(1/20/17)
Here is the WC form of the Cardboard Wednesday Challenge we performed on Wednesday, the 11th of January, in which we had to cut a perfect one foot by one foot square with perfect 90 degree angles from cardboard.
Cardboard Wednesday Challenge
Here is an image of me with the Cardboard square we cut out.
(Week of 1/17/17)
During this week we mainly worked on our websites, but we received different options in the way we could create our Semester 2 websites. I chose to stay the html way because it is how we did websites in the first semester, so I thought it would be easier. However, we had to now create a homepage with links to both Semester 1 and 2. This was slightly difficult, but I got used to it. Additionally, we had a Wednesday Challenge this week, on the 18th, in which we had to carry golf balls that were "affected by ebola" from a bag into another location. However, because the balls were "diseased", we couldn't use our hands, but we instead had to use 2 popsticle sticks, several paper clips, and some string and a pencil to construct a device that would pick up the golf balls from the bag and place them in the target without us touching the balls with our hands. This is the WC Form for the Ebola Ball Wednesday Challenge.
Ebola Ball Wednesday Challenge
Here is a picture of me with the device we created for the Ebola Wednesday Challenge.
(1/23/17)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to the class the first grades he gave us for our websites this semester. After that, we continued to work on our 2nd Semester websites for the rest of the period.
(1/24/17)
Today, Dr. Neat assigned to the class another assignment: construct a car that has to fit within the volume of 4" by 8" by 3", and the car can only be made of cardboard, straws, and wood glue. The car will be sent down a ramp, and the car that wins will be the one that travels the straightest and farthest down the ramp.
(1/25/17)
Today, because it is Wednesday, Dr. Neat assigned another Wednesday Challenge: each team must construct an actual device that is cool, has the class number 589 written on it, and is under 50 cents. Additionally, it is optional, but Dr. Neat said it would be better if the device is related to the Steamworks Competition theme. Here is the WC form for the Wednesday Challenge.
Cool Device Wednesday Challenge
(1/26/17)
Today, Dr. Neat allowed the class to work on the Car Project, but I needed to update my website, so I updated my website.
(1/27/17)
Today, the veterans presented to the class the progress they are making in performing the Steamworks Robotics Competition. So far they are still in construction of the robot they are going to bring into the actual competition, but I think they are doing a good job with it. After the veterans had their presentation, I continued to work on my website.
(1/30-31/16)
On Monday, Dr. Neat allowed the class to work more on the cars we are constructing. He also allowed us to work more on our cars on Tuesday, but I decided to work on my website because Mr. Miller is going to be grading the websites this weekend.
(2/1/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, Dr. Neat assigned the class another Wednesday Challenge, which was to construct a better version of the last Wednesday Challenge's winning team's device. The winning team was Alvin's, and they constructed a simple spinning device that when spun into the air, would spin and fall slowly downward. This is the Wednesday Challenge form for this Wednesday Challenge.
Cool Device Number Two Wednesday Challenge
Here is the picture of the device my team constructed.
(2/2/17)
Today, I continued to work on my website because Mr. Miller was going to grade the websites soon.
(2/3/17)
Today, the veterans presented to the class their completed CAD design of the robot they are constructing, which was a great accomplishment for them. The robot they are building is shaped like a cube, and the overall machine looks pretty cool.
(2/6-8/17)
On Monday and Tuesday, I worked on my website for nearly the entire websites so I would not be behind when grading occurred again. On Wednesday, the class was assigned another Wednesday Challenge: Design a fidget toy that is under 50 cents, easy to create, and has the class number 589 written on it. Here is the WC form for the Wednesday Challenge.
