethics
• 
  
• Public Welfare
• 
  
• Dilemma
• 
  
• Job Function
• 
  
• Traditional
• 
  
• Discipline
• 
  
• Non-Traditional
• 
  
• Whistle Blowing

.

Speak Your Piece

Answer the following in a comment to this post:

1.) What is the most important invention before year 1 AD? Why?

2.) What is the most important invention between 1 AD and 1900 AD? Why?

.

Lesson 1.1

DUE TUESDAY (9.01.09)

Answer the following:

1. In what ways did prehistoric engineers overcome limitations of the time to perform the same functions as modern engineers?

2. Which engineering feat of the twentieth century do you feel was the most significant and what were some of the underlying principles that finally made it possible?

3. Which areas of current research do you think are going to have the greatest impact in the next ten years and how will that research affect current problems?

4. What were the attributes possessed by early engineers that would help you become a successful engineer today?

.

POE 2009-2010

Welcome Back!!!

This is the class Blog Page for PLTW - Principles of Engineering.

Check here daily for precious baubles of enlightenment.

.

Course Survey

HERE'S THE LINK to the survey.

.

Materials Vocab

Define the following terms in a comment to this blog.

Save a copy for yourself for reference. Due Friday.

Material Categories:

• Alloy
  
• Carbide
  
• Ceramics
  
• Composite
  
• Compound
  
• Elastomers
  
• Element
  
• Ferrous
  
• Metal
  
• Nitride
  
• Organic
  
• Oxide
  
• Polymer
  
• Thermoplastic
  
• Thermoset

Material Properties:

• Acoustical
  
• Brittle
  
• Chemical
  
• Composite
  
• Compression
  
• Creep
  
• Crystalline
  
• Density
  
• Dimensional
  
• Ductility
  
• Electrical
  
• Fatigue
  
• Force
  
• Fracture
  
• Grain Size
  
• Gravity
  
• Hardness
  
• Inclusion
  
• Load
  
• Magnetic
  
• Mechanical
  
• Optical
  
• Phase
  
• Physical
  
• Porosity
  
• Resistance
  
• Spatial Configuration
  
• Strain
  
• Stress
  
• Tensile
  
• Thermal
  
• Toughness
  

Be prepared for a quiz later this week!

.

Material Properties

For each of the following material categories, provide 5 examples.

• Organics
• Metals
• Alloys
• Polymers
• Ceramics
• Composites

.