Here is a picture of our final project and my calculations for the top level:
Here are some pictures of how our thinking process started:
Self Reflection:
I believe this project went really well. I had a chance to develop my knowledge on equilibrium and to clarify my calculations with the help of my peers. I learned about some factors that I wasn’t too sure about, such as, if certain variables would change our data significantly. At first, I was unsure if we needed the weight of the popsicle sticks that we had on each level that we were measuring. I was thinking that the mass was needed because each mass for the popsicle sticks were different, then that would contribute to our data. In reality, because the mass of the popsicle sticks were so light, there isn’t a huge difference to note in the calculations.
My data for each weight was relatively similar with 0.0260946Nm for the 0.20kg mass, and 0.0288395Nm for the 0.50kg mass that was hanging on the other side of the popsicle stick. The difference between each of these were 0.0028449Nm, but that was resolved once I rounded the data to the correct amount of significant figures (0.03Nm each). Some possible errors that could have caused this difference in data were the friction between the table and our objects in equilibrium, or how the surface we were using for our project wasn’t exactly straight, causing our project to be at a different angle and having our project not be in total equilibrium. My only suggestions for next time would be to create it on the ground away from others to step on because the surface would be flatter, and to add some more colour or more visually appealing aspects.
Core Competency Reflection:
The Core Competency that I feel works best with this project is Critical and Creative Thinking. During this project, Critical and Creative Thinking really kicked in when designing, creating, calculating and presenting our project. For example, when starting to think of ideas, we tried to think of something that was eye-catching, but that mainly followed all of the criteria for the project: to maintain equilibrium.
After looking at a few ideas for inspiration, we decided to start building for fun to see what we could come up with. I started by adding a few beads into two different spheres to change their weights, then we were creating additional levels using other objects. While we liked our ideas and the way we were thinking towards building, we still had some things to adjust. We decided we liked some components that we created, however the next step was to develop our ideas. While we still used objects such as popsicle sticks and paper cups, we had to scrap some other aspects that weren’t needed, like the spheres. From there, we changed our idea from a few simple levels to a few levels with more weights, string tensions, and fulcrums involved.
For the next step, we were more focused on the set-up for the presentation, and our correct calculations. To make sure our set-up was correct, we made markers on the popsicle sticks to make sure that all objects were in equilibrium. Whenever we had one object leaning or starting to fall, we knew we had to adjust our placement of the objects on each level. With that process, we were left with a lot of questions, such as if we measured and placed everything correctly? If not, how could we fix that before presenting?
While critiquing our work, we realized that everything would be in equilibrium as long as our paper cups (fulcrums) weren’t too far apart from the center. Even though each level had different centers of gravity, we used that to our advantage in order to help keep our project in equilibrium, and to help make the visual aspect look less messy. For our calculations, we took each level apart one at a time, and we measured each competent that was needed to determine the total torque on both sides of the popsicle sticks. We had to assess what parts were needed for the calculation and what parts weren’t necessary – such as the mass of the popsicle stick itself.
Finally, we presented our project and explained how our it was in equilibrium, as well as how particular our set up was. We reflected on our past ideas and how they helped us work towards our final product. In the end, I learned more about how equilibrium works, especially with more weights, more center of gravities, and more dimensions involved.