Fidget Toy Wednesday Challenge
(2/9-10/17)
On Thursday, we started the car race. I thought that the car that I built was going to do very poorly, so I decided to build a new car, but got very little done. On Friday, we continued the car race, and because I did not have much time to finish building my new car and race afterwards, I decided to throw away my newly started car and use my first car in the competition. I built my first car very small and narrow so that it would easily pass the "fitting in the box" test and so that it could have a higher chance of staying on the ramp longer. I cut two holes in the body of the car, and I stuck one straw in each so that I could attach the wheels. I did it this way because I thought it would allow the car to stay straight as it rode down the ramp. However, when I put the car on the ramp, and the race started, my car did not move at all because I put too much glue and it hardened the car and made it stiff. For the second race, my car still didn't move at all. For the third race, I put the car upside down, and it slid down only one inch.
Here is an image of the car I built and used in the car race.
Here is the link to the car race scores of the class.
Car Race Scores
(2/14/17)
Today, Mr. Miller presented to the class the grades of the websites he gave. Afterwards, Dr. Neat gave the class the rest of the time to update their websites.
(2/15/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, Dr. Neat assigned the class another Wednesday Challenge: The class will be split into two even groups. Each person in each group will receive a plastic tube, and they will, while their left hand is behind their back, toss the tube with their right hand in the air to the person on their left while trying to catch the tube being thrown to them with their right hand. This will be done first sitting down, then standing up, then standing up and throwing the tube to the person standing after the other person standing next to you on your left. Here is the WC form for this Wednesday Challenge.
Tube Toss Wednesday Challenge
Here is a picture of the Tube Wednesday Challenge.
(2/16/17)
Today, the class worked on their websites for nearly the whole period. Additionally, those who were ready could perform their third and final car race.
(2/17/17)
Today, after the veterans showed us the robot they are still working on constructing, and drove it around for a couple of minutes, the class just worked on their websites for the rest of the period or completed their three car races.
(2/21/17)
Today, Dr. Neat presented to the class the website grades he performed over the 3-day weekend. After that, he told the class the names of the students that passed the cardboard car challenge, and those students could move on to the next step with the car challenge, which is to build a cardboard car based on a SketchUp model that Dr. Neat constructed.
(2/22/17)
Today, Dr. Neat assigned the class another Wednesday Challenge: Using SketchUp, create a model of the letter "A". This SketchUp model will be given to another team, which will try to recreate that model manually out of cardboard. The winning team will be the one with the closest manual design of the other team's SkecthUp model. Here is the WC form for this challenge.
Cardboard Letter A Wednesday Challenge
Here are pictures of the A Wednesday Challenge.
(2/23/17)
Today, me and my partner, Edgar, finished the Wednesday Challenge. The day before, we had finished designing the SketchUp of our model of the "A". We made it rectangular so it would be easy for the other team to design our "A". Today, we received another team's "A", and their A happened to be triangular. Using their dimensions, we decided that we had to use math equations to solve for the angle we needed to cut the A. After that, cutting the A was pretty easy.
(2/24/17)
Today, Dr. Neat showed us a video by NASA about how they discovered new Earth-like planets, which was very interesting. After that, Dr. Neat gave us the rest of the time to update our websites.
(2/27/17)
Today, Dr. Neat showed the class the required website links we needed to have on our websites before this weekend because Mr. Miller was going to be grading the class's websites this weekend. After that, he showed the SketchUp model of the car that the students who completed the car challenge had to make for their next step. Then he allowed the class to update our websites.
(2/28/17)
Today, Dr. Neat allowed the class to work on whatever the students needed to work on. I chose to work on my website because I needed to update it.
(3/1/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, we were assigned another Wednesday Challenge: Construct a rocket boat tail with three layers out of cardboard. The winning team will be the one with the smoothest rocket boat tail and the one that has three layers. This is the WC form for the Wednesday Challenge.
Rocket Boat Tail Wednesday Challenge
(3/2/17)
Today, the class was given the whole period to finish the Wednesday Challenge. The day before, my team and I were able to start constructing our device out of cardboard, and we were able to finish two layers. However, we realized our design was not good, so we decided to start over. After, we were done, we covered it in duct tape to smoothen it as much as we could. Here is a picture of our device.
(3/3/17)
Today, Dr. Neat and Mr. Miller gave the entire period to the class to work on their websites or anything else students needed to work on.
