Investigation (Scientific method)

Investigation

Purpose:For our Science Project we wanted to demonstrate the use of simple machines by building a thrilling and innovative playground structure.

Question: Also for our Science Project we really wanted to know "How could we make a teeter-totter spin?" So we took an old playground structure{teeter-totter}and asked, Can we also add an extra thrill by making it spin?

Hypothesis: We thought we could make a teeter-totter spin by getting our energy from a great renewable energy source, a windmill, and transferring that energy by using gears.

Materials: We used a varitey of materials for both our model and our prototype. For our prototype we used both recycled materials and other materials from home. Our materials from home that we used were meccano, lego, wood, baby blue spray paint and fake grass(green patio carpet). We decided to use fake grass because it made our prototype look like it was really outside and that would make it look more realistic. We also decided to use meccano because it is very good for building machines with moving parts, and we have quite a few moving parts. We also used many other materials for our model.Our model was made of materials from school and recycled materials partly like our prototype. The only material used from school was gears, So as you can see we used quite a bit of materials to be enviromentally friendly. Some of those recycled materials used were pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, straws and cardboard. As you can see we used a varitey of materials to build our prototype and our model.

Method: Here are the steps we took to complete our Science fair project. Firstly we started discussing ideas and roughly sketching them out with my partner. Secondly by after doing that I developed a pretty good idea with my partner of what our project would be about,so we started drawing some technical drawings. In our technical drawings you may see that we drew a double teeter-totter, but we figured out the mechanics did not make sense .After that we knew that like every good project, we had to begin finding out research. Next we started making making a model to give a visual image of what our playground structure would look like. Finally we made a working prototype to give a visual image and also show how our play structure works.

Results: This is how our finished prototype works. Firstly, the wind pushes the windmill turning an axle which turns a pulley. We chose the wind to turn the pulley instead of anything else because the is very easy to transfer the energy to the ground using a pulley .Making the pulley was very difficult because we needed to find the right size rubber band and pulley at the same time and if the combination did not work, we would have to reconstruct. Then that pulley turns an axle which turns a gear which turns another gear. Then that gear turns the platform while the kids are not only moving up and down, but an extra thrill is added by the teeter-totter spinning. You may notice the whole gear system is similar to the motor in a car. That is how our prototype works. Here is a video of our prototype working.

Application: There are many great things we can learned from this experience. We learned that simple machines are all around, even in fun playstructures, and wind can be used as an amazing clean, safe and renewable energy scource.

Here is a rap about Forces and Simple Machines by Alek Ebbeling.

Here is a rap about our prototype by Kasra Khadem.

	Purpose:For our Science Project we wanted to demonstrate the use of simple machines by building a thrilling and innovative playground structure. Question: Also for our Science Project we really wanted to know "How could we make a teeter-totter spin?" So we took an old playground structure{teeter-totter}and asked, Can we also add an extra thrill by making it spin? Hypothesis: We thought we could make a teeter-totter spin by getting our energy from a great renewable energy source, a windmill, and transferring that energy by using gears.

Materials: We used a varitey of materials for both our model and our prototype. For our prototype we used both recycled materials and other materials from home. Our materials from home that we used were meccano, lego, wood, baby blue spray paint and fake grass(green patio carpet). We decided to use fake grass because it made our prototype look like it was really outside and that would make it look more realistic. We also decided to use meccano because it is very good for building machines with moving parts, and we have quite a few moving parts. We also used many other materials for our model.Our model was made of materials from school and recycled materials partly like our prototype. The only material used from school was gears, So as you can see we used quite a bit of materials to be enviromentally friendly. Some of those recycled materials used were pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, straws and cardboard. As you can see we used a varitey of materials to build our prototype and our model.
Method: Here are the steps we took to complete our Science fair project. Firstly we started discussing ideas and roughly sketching them out with my partner. Secondly by after doing that I developed a pretty good idea with my partner of what our project would be about,so we started drawing some technical drawings. In our technical drawings you may see that we drew a double teeter-totter, but we figured out the mechanics did not make sense .After that we knew that like every good project, we had to begin finding out research. Next we started making making a model to give a visual image of what our playground structure would look like. Finally we made a working prototype to give a visual image and also show how our play structure works.
Results: This is how our finished prototype works. Firstly, the wind pushes the windmill turning an axle which turns a pulley. We chose the wind to turn the pulley instead of anything else because the is very easy to transfer the energy to the ground using a pulley .Making the pulley was very difficult because we needed to find the right size rubber band and pulley at the same time and if the combination did not work, we would have to reconstruct. Then that pulley turns an axle which turns a gear which turns another gear. Then that gear turns the platform while the kids are not only moving up and down, but an extra thrill is added by the teeter-totter spinning. You may notice the whole gear system is similar to the motor in a car. That is how our prototype works. Here is a video of our prototype working.

Application: There are many great things we can learned from this experience. We learned that simple machines are all around, even in fun playstructures, and wind can be used as an amazing clean, safe and renewable energy scource. Here is a rap about Forces and Simple Machines by Alek Ebbeling. Here is a rap about our prototype by Kasra Khadem.