Month: September 2013

The Sawyer library has three floors, each one is different from the other in certain ways. The library is located on the second floor at 73 Tremont Street. This floor has important sections that all students need to know. First, the circulation desk where students can borrow books from the library. They offer two copies of each textbook that students can use to study in the library for a certain period of time. They also have laptops which students can work on at their break time. On the same floor there are several computer stations and printers for students to write, research and do assignments. The reference desk, which is located on the same floor, is a guide for students who need help. The librarians who work there can help and direct the students to find reliable sources for their papers. Students are encouraged to ask for assistance for their benefit. The 3ed floor has academic help center such as the math support center and the writing center. The 4th floor is quite study area and it’s the only floor students can borrow books to take them home.

 

The library online page has can be accessed from home, which makes it more convenient for students use. The most important is the database by subject, library catalog and help research guide. These are basic pages to direct you to the sources you need. How to search? Search terms like the author, title and subject are crucial to get the best result you need. Using quotations will allow the computer to search for the term entered together. There are also the advance search windows which allow you to narrow down your research and be more focused. You can narrow your research to a period of time, by this way you can get hundreds of articles instead of thousands. One interesting thing to mention is that students can email themselves journals and article they found. In some database the citation will be available in several forms like MLA, APA and Chicago style. Thus, everything will be organized for the students to work faster and save a lot time.

The robot was built in a previous class and it was connected to a program that allows it to run and control its speed. In the robotic activity, we looked at the program measurement for the robot distance at a particular speed. At different power levels and time, the numbers of turns, distance and rotation was changing. We tried to measure the distance of the car with a ruler and see the difference between both methods. Our calculations showed that there was a small difference in between the robot and the ruler measurement. The table below presents the date we got.

 

Power     Time         Rotation      Turns       Distance      Distance        Percent error

                                                                (Robot)         (Ruler)

60         1 sec         419-425       1.163          .20 m            .23 m              13%

50         2 sec         685-690        1.902         .33 m            .35 m              15%

40         2 sec         478-480        1.327         .23 m            .29 m              23%

35         3 sec         608-610        1.688         .29 m            .30 m               3%

30         5 sec         827-829         2.29          .40 m            .40 m              0%

 

These  are formulas we used to calculate the percent error:

1) Average = (Robot distance + Measured distance) / 2

2) Percent error = (Robot distance – Measured distance/ average) x 100

 

This activity introduced us to what does a robot consist of and how does it work. We looked at how far the car can travel at a specific power level and time. The error in measuring the distance is probably due human mistakes beside other factors.

 

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused a destructive damage along the east cost of the United State. It was the biggest storm that hit the US after hurricane Katrina. The storm basically was a combination of winds, rain and snow, which made it worse. Unexpected changes in the storm size and speed caused a massive damage. The wind speed kept increasing until it reached 145 kilometers per hour, which made the storm devastating. The storm shut down the power in almost 17 states leaving 8.2 million people without electricity. Billions of dollars were estimated as economic losses caused by hurricane sandy. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, said “The level of devastation at the Jersey Shore is unthinkable, It is beyond anything I thought I’d ever see…. it is a devastating sight right now.”

 

Was global warming the cause for such a disaster?

Scientists point out that global warming was not the only cause, but climate change and other factors were behind this extreme event. A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that these natural events caused by climate change were related to human activity and might increase in the future. The rise in sea level due to global warming had a crucial role for hurricane sandy to happen. A study done by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge and Princeton University in New Jersey  illustrated that the higher the sea level is, the more likely these extreme weather events to happen. Both rise in sea level and high ocean temperature allowed the hurricane to expand and cause damages. Apparently, global warming was one of the major factors that lead to this climate crisis. Scientists found that natural disasters are partly caused by global warming. The concern of the global warming issue is getting larger, thus it needs to be looked after by politicians, scientists and environmentalists to find fast and appropriate solution.

 

 

References

 

http://globalwarmingisreal.com/2012/11/01/hurricane-sandy-climate-change-and-the-upcoming-election/

http://0-www.nature.com.library.law.suffolk.edu/news/hurricane-sandy-spins-up-climate-discussion-1.11706

http://www.weatherwise.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2013/March-April%202013/hurricane-sandy-full.html

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