(3/6/17)
Today, after Mr. Miller presented to the class the grades he gave students for their websites and articulated on the matter, Dr. Neat gave the class the rest of the period to update their websites or work on their cars.
(3/7/17)
Today, we had another car race. The race was for students who failed the first triple-round race by not getting at least to 100 inches down the ramp. I worked on finishing my car, and it looks much better than the first one did because the straws fit correctly through the wheels. I didn't get to race my car yet, however, because the glue needs to dry.
(3/8/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, Dr. Neat and Mr. Miller assigned the class another Wednesday Challenge that would go on for a week and finish by the end of next Wednesday: Design a box that can package and mail a potato chip without the chip breaking. The box design cannot have duct tape around it and it must follow all the rules of USA packaging. This design will then be given to another team to construct manually. There can be two possible winners, the team that constructed the box with the highest score, which will be the score of the chip (100 = perfect) over the total mass multiplied to the total volume times one thousand, and the team that designed the box. Here is the WC form for this Wednesday Challenge.
Potato Chip Wednesday Challenge
Here is a picture of the box we constructed manually, and here is a picture of the instructions for making the box.
Potato Chip Instructions
(3/9-10/17) These two days, all we did was work on the Wednesday Challenge. On Thursday, my partner and I finished our design of the box, and our score looked pretty confident. On Friday, we received another team's box's design, and the score was much lower than ours. However, the rules were very easy to follow, and the chip would most likely be pretty safe in the box when being mailed.
(3/13/17)
Today, my partner and I began construction of the box we received from another team. I cut out four cardboard pieces according to the measurements we needed for the quart-sized bag to fit into the box. That is all we were able to complete for today.
(3/14/17)
Today, we finished cutting out the other two cardboard pieces we needed for the construction of the actual piece to be complete. We then started to tape the box together to complete the actual box.
(3/15/17)
Today, we put the potato chip into the quart-sized bag and put paper towel around the chip to secure it. We then put the bag into the box and put paper towels around it to secure it. We have now finished the Wednesday Challenge.
(3/16/17)
Today, Dr. Neat showed the class a video on possible new probes that might be sent onto Mars. After that, he gave the rest of the period to the class to work on their websites.
(3/17/17)
Today, Dr. Neat just gave the class the entire period to update their websites.
(Spring Break)
Over Spring Break I really didn't do much. My family and I stayed home, and we mainly just visited my aunt and uncle and cousins. When at home, I mainly played on my PS3 with my brother. I also played basketball in my backyard. My cousins from New Jersey, which we haven't seen in a year, are coming to visit us two weeks from now, which is when their Spring Breaks start. Here is a picture of me playing basketball.
(3/28/17)
Today, Dr. Neat allowed the class to update their websites ad work on what they needed to work on. He also remarked that he would be grading the websites next weekend, so I am not behind schedule.
(3/29/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, Dr. Neat assigned the class another Wednesday Challenge, which was actually a question that needed an explanation: Would you rather write all the numbers from one to a million instead of taking math class for the school year and skip all the normal math class tests, quizzes, etcetera and get an A for the year, or would you rather take the normal math class for the year. My group and I decided to write out all the numbers from one to a million. Our explanation is shown below in the present Wednesday Challenge. Here is also a picture of our calculations.
Million Numbers Wednesday Challenge
(3/30/17)
Today, my group and I presented our explanation for the Wednesday Challenge, and for the rest of the period we finished listening to the rest of the groups present their reasons for what they chose for the Wednesday Challenge.
(3/31/17)
Today, the veterans gave a description of what they did over the course of the Steamworks Competition. They described the competition itself, inspection of their robot, which they said did very well, and the hotel experiences. After that, Dr. Neat gave the entire class the rest of the period to update their websites.
(4/3-4/17)
Today, Dr. Neat just allowed the class to work on what they needed to work. He explained that students that passed the hundred inch mark when doing the car race and that have a proficient grade are on their way to making the skateboard. I still need to race my car, however, because it didn't pass the hundred inch mark. I have my new car completed, but I need to find time to race it.
