Summary
For this unit, we did a couple of small projects and one big one. Creating a passive solar house was the big project. We also designed solar water heaters, designed sun lit houses, listed energy sources and explained why passive solar is the best, and the materials lab.
Passive Solar House
This project involves building a small house that runs completely of its surroundings. That means it can be powered by the sun, water, or wind. Also, it cant use gas or electricity. Our group is powered purely by the sun. We could get both heat and light from the suns rays. To do so efficiently, we used insulation, dark tiles or dark colors, clerestory windows, big picture windows, reflective materials or colors, and the right angles relative to the sun. To ensure that the materials we used for these were the best, we did a lab as a class. In this lab, we gathered a list of materials and discovered what the best choices were. To build our house, we had to make blueprints. After designing the blueprints, we presented our ideas through power point. We included our key features, budget and materials, location, usage, and a digital and physical model. The reason we presented was because all the groups are competing to have their model built because we only have enough money and space to build one of the houses. My group includes Scottie, Logan, and Brain.
Passive Solar House
This project involves building a small house that runs completely of its surroundings. That means it can be powered by the sun, water, or wind. Also, it cant use gas or electricity. Our group is powered purely by the sun. We could get both heat and light from the suns rays. To do so efficiently, we used insulation, dark tiles or dark colors, clerestory windows, big picture windows, reflective materials or colors, and the right angles relative to the sun. To ensure that the materials we used for these were the best, we did a lab as a class. In this lab, we gathered a list of materials and discovered what the best choices were. To build our house, we had to make blueprints. After designing the blueprints, we presented our ideas through power point. We included our key features, budget and materials, location, usage, and a digital and physical model. The reason we presented was because all the groups are competing to have their model built because we only have enough money and space to build one of the houses. My group includes Scottie, Logan, and Brain.
Solar Water Heater
In this project, we learned how to transfer the suns heat to water using conductors. We used copper tubing as our conductor. We learned that copper tubing can be heated up quickly by the sun and then transfer that heat. So we ran the water through these tubes, and the water was heated. The challenge was to find how to arrange these tubes to be heated more. We used tin foil to reflect the heat into the tubes. We also used insulation and black paint to absorb heat.
Sun Lit Houses
For this project we learned how the sun enters houses through windows and other methods of natural lighting, such as solar tubes. We discovered that the sun is higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Therefore, we learned how to place windows as to capture the correct amounts of light. We built models out of cardboard and then used lightbulbs to represent the sun.
Energy Sources
For this project our class created a list of the different types of energy sources and what there effects are. (See by clicking button below)
Materials Lab
In this lab we listed as many housing materials as we could think of. We then tested how well each one absorbed and let off heat by using a lightbulb. The materials included insulations, roofing, flooring, and walling materials. This lab helped us decide which materials were best for our houses.
In this project, we learned how to transfer the suns heat to water using conductors. We used copper tubing as our conductor. We learned that copper tubing can be heated up quickly by the sun and then transfer that heat. So we ran the water through these tubes, and the water was heated. The challenge was to find how to arrange these tubes to be heated more. We used tin foil to reflect the heat into the tubes. We also used insulation and black paint to absorb heat.
Sun Lit Houses
For this project we learned how the sun enters houses through windows and other methods of natural lighting, such as solar tubes. We discovered that the sun is higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Therefore, we learned how to place windows as to capture the correct amounts of light. We built models out of cardboard and then used lightbulbs to represent the sun.
Energy Sources
For this project our class created a list of the different types of energy sources and what there effects are. (See by clicking button below)
Materials Lab
In this lab we listed as many housing materials as we could think of. We then tested how well each one absorbed and let off heat by using a lightbulb. The materials included insulations, roofing, flooring, and walling materials. This lab helped us decide which materials were best for our houses.
Concepts
Radiation: Energy transmitted by rays, waves or particles. We used the suns radiation to "power" our house.
Conduction: Transfer of heat through a solid. We used convection to transfer the suns heat through our copper pipes in our Solar Water Heater project.
Convection: Transfer of heat through a liquid or solid. The suns heat is convected through the air. One group made a water bench to convect the heat in their house.
Insulation: Lack of transferring heat. Insulation is good for a house because its disability to transfer heat results in the heat not going anywhere.
Absorb/reflect/color: Heat is absorbed when light brings heat to an object and the light molecules bump into the objects molecules and give off energy. An object can reflect some of the light spectrum and therefore some heat. When you see a green object, you are seeing the reflection of green. The object is absorbing all the other colors. When all the colors are absorbed, you get black, therefore black is what you see when no light is reflected. When you see white, it means all the colors are reflected. We don't see all the colors because our eyes cant process it. As a result black absorbs more heat, while white reflects more. We used this to decide where we want what colors on our house walls.
Temp vs heat: Heat is the total energy of molecular motion in a substance while temperature is a measure of the average energy of molecular motion in a substance. Heat energy depends on the speed of the particles, the number of particles (the size or mass), and the type of particles in an object. Temperature does not depend on the size or type of object. For example, the temperature of a small cup of water might be the same as the temperature of a large tub of water, but the tub of water has more heat because it has more water and thus more total thermal energy.
Specific Heat: The amount of heat that must be added or removed from a mass to change its temperature by 1 degree. The higher an objects specific heat, the slower it absorbs and releases heat, the lower, the faster it absorbs and losses heat. We used this to help us with heat regulation.
Laws of Thermodynamics: The 0th, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd laws of thermodynamics:
0th=If two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a 3rd system, they are in equilibrium with each other.
1st=Energy is neither created or destroyed, heat in a form of energy.
2nd=Entropy(Disorder in the general universe, including the spread and disorganization of heat) increases with time.
