Bill Nye

I met Bill Nye at the Space Symposium this week.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

International Space Station Research

Research an implementation of alternative energy on the ISS.  Discuss and explain this technology on your blog.  Use some pictures, too!

-What are some important factors to consider about this technology?
-Why is alternative energy necessary?
-Can the device/technology store energy? Does it need to?
-How does this technology compare to the same technology used on Earth?

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Solar Water Heater Instruction

Solar Water Heater Project

The school wants to install solar water heaters. You must figure out what elements should be considered in their design. Use the materials provided to create a water heater, then test how well your design heats water. Record data from your testing.

EVERY STUDENT MUST CREATE a Keynote showing your plan, design, pictures and data. The Keynote must be original. I do not want four of the same from each group member! How affective is your product? Provide data from your testing and an explanation of how your design works.

Email a Keynote AND a letter to MSEF (they provided the grant money for this project) about what should be considered when building a solar water heater.

Alternative Energy Engineering Intro

We will start our unit with some research and role play surrounding a current topic of debate in Colorado: hydraulic fracturing.  Today, you will begin researching this process and will report on its pros and cons.  Towards the end of class, you will receive a "role" in our role play scenario.  We will debate and discuss the process later this week or next.

These are some questions to guide your initial research.  Be careful to use primary sources that are reliable and unbiased, or specify when you have found information that is interesting, but may not be accurate:

1.  What is hydraulic fracture and how is it performed?
2.  Describe a typical scenario of a family that is involved with hydraulic fracturing on their land and how (if at all) it is affecting them.
3.  Describe some basic pros and cons surrounding hydraulic fracture.
4.  What are policy makers (state and federal) saying about hydraulic fracture?  What about the EPA?
5.  What are gas companies saying about hydraulic fracture and citizen concerns around fracking?

Type your thoughts and research in a Pages document titled "Fracking Role Play".  This will be the start of your research.  You have 45 minutes to complete this portion of the assignment.

National Space Symposium Essay

If you would like to be considered to attend the National Space Symposium, you will need to write an essay about the following prompt:

In 2020, where would you like to see space exploration and why?

Email your response by the end of school on March 16th.  

Balloon Car Challenge

Your challenge is to build a balloon car that travels the farthest, carrying 5 pennies, on tile or carpet (we will try on both).  However, all good engineers need to consider cost when designing a project.  Each item that you use will have an associated "cost", even if you provide it yourself (see me for a cost on original materials).  You will have two class periods to build your design, and we will have a competition the week of March 5th.  Your final project must include the following:

1.  a completed, functioning balloon car
2.  a budget with a total cost for supplies
3.  a Keynote presentation or iMovie that "advertises" your design and its cost.  It must also describe how the car demonstrates EACH of the 3 laws of motion
4.  post the presentation/movie to Facebook or email it to me