Sunday, October 21, 2012

Cardboard Canoe Challenge

For the Cardboard Canoe Challenge, I teamed up with Jordan Daley, Lexi Biershbach, Brett McKim, and Jack Gumbleton. Together we built an over sized cardboard and duck tape boat. Here is a list of points I have achieved and some pictures to go along with it.




1) Build It! Achievement: 1 Point; This boat is 100% duck tape.


2) Sketch Ideas: 1 Point



3) Balance Master: Lexi is standing up in the boat for 5 seconds




Other achievements:

4) "Our boat sank with one person in it, about 6 inches. This was not surprising since the weight distribution was quite high.Lb/ml is the unit for pound per water.She weighed roughly 90 lbs. Thus if we us the formula, it is 90/16.5= 5.454555. Roughly 6 inches." (Quote from team member Jordan Daley)

5) Make Your Own Achievement:

Recycle: Our boat was constantly being crushed due to the weight of people jumping into it. But it was able to stay afloat and keep its shape.

6) The Longest: Our boat was the last one standing at the end of the period. For some reason we permitted the other teams to destroy it by jumping into it.

All together I have 6 achievements, so six points. That may not be the finally number, I completed several of the other achievements (5 or 6) but I lost the sketches and/or images required for them. At the time I made them I lacked the intelligence to take pictures, so sorry about that.

7) Criteria and Constraints

Criteria:

Build a watercraft that allows you to traverse the CHS swimming pool.
Protect your workspace from damage!

Constraints:

You may only use Cardboard and Duct Tape for this event.
Each boat must have a minimum of a 3" tall "sidewall"
All exposed cardboard must be covered in duct tape

8) Brainstorm Ideas

How can I build the fastest boat?

1) Construct a catamaran design
2) Multiple layers of cardboard would give the boat more weight
3) A slim but heavy design like a kayak
4) Construct a ball design
5) Build a row
6) Construct a bowl-shaped boat
7) A donut shape
8) Build a two-sided row
9) Construct a rudder for less effort when turning
10) Construct a multiple man boat so there will be more force
11) Construct four boxes and attach them, leaving a platform on top
12) Build a raised boat so wind can pass underneath the boat
13) Construct a raft
14) Build an upside-down pyramid
15) Build a cylinder and roll it across the platform
16) Construct boat shoes (two small boats) so that the pilot can slide across
17) A box so you can slide it across the pool
18) A raft made of soccer ball sized balls
19) Construct a plane in which it is half submerged under water and its wings are lying on the water
20) A rectangle with a chair on top of it

Friday, October 19, 2012

3rd Annual Mousetrap Racecar Challenge

The 3rd Annual Mousetrap Racecar challenge was incredibly amusing, and slightly dangerous. First our class broke into small groups, usually consisting of two people. Then we would brainstorm ideas for what our car would be like. There were two challenges you could choose from. Distance, the one that most people went for, and acceleration. My partner and I chose acceleration. His name is Jordan Dailey. I built the frame for the car, and Jordan built the propulsion system, which of course used a mousetrap. Our car did very well, we actually won the acceleration competition.



Here are some pictures of our car:









Achievements: (Total 8 Points)

1) Brainiac



2) Build It


3) The Price of Glory-$28
4) Led Foot
5) The Acceleration Event
6) Game Changer-cars must meet a certain wieght requirement
7) Name It-"Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It" should simply be "Clean Up"
8) Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It-my partner and I not only cleaned up our mess, we cleaned up other messes that were already there