In the Roller Coasters and Revolutions project, we were put into groups and had to make a short story and marble roller coaster that connected to a revolution our group was given to study.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QkeyxDADCABhbP6zkD8E7mXV1wVLY9L2TrG_IIzO3Jk/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QkeyxDADCABhbP6zkD8E7mXV1wVLY9L2TrG_IIzO3Jk/edit?usp=sharing
In my group was Oliver and Jeremy. Both are extremely good group members and we work incredibly well together. Within our group, we motivated each other to do better and excel in our work. We helped each other when we needed it, but we also carried our own weight effortlessly and we all did as best as we could. Our group was constantly working, but we made a point to make sure we kept our humor and stay pretty content and satisfied with our work. We were never too stressed out. Everyone in my group (Including me) are friends with each other, so we keep each other entertained as friends would, but in contrast to many other friend groups, we actually got loads of work done where we could challenge ourselves to do even better.
In humanities, we took a lot of time to learn about our revolutions to better understand the context of the stories we'd be writing and get a general idea of the theme of the roller coasters we'd later build. We took a couple weeks to build three presentations on our revolution which entailed extensive research and data collection. With that, we also learned how to make a good presentation and find credible online sources. We also learned more on how to invent a story based in a real historical event.
For the roller coaster portion of the project we built a track and then later had to figure out all of the momentum in the ball to find how fast the ball would have to go in order to make it over a bump or something of the like. We learned how to make an energy audit for the conservation of energy on the marble and calculate every part of it with a series of formulas. It was one of the most simple things to do in physics since all we had to do was plug in numbers and move onto the next formula which was relatively simple. Once the track was complete, we made some measurements and weighed the marbles and then figured out all of the energies at certain points of the track.
In engineering, we learned how to make blueprints and prototypes and eventually a marble roller coaster. First, we learned how to draw out our ideas in three dimensional form in order to fully recreate a model of it in real life. We then made a prototype out of basic materials based off the blueprints and it closely matched the final version of our roller coaster. When we started building the actual roller coaster, we learned how to bend and solder track which was pretty difficult, but really simple. We also used tools to make the buildings and set of our coaster.
For the final exhibition, we displayed our marble roller coasters and blue prints at Belmont Park. My group's product came out far better than I had anticipated prior to beginning construction. Ours was pretty nice in the end and pretty clean for the most part. I feel we excelled in the design of the base and decorations. In our learning outcomes (Work ethic, collaboration, oral communication, written communication, and content knowledge) I feel I have met all of the categories. My group and I work together incredibly well! We communicated everything, pulled our weight, and helped each other immensely. Collaboration was definitely my strong suit. We all pitched in and thought of ideas together which usually went hand in hand with each other. I collaborated very well with them. I also knew an extraordinary amount of information about my revolution due to the three presentations we made. We had to do extensive research for them and for the very very small details in the roller coaster such as the newspaper article print-outs. Maybe the only thing I could possibly grow in for this project would be work ethic. At some points in the project, my group and I would give up for a short period of time, but we quickly began working again full steam always after. All in all, this was a challenging project - perhaps the most difficult I've done so far - but I am pretty proud of the result and of what I've learned.
In humanities, we took a lot of time to learn about our revolutions to better understand the context of the stories we'd be writing and get a general idea of the theme of the roller coasters we'd later build. We took a couple weeks to build three presentations on our revolution which entailed extensive research and data collection. With that, we also learned how to make a good presentation and find credible online sources. We also learned more on how to invent a story based in a real historical event.
For the roller coaster portion of the project we built a track and then later had to figure out all of the momentum in the ball to find how fast the ball would have to go in order to make it over a bump or something of the like. We learned how to make an energy audit for the conservation of energy on the marble and calculate every part of it with a series of formulas. It was one of the most simple things to do in physics since all we had to do was plug in numbers and move onto the next formula which was relatively simple. Once the track was complete, we made some measurements and weighed the marbles and then figured out all of the energies at certain points of the track.
In engineering, we learned how to make blueprints and prototypes and eventually a marble roller coaster. First, we learned how to draw out our ideas in three dimensional form in order to fully recreate a model of it in real life. We then made a prototype out of basic materials based off the blueprints and it closely matched the final version of our roller coaster. When we started building the actual roller coaster, we learned how to bend and solder track which was pretty difficult, but really simple. We also used tools to make the buildings and set of our coaster.
For the final exhibition, we displayed our marble roller coasters and blue prints at Belmont Park. My group's product came out far better than I had anticipated prior to beginning construction. Ours was pretty nice in the end and pretty clean for the most part. I feel we excelled in the design of the base and decorations. In our learning outcomes (Work ethic, collaboration, oral communication, written communication, and content knowledge) I feel I have met all of the categories. My group and I work together incredibly well! We communicated everything, pulled our weight, and helped each other immensely. Collaboration was definitely my strong suit. We all pitched in and thought of ideas together which usually went hand in hand with each other. I collaborated very well with them. I also knew an extraordinary amount of information about my revolution due to the three presentations we made. We had to do extensive research for them and for the very very small details in the roller coaster such as the newspaper article print-outs. Maybe the only thing I could possibly grow in for this project would be work ethic. At some points in the project, my group and I would give up for a short period of time, but we quickly began working again full steam always after. All in all, this was a challenging project - perhaps the most difficult I've done so far - but I am pretty proud of the result and of what I've learned.