3rd=Absolute zero (0 energy in a system) can not be achieved.
Conduction: Transfer of heat through a solid. We used convection to transfer the suns heat through our copper pipes in our Solar Water Heater project.
Convection: Transfer of heat through a liquid or solid. The suns heat is convected through the air. One group made a water bench to convect the heat in their house.
Insulation: Lack of transferring heat. Insulation is good for a house because its disability to transfer heat results in the heat not going anywhere.
Absorb/reflect/color: Heat is absorbed when light brings heat to an object and the light molecules bump into the objects molecules and give off energy. An object can reflect some of the light spectrum and therefore some heat. When you see a green object, you are seeing the reflection of green. The object is absorbing all the other colors. When all the colors are absorbed, you get black, therefore black is what you see when no light is reflected. When you see white, it means all the colors are reflected. We don't see all the colors because our eyes cant process it. As a result black absorbs more heat, while white reflects more. We used this to decide where we want what colors on our house walls.
Temp vs heat: Heat is the total energy of molecular motion in a substance while temperature is a measure of the average energy of molecular motion in a substance. Heat energy depends on the speed of the particles, the number of particles (the size or mass), and the type of particles in an object. Temperature does not depend on the size or type of object. For example, the temperature of a small cup of water might be the same as the temperature of a large tub of water, but the tub of water has more heat because it has more water and thus more total thermal energy.
Specific Heat: The amount of heat that must be added or removed from a mass to change its temperature by 1 degree. The higher an objects specific heat, the slower it absorbs and releases heat, the lower, the faster it absorbs and losses heat. We used this to help us with heat regulation.
Laws of Thermodynamics: The 0th, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd laws of thermodynamics:
0th=If two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a 3rd system, they are in equilibrium with each other.
1st=Energy is neither created or destroyed, heat in a form of energy.
2nd=Entropy(Disorder in the general universe, including the spread and disorganization of heat) increases with time.
3rd=Absolute zero (0 energy in a system) can not be achieved.
Reflection
This project was very different from all our other ones. This project required more detail and correctness due to the fact that we were actually going to be building our projects. We had to include so many different housing layers and calculate the amounts. It made the project much harder. Also, I felt that this project was more of a "learn as you go" project. Usually, we do more textbook work and then apply that knowledge. Foe this project we really just learned as we went. Also, a lot of the knowledge we gained did not necessarily have to do with physics, but a lot more engineering.
I felt that the time it took us to complete the project was too long. This project took over a month and I believe that it was too long. I feel like we could have finished this project in half the time. That way we could continue to learn more things. I also feel like we could have learned more during this time.
One thing that went poorly for my group was the fact that we had to change the size of our house after we had already finished the blueprints. This was because we were notified that our house was too big, so we had to compress it. This was very hard to do and took an extra 3 days or so. Another thing that went poorly was our groups presentation. We had just barely finished the project, so we had very little presentation practice. When we gave our presentation, we were a little unclear to our audience. Besides stuttering, we were not loud enough for a lot of the audience to hear us. On the other hand, I feel that our ending design went very well. A lot of the other groups had very similar looking houses. Out houses design was one of the only different looking houses. For example, almost every other house only had one roof slanting upwards. Ours had two roofs slanting in opposite directions. Another positive about this project was that we learned a VERY applicable life skill, we learned how to make more efficient housing. This energy efficient housing concept is very important because people are always trying to find more ways to help the planet and save money.
One thing that I did well was I worked very hard. Some times I even brought the project home and worked on it for hours. Other times I would be working the whole class time without one interruption. Another thing I did well was I tried to help others in my group. Sometimes my group members would not being working at all, and I would try to tell them that they should work so we could complete the project. For example, one time someone was not working, so I found them the job of making a physical model.
One thing I did poorly was I was sometimes mean when I would tell people to work. For example, I told someone that they were just being lazy and that they never helped. Next time, I will try to make a more positive approach when asking for others help. Another thing I did poorly was I was not very organized. Our group messed up the blueprint boundaries because I did not realize the rules. Next time, I will try to keep the whole group organized and aware of what was going on.
I felt that the time it took us to complete the project was too long. This project took over a month and I believe that it was too long. I feel like we could have finished this project in half the time. That way we could continue to learn more things. I also feel like we could have learned more during this time.
One thing that went poorly for my group was the fact that we had to change the size of our house after we had already finished the blueprints. This was because we were notified that our house was too big, so we had to compress it. This was very hard to do and took an extra 3 days or so. Another thing that went poorly was our groups presentation. We had just barely finished the project, so we had very little presentation practice. When we gave our presentation, we were a little unclear to our audience. Besides stuttering, we were not loud enough for a lot of the audience to hear us. On the other hand, I feel that our ending design went very well. A lot of the other groups had very similar looking houses. Out houses design was one of the only different looking houses. For example, almost every other house only had one roof slanting upwards. Ours had two roofs slanting in opposite directions. Another positive about this project was that we learned a VERY applicable life skill, we learned how to make more efficient housing. This energy efficient housing concept is very important because people are always trying to find more ways to help the planet and save money.
One thing that I did well was I worked very hard. Some times I even brought the project home and worked on it for hours. Other times I would be working the whole class time without one interruption. Another thing I did well was I tried to help others in my group. Sometimes my group members would not being working at all, and I would try to tell them that they should work so we could complete the project. For example, one time someone was not working, so I found them the job of making a physical model.
One thing I did poorly was I was sometimes mean when I would tell people to work. For example, I told someone that they were just being lazy and that they never helped. Next time, I will try to make a more positive approach when asking for others help. Another thing I did poorly was I was not very organized. Our group messed up the blueprint boundaries because I did not realize the rules. Next time, I will try to keep the whole group organized and aware of what was going on.