Reflection #1
Looking at my previous work I see major improvement and areas where I still need to work on compared to the things I have done this year. I like seeing the things I have done because it makes me think about the different things I learned and spark new interests or maybe stoke the same flame of passion I still have. Although I have improved a lot I still like the work I have done and like to see what I have done to give me a sense of accomplishment and pride.
Reflection #2
I personally think that this portfolio really does a great job of showing all my important work in one place. It let me see all of the different things I finished last year and made me see how much I improved. Being that we don't have grades in Mosaic this is also a perfect way to show colleges exactly what I've done and that is super important. Also, reflecting, I think, is a big deal, too, because it makes you think about what exactly you just did and summarizes your feelings in a concise and precise way. As the year is coming to a close I really enjoyed wrapping it up in a good looking website that could shape my future as a student both in high school and college.
Reflection #3
The first two weeks of school have been great. I love how they've added bolts and inquiry blocks. I think that they'll help everyone graduate on time and doing so by having fun and in a not too traditional way. For example, I won't seek out math on my own so I will probably do a bolt for math to help me out with getting that credit in order to graduate. Also for my inquiry block I chose to research why people listen to music which has been very interesting. I am looking forward to the rest of my junior year and the rest of my Mosaic/Castle View experience.
Reflection #4
I am loving the Serial Podcast Bolt with Martin. I feel like it keeps me busy while I can still enjoy getting credits I need just by analyzing a story that I honestly think is interesting and engaging. I've never made a podcast before so I like how this is getting me out of my comfort zone and making me talk to new people and make me do something new. With the second inquiry block I'm exploring the sustainability and carbon footprint of clothing companies. As my parents know I've always been fascinated by Patagonia so that really sparked my interest. I'm really feeling good about this year.
Reflection #5
As the Serial Podcast Bolt is coming to an end, we are wrapping up the podcast that we made. The podcast is about 45 minutes long and is packed full of info about our findings and conclusions. I really enjoyed the Bolt and think I did pretty well and was successful in the sense that I got everything done promptly. Also, Charley and I have finished the first part of our independent study and have a meeting with her today discussing what the next step is. Lastly, I am getting to be close to being done with the second inquiry block and finding a lot of interesting things I didn't know before.
Reflection #6
The first half of Mosaic has looked different than any other year in Mosaic. This year we introduced BOLTS and Guided Inquiry Blocks. I feel that they help me a lot in subjects that I wouldn't pursue on my own and help me knock out the acquired credits to graduate. I loved the Political inquiry block and I learned a lot from it. We took a test to determine our political standing, me being left-libertarianism. Working with a team with the same beliefs is fun and we got to write a politiacl manifesto with our beliefs in one paper and was a lot of fun to act like a politician running for office. Our most recent block was about game design and my partner and I made a game called Compass which a lot of people enjoyed. Lastly, I finished up my independent study which was a lot of fun because we analyzed Band of Brothers, a show based off of World War II, which was a great show and it was fun watchign it and looking at the accuracies and inaccurate things in it.
Mousetrap Car Reflection
- How did you come up with your design? We came up with our design first by thinking that we wanted a three wheel car because we saw how well other people's who did three wheels did. We attempted to make it but decided to stick to what we knew and made a four wheel car. We put duct tape on the wheels to make more traction so the wheels gut get more grip make it easier to move forward.
- What did you use as the wheels? Why? We used CDs as wheels because they're perfectly round and easy to attach.
- What did you use as the body? Why? We used cardboard because it's flexible and easy to work with. It's also lightweight so less friction on the wheels.
- How did you make the car move? We tied a string to the back axle and duct taped a pencil to the mousetrap and tied the other end to it. Then we spun the wheels backwards creating potential energy in the pencil, string and mousetrap.
- What troubles did you run into? How did you fix them (be specific!)? (LOTS to write about here!!) One of the problems that we encountered was when the wheels couldn't keep straight. We could not figure out how to glue them on so they'd stay straight so we started our car at an angle to makeup for the turning. Our car did not make it the whole length for reasons we could not come up with.
- Did you car run straight? Why/why not? Our car did not run straight because the wheels were not put on straight and were very hard to keep straight.
- If you worked as a team, how do you think you worked with your partner? Did you share responsibilities? Did you communication well? Why/why not? I think Charley and I worked very well together and had fun doing so. We are best friends so it definitely wasn't hard to get our ideas off and communicating with each other.
- What did you use as the wheels? Why? We used CDs as wheels because they're perfectly round and easy to attach.
- What did you use as the body? Why? We used cardboard because it's flexible and easy to work with. It's also lightweight so less friction on the wheels.
- How did you make the car move? We tied a string to the back axle and duct taped a pencil to the mousetrap and tied the other end to it. Then we spun the wheels backwards creating potential energy in the pencil, string and mousetrap.
