This past Wednesday, my groups began setting the foundation for the final project. The first, most important task was theoretically simple: choose an experiment. What we quickly found out, though, is that picking just one experiment on sustainability is not as simple in practice. We first sifted through the many examples and sources provided by professor Shatz, making note of concepts particularly interesting to each of us. We hopped across a range of topics from heat fusion to solar energy to even creating a potato battery. As we continued, however, we realized that our process was so divergent that it was bordering on counterintuitive to actually formulating a good experiment on sustainability. Because of this realization, we took a metaphorical step back and found an experiment we could all agree on: the freezing and melting of water and its relation to energy creation.
This idea has proved to be a great one thus far; it is simple, coherent, and allows us to use the NXT probe. This last component is especially useful because we have all become acclimated to this apparatus thanks to our Lego Mindstorm experiments throughout the spring. We have already gathered this and the other materials required. Furthermore, for maximized efficiency we have delegated responsibilities to each member of the group: two members are assembling our lab report, two others are creating the PowerPoint presentation, and I will be working on/editing our group’s final web page as the group leader. To be more specific, each member has a role in each of the three aspects of the project, but we have prioritized them according to each individual to ensure we put 100% effort across every front.
It is only too bad that its not warmer out, as we even thought we could take advantage of the Charles River and conduct the experiment in its waters! Regardless, we’re sure to have an excellent demonstration on sustainability and are already well on our way to it. This coming Monday, April 6, we will be running our first test of the experiment and look forward to preparing for a class presentation later this April.
I agree it was hard to simply just pick on experiment that relates to sustainability because there are many out there. I am looking forward to your group’s presentation as your experiment seems interesting and incorporates things that we learned and used in class such as using the NXT.
Great blog. Good brainstorming session! We as a team also had to look around for a sustainable project, not only because there are a lot around, but because we also wanted to have the materials needed available from the school. Can’t wait to see the outcome of your project.