Warm-up: 

How can you arrange 6 toothpicks (//////) to create exactly four congruent equilateral triangles?

Today:  

• Turn in textbooks
• Questions about the final?
• If we have time to kill: hovercraft, games, long exposure photography, other?

Homework:

Warm-up: 

What letter comes next in row 1, below?

1.   A   E   F   H   I   K   L   M   N

2.   B   C   D   G   J 

Today:  

• Turn in books by next class.
• If you plan to contribute shrinkwrap money, but you haven't, it's not too late.  You can turn it in to me or put it in my box in the main office. $9 per boat.
• Boat Test

Next Class:

• Final chance to ride the hovercraft
• Play games or Long Exposure Photography (unless the weather is really hot)
• Other ideas?

Homework:

Check Jupiter Grades to see if you have to take the final.  I will try to remember to e-mail those who do not have an A-.

Warm-up: 

The diagram below shows the cross-section of a glider wing.  The glider is pointing to the left.  The "camber" relates to the curved main part of the wing.  The upward-tilting section on the back is an "elevon." 

• What is camber, and what does it do?
• Can you use Newton's 3rd Law (action/reaction) to explain the force imparted by the elevon?

Today:  

• Questions about test on Friday?
• Discuss grades.
• Final Exam Info (for those who will not have an A- for the semester or for the year, after Thursday's test):  Your exam will be a combination of material from the car test and the pressure test. To see what you should study, go to last quarter's stuff, and see 3/23/12 and 2/9/12.  You should also review your returned tests.
• Foam gliders (http://www.sciencetoymaker.org/airSurfKit/index.htm) or backup plan

Homework:

• Study for Thursday's test (details below)

Warm-up:  Just for fun...

1. What 5 letter word does every Harvard graduate pronounce wrong?
2. There are three misteaks in thi sentence.  Can you find them?

Today:  

1.  Award Prizes.  Donuts for winners.  Holes for everyone else.

Drag Test Winners:  Hai, Julianna, Alaina

One-Person Race Winners:  Kevin, Geoff, Seth

Capacity Winners: Cody, Aaron, Alex, Natalie

Winners of the "Boat That Would Have Won Everything If It Had Not Been 2'1" Over The Length Limit" Category: Steven, James, Esmir, Jonas

2.  Go over answers to Boat Test Study Guide  Below is a video of Mr. Stapleton going over the solutions in class. 

3.  Turn in Inventor's Logs

Homework:

• Study for the boat test.  The test will be next Friday. It will be just like the study guide, only rearranged and with different numbers in the problems.

Rome Regatta at North Beach

Warm-up: 

No warm-up.  Get your boat and take it to the "tank" by the library.

Today:  

Boat Order, reverse alphabetical by first group member to appear:

• Block 1: Louis, Aaron, Julianna, Kevin, Frank
• Block 2: Jonas, Matt, Rachel, Cody

Tests: 

• At least three velocity runs per group
• 1 minute no-capsize test at any point during tank testing.

Data Collection:

• Photograph of group members and boat
• Vital statistics: length, width, height, draft (with 150 pound load), freeboard, estimated total displacement, mass

Homework:

• Bring paddles and life preservers to next class!  And dress for boating.  Meet at the woodchip plant at 10:40.
• Complete Boat Test Study Guide by Friday.
• Organize your Inventor's Log.  Due Friday.

Warm-up: 

What should we do with our remaining classes?

Today:  

• World AP test today.  Several students gone.
• Prepare for competition
• Hand out Boat Test Study Guide

Upcoming Classes:

• Boat competition Monday
• Rome Regatta on Wednesday.  Bring paddles and life jackets!

Homework:

• Work on Boat Test Study Guide.  Due next Friday, along with Inventor's Logs

Warm-up: 

One way to add stability to your boat is to build an outrigger.  Another possible solution is to add ballast.

1.  What is ballast, as it relates to boats?

2.  How does ballast improve stability?

3.  What is one disadvantage of adding ballast to your boat?

Today:  

• Finish boats today!!!  Cover sharp parts before shrinkwrapping. Patch holes. 
• Create a point of attachment for a rope that will drag your boat through the test tank.
• Those who are finished, help others!

Homework:

• Complete inventor log entry.

Warm-up: 

What do these boat and canoe terms mean? 

gunwale  freeboard  fore aft bow stern port starboard chine hull tiller rudder  poop  thwart transom yoke draft

Today:  

• Lessons learned from Wednesday shrinkwrapping:  1) Don't wrap the whole boat; fold over rails and tack down material to sides.  2) Start shrinking in areas where plastic needs to be concentrated; the last areas to be shrunk may be thinnest.
• Boat work
• Tank testing for stability and leaks

Homework:

• Complete inventor log entry.