- What troubles did you run into? How did you fix them (be specific!)? (LOTS to write about here!!) One of the problems that we encountered was when the wheels couldn't keep straight. We could not figure out how to glue them on so they'd stay straight so we started our car at an angle to makeup for the turning. Our car did not make it the whole length for reasons we could not come up with.
- Did you car run straight? Why/why not? Our car did not run straight because the wheels were not put on straight and were very hard to keep straight.
- If you worked as a team, how do you think you worked with your partner? Did you share responsibilities? Did you communication well? Why/why not? I think Charley and I worked very well together and had fun doing so. We are best friends so it definitely wasn't hard to get our ideas off and communicating with each other.
Mousetrap Catapult Reflection
- How did you come up with your design? We chose a spoon because it was easily available to us and easy to work with. We also attached a piece of wood to it to make it more sturdy for more accuracy.
- What did you use as the holder? Why? We chose a spoon because it was easily available to us and easy to work with.
- What did you use as the platform? Why? We picked out a flat piece of wood that was heavy so it good hold down the mousetrap and maintain accuracy.
- How did you make the catapult launch? We taped a spoon to the sqaure-ish part of the mousetrap and glued the whole thing to a plank of wood and when you pull back the spoon the trap is spring loaded so it flings forward causing it to launch the ball.
- What troubles did you run into? How did you fix them (be specific!)? (LOTS to write about here!!) The biggest trouble was accuracy. We couldn't find an exact place to stop pulling back on the spoon so we glued a piece of card board to the back and added to it or cut some off until we knew when it was precise.
- Did the catapult shoot straight? Why/why not? Ours did because we made it flush with the back of a level pice of wood and lined the whole contraption up with the starting line.
- If you worked as a team, how do you think you worked with your partner? Did you share responsibilities? Did you communication well? Why/why not? Charley and I again worked really well together and made a work of art, to my specifications. We made the ball in on the first try and I really wish i could've been there to see it but I'm sure I'll catch it on the top 10 plays on Sports Center.
- What did you use as the holder? Why? We chose a spoon because it was easily available to us and easy to work with.
- What did you use as the platform? Why? We picked out a flat piece of wood that was heavy so it good hold down the mousetrap and maintain accuracy.
- How did you make the catapult launch? We taped a spoon to the sqaure-ish part of the mousetrap and glued the whole thing to a plank of wood and when you pull back the spoon the trap is spring loaded so it flings forward causing it to launch the ball.
- What troubles did you run into? How did you fix them (be specific!)? (LOTS to write about here!!) The biggest trouble was accuracy. We couldn't find an exact place to stop pulling back on the spoon so we glued a piece of card board to the back and added to it or cut some off until we knew when it was precise.
- Did the catapult shoot straight? Why/why not? Ours did because we made it flush with the back of a level pice of wood and lined the whole contraption up with the starting line.
- If you worked as a team, how do you think you worked with your partner? Did you share responsibilities? Did you communication well? Why/why not? Charley and I again worked really well together and made a work of art, to my specifications. We made the ball in on the first try and I really wish i could've been there to see it but I'm sure I'll catch it on the top 10 plays on Sports Center.
Mousetrap Catapult Car Reflection
- How did you come up with your design? We used our first mousetrap car for a base and tried to work off of it. We tried many designs including one triple decker design that did not move off the starting line, probably due to the added friction on the wheels from the weight of the deckers. Our final design, we added brakes to try to make it stop in the given area but the brakes made it so it wouldn't move off the starting line.
- What did you use as the wheels? Why? We used CDs again because they were easily available to us and perfectly circular
- What did you use as the body? Why? We used cardboard because it's light weight and easy to cut and from into what we want.
- How did you make the car move? We tied a string to long pencil on the mousetrap and connected it to the back wheel. We tried to put the string on the front wheel to allow us to use the back wheel to launch the catapult but to no avail and it did not give any power to the catapult.
- What troubles did you run into? How did you fix them (be specific!)? (LOTS to write about here!!) We took off the brakes on the car because it wouldn't move from the starting line.The brakes were put on the front set of wheels to have the car stop in the goal area but they didn't work and didn't let the front wheels move. The brakes were just another string tied to the front wheels that would be just long enough to have the wheels go to the goal. We dismantled the triple decker car because it did nothing right but look cool. We stuck to what we knew with the movement system and kept the string tied to the back wheel instead of the front. We could not figure out how to work the catapult. Even after watching Bryce being so successful with the challenge it was quite the task and we could not figure out how to launch the catapult.
- If you worked as a team, how do you think you worked with your partner? Did you share responsibilities? Did you communication well? Why/why not? Charley and I continue to work great together on these challenges because we keep each other in good moods and keep on task even when we struggle to finish a challenge because it is hard we have a good time and give it all we have.