(4/5/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, we were assigned another Wednesdsy Challenge: Estimate the number pie by calculating the circumference of a round object and then the diameter of the object, and divide the circumference by the diameter to get the number. The winner is the team with the number closest to pie. Here is the WC form for this Wednesday Challenge, and here is a picture of our calculations.
Pi Calculation Wednesday Challenge
(4/6/17)
Today, Kevin S. gave a presentationon how to make a basic skateboard design usingthe SketchUp application. The process involved many new steps I haven't learned, but it seems pretty straightforward. After that, we were allowed to work on whatever we needed to work on.
(4/7/17)
Today, after presenting the Estmating Pie Wednesday Challenge winning score and Potato Chip Wednesday Challenge scores, Dr. Neat gave the rest of the period to work on our websites because the websites are being graded this weekend.
(4/10/17)
Today, it was block schedule, so the class was two hours long instead of one. Dr. Neat allowed the Skateboard group to work on their Skateboard SketchUp design, but I am not in that group because my car didn't go down the ramp past the 100 inch mark line. Instead, Dr. Neat gave our group a "Wednesday Challenge", even though it's Monday, so we could have another project to do instead: Using only one inch by one inch cardboard squares, build a tower out of them, but they cannot be connected using adhesives. There are two groups, the group with the tallest and most similar to the SketchUp model design of the tower wins. Here is the WC form and picture for this Wednesday Challenge.
Tower Squares Wednesday Challenge
(4/12/17)
Today, because we didn't finish the Wedneday Challenge on Monday, we had the entire two hours today for construction. We thought we were doing very well until we realized our model was way off our SketchUp model, and the other team's was very close, so we realized that we lost.
(4/14/17)
Today, the veterans explained their trip to the regional for the SteamWorks Competition, which was pretty interesting, and told us that they were going to the Houston Championships, which is great for the Robotica team. After that, Dr. Neat gave the class the rest of the time to work on whatever they needed to work on.
(4/17/17)
Today, Dr. Neat gave the entire class period to the students to work on whatever they needed to work on. The class period was only one hour today, but tomorrow is block schedule throughout the entire week again.
(4/18/17)
Today, Dr. Neat gave the group not working on the Skateboards another "Wednesday Challenge", even though it's Tuesday: Design a boat that fits the car race rules for the size that will flow down the artificial river. This design will be given to another group to construct manually, and the winning teams will be the one with the real boat that flowed down the "river" the fastest, and the one that made its design. Here is the WC form for the Wednesday Challenge, and here's a picture of the boat we made and the instructions we received for making it.
Boat Race Wednesday Challenge
(4/20/17)
Today, we received the instructions for making another team's boat. When racing, however, no one got even close to the finish line.
(4/25/17)
Today, for the whole period, the veterans talked about what they had done at Houston and how the championships went for them and several other teams. They didn't win, but they said that inspection went well, and that they had a pretty good time. They also explained the division they were in, which was named after Isaac Newton, which was extremely close to winning the entire championships.
(4/26/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, we were assigned another Wednesday Challenge: Construct a plan to cut equal pieces of cardboard from a 5 foot by 5 foot cardboard square so that the minimum amount of waste is left over. Each piece must be 10 inches wide, and each piece's length must be greater than 32 inches, but less than 46 inches. The winning group will be the one with the plan that has the smallest amount of waste left over. Here is the WC form for this Wednesday Challenge. Here is also a picture of my team's plan.
Five by Five Feet Cardboard Wednesday Challenge
(4/27/17)
Today after Dr. Neat discussed the results of the Boat Race Wednesday Challenge and the Five by Five Cardboard Square Wednesday Challenge, he gave the rest of the class period to the students to work on their websites and skateboards for those who are in the Skateboard group.
(4/28/17)
Today, after Dr. Neat showed us a video on the Cassini spacecraft, which successfully flew through Saturn's rings, and the project cost over 3 billion dollars, he gave the students in the class the rest of the period to update our websites or work on the Skateboards if we were in that group because he's grading the websites this weekend.