Warm-up:  All about Knots...

1. How fast is a knot, in miles per hour?
2. What is special about a knot?
3. Where did the term "knot" come from?
4. How do knots relate to chip logs?
5. What is the abbreviation for knot?
6. Why are "nautical miles" still used?

Today:  

• Many absences due to Calculus AP Test
• Boat work

Homework:

• No inventor log required today

Warm-up: 

1.  Some boats have "displacement hulls," while other boats have "planing hulls."  What is the difference?

2.  A boat with a displacement hull has a "hull speed" that is said to be the boat's maximum speed.  This limitation is imposed by the waves created by the boat as it travels through the water.  Would you guess that a longer or shorter boat has a faster hull speed?

Today:  

• Work on boats!  Try to finish the skeletons today.
• Begin shrink-wrapping some boats

Homework:

• Complete Inventor log entry

Warm-up: 

Why does shrinkwrap shrink?

http://www.pslc.ws/macrog/work/shrink.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrink_wrap

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene-vinyl_acetate

Today:  

• Check and discuss boat problems assigned last class.  Here are the answers/solutions.
• Announcement
• Work on boats

Homework:

• Complete Inventor log entry

Warm-up:  No warm-up. Mr. Stapleton at Disney World.

Today:  

• Work on boat stuff review.  Working together is allowed, but you need to show your own work.

Homework:

• Next class -- check/discuss boat problems.  Then continue boat work.
• If there are special materials that you need for boat building, bring them to next class.

Warm-up: 

If your wood strips are connected by the drilled-hole and cable tie method, you may find your joinery to be a little wiggly.  How can you remove the wiggle from your joinery?

Today:  Continue boat construction

Homework:

• Complete an inventor's log entry (unless you already did this in class).  Don't forget to date your entry!
• Have a great break!

Warm-up: 

If you hold a chicken egg in your palm and squeeze, it is hard to break.  Why?  Can you guess how this might relate to your boats?

Catenary link

Today:  

• Where do things stand?  Are you ready to begin full-scale construction?  Is more planning time needed?
• Make full-scale sketches to plan wood cuts. [watch out for splinters!]
• Have you been keeping up on your log?  Here are the days when it was required.
• What problems do you anticipate when your 1/8 scale models are scaled up to full size?  Will you be able to fix those problems by reacting to them, or is it necessary to anticipate them?

Next Several Classes:

• Wednesday (4/18):  begin assembling full-size boat "skeletons"  (frames , seats, and platform supports) out of wood strips and twine or cable ties.  Log entry.
• Friday (4/20): finish frame assembly.  Experiment with using an outdoor cooker as a shrink-wrap heat gun. Log entry.
• Tuesday (after break May 1): Mr. Stapleton gone to Disney World.  Boat problem set / test review. 
• Thursday (5/3): Check out boats' condition.  Has warping occurred due to drying?  If so deal with warping.  Final securing (probably gluing) of frame members.  Log entry.
• Monday (5/7): Final shrink wrapping, waterproofing, testing and adjusting. Last log entry.
• Wednesday (5/9):  Final boat "contest" -- drag and stability trials.  Reflective writing assignment handed out.
• Friday (5/11):  Test review.  Try out boats at North Beach.  If you have them, bring life vests, paddles, towels...
• Tuesday (5/15): Test.  Reflective writing and Inventor's Logs due.

Homework:

• Complete an inventor's log entry (unless you already did this in class).  Don't forget to date your entry!

Warm-up: 

This boat is a "hydrofoil."  How does it work?  What advantage does it have over other boats?

Today:  

• Check/discuss homework. Here are the solutions
• Discuss platform requirement (see last class, below)
• Today will be the final day for water tank testing.  Find out what you need to know.  Finalize your boat design.
• Complete an inventor's log entry.  Try to anticipate problems that will arise when you try to make larger scale versions of your boat.

Next Several Classes:

• Wednesday (4/18):  begin assembling full-size boat "skeletons"  (frames , seats, and platform supports) out of wood strips and twine or cable ties.  Log entry.
• Friday (4/20): finish frame assembly.  Experiment with using an outdoor cooker as a shrink-wrap heat gun. Log entry.
• Tuesday (after break May 1): Mr. Stapleton gone to Disney World.  Boat problem set / test review. 
• Thursday (5/3): Check out boats' condition.  Has warping occurred due to drying?  If so deal with warping.  Final securing (probably gluing) of frame members.  Log entry.
• Monday (5/7): Final shrink wrapping, waterproofing, testing and adjusting. Last log entry.
• Wednesday (5/9):  Final boat "contest" -- drag and stability trials.  Reflective writing assignment handed out.
• Friday (5/11):  Test review.  Try out boats at North Beach.  If you have them, bring life vests, paddles, towels...
• Tuesday (5/15): Test.  Reflective writing and Inventor's Logs due.