- What did you use as the wheels? Why? We used CDs again because they were easily available to us and perfectly circular
- What did you use as the body? Why? We used cardboard because it's light weight and easy to cut and from into what we want.
- How did you make the car move? We tied a string to long pencil on the mousetrap and connected it to the back wheel. We tried to put the string on the front wheel to allow us to use the back wheel to launch the catapult but to no avail and it did not give any power to the catapult.
- What troubles did you run into? How did you fix them (be specific!)? (LOTS to write about here!!) We took off the brakes on the car because it wouldn't move from the starting line.The brakes were put on the front set of wheels to have the car stop in the goal area but they didn't work and didn't let the front wheels move. The brakes were just another string tied to the front wheels that would be just long enough to have the wheels go to the goal. We dismantled the triple decker car because it did nothing right but look cool. We stuck to what we knew with the movement system and kept the string tied to the back wheel instead of the front. We could not figure out how to work the catapult. Even after watching Bryce being so successful with the challenge it was quite the task and we could not figure out how to launch the catapult.
- If you worked as a team, how do you think you worked with your partner? Did you share responsibilities? Did you communication well? Why/why not? Charley and I continue to work great together on these challenges because we keep each other in good moods and keep on task even when we struggle to finish a challenge because it is hard we have a good time and give it all we have.
I Wet My Plants BOLT: Pea Lab
Seeds do not do photosynthesis until they sprout leaves. Until then, they make energy just like us. Seeds take in water, nutrients and CO2 and produce oxygen . We wanted to prove that the peas made energy like us. One way we could do that was by using a glass tube with a cork on one side, inserting it into a small bottle filled with peas and put in a chemical to solidify the CO2. We put the tube with the cork into the bottle and watched as the water in the tube was being sucked into the bottle with the bottle. To see the water being sucked in easier, we put in blue food coloring.
Our conclusion was that peas suck in water to produce things such as, oxygen and food for us to use to survive.
Our conclusion was that peas suck in water to produce things such as, oxygen and food for us to use to survive.
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File Type: | mov |
I Wet My Plants BOLT: Spinach Lab
Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to see what will happen when you add Isopropyl Alcohol and a solution of soap, tap water and sodium bicarbonate to a syringe with small discs of spinach. The control being without Isopropyl Alcohol and just the solution and spinach discs.
Hypothesis: If you add Isopropyl Alcohol to a solution of soap, tap water and sodium bicarbonate with small discs of spinach in a syringe then the spinach will disintegrate because the alcohol will breakdown the leaf itself and destroy it.
Procedure: We will place 10 small hole punch sized discs of spinach in a syringe and add isopropyl alcohol and a solution of soap, sodium bicarbonate and water. Take out all of the CO2 and Oxygen and place it under a light.
Data: The spinach with the isopropyl alcohol had 8/10 spinach discs float back up to the top after removing the gases from the syringe and only 4/10 of the discs in the control, consisting of soap, water and sodium bicarbonate floated back up in 15 minutes.
Conclusion: We found that the alcohol actually helped the spinach float and was more successful then the control group with the solution itself. The syringe with the solution and the alcohol had 8/10 spinach discs float and the syringe with just the solution only had 4/10 discs float. Our hypothesis was way off. We thought that the spinach discs were going to disintegrate because the alcohol would break down the spinach cells and destroy it. Nothing of the sort happened. The spinach was in the same shape and unaffected by the alcohol. We made the control syringe before the experiment syringe and put the control under the light before the experiment one. This gave the control a little more time to produce the gases but didn't seem to make an impact on the results, to our knowledge.
Hypothesis: If you add Isopropyl Alcohol to a solution of soap, tap water and sodium bicarbonate with small discs of spinach in a syringe then the spinach will disintegrate because the alcohol will breakdown the leaf itself and destroy it.
Procedure: We will place 10 small hole punch sized discs of spinach in a syringe and add isopropyl alcohol and a solution of soap, sodium bicarbonate and water. Take out all of the CO2 and Oxygen and place it under a light.
Data: The spinach with the isopropyl alcohol had 8/10 spinach discs float back up to the top after removing the gases from the syringe and only 4/10 of the discs in the control, consisting of soap, water and sodium bicarbonate floated back up in 15 minutes.
Conclusion: We found that the alcohol actually helped the spinach float and was more successful then the control group with the solution itself. The syringe with the solution and the alcohol had 8/10 spinach discs float and the syringe with just the solution only had 4/10 discs float. Our hypothesis was way off. We thought that the spinach discs were going to disintegrate because the alcohol would break down the spinach cells and destroy it. Nothing of the sort happened. The spinach was in the same shape and unaffected by the alcohol. We made the control syringe before the experiment syringe and put the control under the light before the experiment one. This gave the control a little more time to produce the gases but didn't seem to make an impact on the results, to our knowledge.