(5/1/17)
Today, because Mr. Miller graded websites this weekend, he showed us the grades he gave to the class. I was happy with my grade, but what was even better was that he included both the Skateboard requirements and non-skateboard "Wednesday" Challenges for both groups. After he realized this, he said he would talk about it with Dr. Neat, I could get extra credit with the grade. After showing the class, he allowed us to work on whatever we needed to work on.
(5/2/17)
Today, Dr. Neat just gave the entire class period to the students to update their websites or work on their skateboards if they are in that group.
(5/3/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, the entire class was assigned another Wednesday Challenge: Design a paper airplane that can fly the farthest. This design, written on paper, will be given to another team to be constructed manually. The winning teams will be the one whose actual plane flew the farthest, and the team that designed that plane. Here is the WC for this Wednesday Challenge and a picture of the instructions we got from another team for making the plane, and here is the picture of the actual plane we constructed.
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Airplane-Toss Wednesday Challenge
(5/4/17)
Today, after me and my partner Zach finished testing the plane we built, which didn't fly that far at all, Dr. Neat gave the class the rest of the period to update their websites by filling out the WC form or work on their Skateboards. Additionally, Dr. Neat is grading websites next weekend.
(5/5/17)
Today, because we didn't really have much to do, Mr.Neat gave the class the entire period to update their websites, but I usually finish updating it the week he's grading, so I didn't do much on it.
(5/8-9/17)
For these two days, I only worked on my website because there was nothing else to work. Mr. Neat is grading thuis weekend.
(5/10/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, the people not in the skateboard group were assigned another Wednesday Challenge: Using only one piece of graph paper, design and build a boat that carry the heaviest weight for at least 5 minutes without sinking. The winning team will be the one that can carry the heaviest weight for the longest time without the boat sinking. Here is the WC form for this Wednesday Challenge.
(5/11-12/17)
These two days, Dr. Neat just gave the class the entire period to work on their websites because he is grading this weekend, or to work on their skateboards.
(5/15-16/17)
For these two days, I really didn't do much except plan out the design of my car because I needed to make a car in order to pass the project portion of my website grade. With Derek's help, I decided that I would have a similar body plan as my previous car, but for the wheels, I decided that I would place skinny straws inside a thick straw in order to allow the wheels to be able to turn properly.
(5/17/17)
Today, because it was Wednesday, we were assigned another Wednesday Challenge: You will be paired up, and one person will be "blinded" for 30 seconds while being instructed to find certain blocks in order to create a rectangular prism as much as possible. After this, roles will be switched, and the same process will be done again. The winning team will be the one that can complete the rectangle the most. Here is a picture and the WC form for this challenge.
(5/18-19/17)
For these two days, I continued to work on my car. On Thursday, I actually finished testing it, and it went down the ramp completely, but broke along the way. On Friday, I continued to work on it but couldn't figure how to improve it. Here are pictures of the car.
(5/22/17)
Today, all I did was work on my website because this is the last website grading period for the year, and I am slightly behind the schedule.
(5/23/17)
Today, Mr. Miller announced that we would be performing the Engineering Final on Friday, and that we would have the full week to work on it. The goal of the challenge is to: Produce a dirty-water filter using a two-liter bottle and any materials you want to place inside the bottle to filter the unclean water. The score will be based on cleanness of water, speed of filtration, and number of different components. All these three factors will be multiplied to one another, and the pair with the lowest score will win.
(5/24/17)
Today, my partner Demetrius and I worked on our test bottle for our filter. We decided we were going to use coffee filters and another substance, such as coal, to filter our water the best. Here is a picture of our idea.
(5/25/17)
Today, because Demetrius brought all the supplies, we constructed our final filter, and turned it in to Mr. Miler at the end of the period.
(5/26/17)
Today, we tested our final water-filter, and me and my partner didn't do that well. We did have a relatively fast score, though. Here is the WC form for this Wednesday Challenge.