Homework:

• Complete an inventor's log entry (unless you already did this in class).  Don't forget to date your entry!

Warm-up: 

1.  If your boat is not stable, you do not have to build a new one.  You can stabilize it with an outrigger.  What is an outrigger?  You can even stabilize your boat by using outriggers that do not add buoyant force to your boat.  How?

2.  During last class, the boats were pulled by a 22.5g falling mass.  How much falling mass should we use if we want to know how the boats will function when they are powered by a human paddler?

Today:  

• Discuss homework.  Answers to 1-3.
• Find your passenger's CM.  How high will it be (above the bottom of your boat).  Design a seat and a way to support a plywood platform in your boat.  ***New parameter -- platform for holding 150lb weight must be 30cm above the water line (before your boat is loaded with the weight). The platform itself will be approximately 3/4" thick plywood, 40cm wide and 60cm long.  This means your scale platform should be about 4cm from the bottom of your boat, and it should be about 5cm wide by 7.5cm long.

Current rankings, based on fastest time with 22.5g falling mass...

Homework:

• #4 on the front of the Boat Stuff page; #4-6 on the back of the boat stuff page.

Warm-up: 

A cork won't float in the middle of a narrow glass of water.  It always floats to the side.  Why?  How can you make it stay in the middle without touching it?

Today:  

• Boat work.  Continue work from last time.  Make and test at least two prototypes.
• Improve your boat's CdA.  Test stability.
• Heavy duty shrink wrap -- worth the cost?

Homework:

• "practice problems and questions" 1-3 -- from the back of the "boat stuff" sheet.

Mr. Stapleton is gone today

Message to Block 1:  maple sticks and shrink wrap stuff is in the cabinet above the boats.

Message to Block 2:  please drain and put away the tank.  There is a garden hose for siphoning water out the window.  Pine boards should be stored in the bunker (get help from Mr. Hoffman or Mr. Meyer, in E104) or outside the classroom window.

To do Today:  The main idea is to perform water tank testing to see how your boat moves through the water.  Hopefully, you will be answering these questions: 1) Is it stable when it's moving?  2)Does it have a lot of drag?  3) Does it "track" straight?  Record the answers to these questions and show your work in your Log. 

Here are some more detailed instructions...

1. Assess your boat's drag as it is pulled across a water tank.  I am envisioning a set-up like the one pictured below.  You will have to determine the best way to attach the thread to the boat.  If the falling weight isn't too big, your boat should reach a terminal velocity before it reaches the end of the tank.  With the same falling weight, a more "hydrodynamic" boat will have a lower terminal velocity.  Two pairs of photogates will you give you an idea of whether or not your boat has reached terminal velocity by the time it reaches the first set of gates.  If it has not, reduce the falling mass.  Find a way to determine your boat's cross-sectional area (that is exposed to the water) and use its terminal velocity and the drag equation to calculate your boat's drag coefficient.  Show your work in your Log.  Remember that, just because you have a low drag coefficient, that doesn't necessarily mean you have low drag.
2. Experiment with your placement of the 130g passenger; some locations may give you less drag.
3. Assess your boat's stability.  I plan to create a 130g "passenger" with Velcro on the bottom.  Make a platform that holds the center of the passenger at least 5cm from the floor of your boat.  You may want to attach some complimentary Velcro to your platform.
4. Make adjustments to your boat, or make a new one.  There should be plenty of maple strips, hot glue, and shrink wrap.  Remember that this contest will be based on low drag.
5. If you have time, test your boat's ability to track ("coast" in a straight line) when it is not being pulled.  Rig up the pulley system so that the boat will be pulled a short distance and then allowed to be carried only by its momentum.  You may want to add a keel or a rudder to improve tracking.  You may also find that this lowers your drag.

Homework:

• Organize your notes/work from class.

Warm-up: 

If you put a "cartesian diver" in a sealed plastic bottle of water, and you squeeze the bottle, the diver dives.  When you stop squeezing, the diver rises back to the top.  When you squeeze, what happens to the diver's...

1.  Density?    2.  Volume?    3. Mass?

Today:  

• Return tests and discuss
• Find temperatures in class balloons
• Begin new project.  Organize into groups of no more than 3 people.
• Computer Research -- Bock 1: putt putt boats (directions; www.sciencetoymaker.org) Block 2: boats in general

Homework:

• Finish the first entry in your log -- the one you hopefully began in the library.
• Block 1: bring boat materials!