The sogg sucker
Each and every one of our group members faced the same problem every single morning. That problem was soggy cereal. We were all sick and tired of eating cereal in the morning, and half way through, the cereal would get all soggy and mushy. We were tired of getting bad starts to our mornings, so we decided to do something about it; we were going to make something that made it so that our cereal would never get soggy. At first, we decided to make a cereal that would never get soggy. We designed it, and part way through the making of our cereal, we realized that we were going about it the wrong way. We shouldn't make a cereal that doesn't get soggy, we should create a product that prevents ALL cereals from getting soggy. This way, everybody would be able to keep their favorite cereals from getting soggy. And thus the sogg sucker was born.
Our general idea was that we were going to make something that put the milk and cereal in in small portions, so that it has less time to get soggy. In the end, we decided that the way we were going to do it, was by putting the milk in the bowl, and letting in little amounts of cereal every time. We used a Lego Mindstorms robot to do this. The robot had an arm with a flat panel at the top. The panel was used to keep the cereal from coming out. We made it so that the robot could be on a timer, it could be touch activated, or it could be sound activated. The cereal was held in a container with a hole in the bottom. The hole was covered up by the panel on the robot. We programmed it so that the user could choose if they wanted the panel to move every 20 seconds, every 25 seconds, or every 30 seconds. This way, the user could customize it based on how fast they eat their cereal.
In this unit, we learned about a few different physics concepts. One of them is acceleration rate due to gravity. The acceleration rate due to gravity is 9.8m/s^2. We learned that things will fall at different speeds, but everything will accelerate at the same rate on earth. Another concept that we used was osmosis. The reason cereal gets soggy is because of osmosis. The cereal is airy, so the milk on the outside of it wants to get in. This is because it is trying to reach a state of dynamic equilibrium. The milk enters the cereal, making it all wet and soggy.
Had we not known about these concepts, we would have had a much harder time designing our product. Without acceleration rate due to gravity, we wouldn't have known how fast our cereal would fall out of the container, making it much harder to time our robot. Had we not known about osmosis, we wouldn't know why cereal even gets soggy in the first place. By knowing why cereal gets soggy, we were able to have a much easier and more efficient time solving our problem. Once again, science has saved the day!
Our group worked very well together. There were very little things that we would argue about. We worked very productively on our project, because we all did our parts, and nobody carried anyone else's weight. Not only did we work productively, but we had a good time doing it. You can work productively, but just hate it, but that was not the case for us. I think it was because we really and truly wanted to solve the problem, and we basically chose our group. I am glad that I was able to have a good group to work with. It made for a much smoother process for everyone.
There are a few things that we can take away from this project. One of them is, when finding people to work with, choose people who have similar ideas that you do. By doing this, you are already agreeing on something, and that is what makes a strong group; people who cooperate and work well with each other. Having said this, it isn't that bad of an idea to pick people that might have a different opinion than you do. This way, you can have a few counterarguments within the group, providing different ideas. Your group can then compromise these ideas, and make something that incorporates all of them. Another thing that I took away from this project is that you should always be thinking into the future, because if you don't, than you could realize that you did something wrong when it's too late. You always want to make sure you are thinking ahead, so that you can make the rest of your project easier for yourself and your group members.
Looking back on this project, there were a few things that I could have done better. I could have rushed a little bit less, and taken my time. Last project, we didn't finish everything that we wanted to, so this project, I wanted to make sure we finished everything. This resulted in rushing. For next project, I need to find a balance between those two. I need to make sure that I get everything done, but I need to make sure that I produce quality work. Who care if you finished early if it's not good. Another thing that I could have done better is I could have taken some more leadership. That is one thing that I am always working on, and will need in my future. I need to learn to step up and take action, as it will be a benefit to me in my upcoming projects.
Our general idea was that we were going to make something that put the milk and cereal in in small portions, so that it has less time to get soggy. In the end, we decided that the way we were going to do it, was by putting the milk in the bowl, and letting in little amounts of cereal every time. We used a Lego Mindstorms robot to do this. The robot had an arm with a flat panel at the top. The panel was used to keep the cereal from coming out. We made it so that the robot could be on a timer, it could be touch activated, or it could be sound activated. The cereal was held in a container with a hole in the bottom. The hole was covered up by the panel on the robot. We programmed it so that the user could choose if they wanted the panel to move every 20 seconds, every 25 seconds, or every 30 seconds. This way, the user could customize it based on how fast they eat their cereal.
In this unit, we learned about a few different physics concepts. One of them is acceleration rate due to gravity. The acceleration rate due to gravity is 9.8m/s^2. We learned that things will fall at different speeds, but everything will accelerate at the same rate on earth. Another concept that we used was osmosis. The reason cereal gets soggy is because of osmosis. The cereal is airy, so the milk on the outside of it wants to get in. This is because it is trying to reach a state of dynamic equilibrium. The milk enters the cereal, making it all wet and soggy.
Had we not known about these concepts, we would have had a much harder time designing our product. Without acceleration rate due to gravity, we wouldn't have known how fast our cereal would fall out of the container, making it much harder to time our robot. Had we not known about osmosis, we wouldn't know why cereal even gets soggy in the first place. By knowing why cereal gets soggy, we were able to have a much easier and more efficient time solving our problem. Once again, science has saved the day!
Our group worked very well together. There were very little things that we would argue about. We worked very productively on our project, because we all did our parts, and nobody carried anyone else's weight. Not only did we work productively, but we had a good time doing it. You can work productively, but just hate it, but that was not the case for us. I think it was because we really and truly wanted to solve the problem, and we basically chose our group. I am glad that I was able to have a good group to work with. It made for a much smoother process for everyone.
There are a few things that we can take away from this project. One of them is, when finding people to work with, choose people who have similar ideas that you do. By doing this, you are already agreeing on something, and that is what makes a strong group; people who cooperate and work well with each other. Having said this, it isn't that bad of an idea to pick people that might have a different opinion than you do. This way, you can have a few counterarguments within the group, providing different ideas. Your group can then compromise these ideas, and make something that incorporates all of them. Another thing that I took away from this project is that you should always be thinking into the future, because if you don't, than you could realize that you did something wrong when it's too late. You always want to make sure you are thinking ahead, so that you can make the rest of your project easier for yourself and your group members.
Looking back on this project, there were a few things that I could have done better. I could have rushed a little bit less, and taken my time. Last project, we didn't finish everything that we wanted to, so this project, I wanted to make sure we finished everything. This resulted in rushing. For next project, I need to find a balance between those two. I need to make sure that I get everything done, but I need to make sure that I produce quality work. Who care if you finished early if it's not good. Another thing that I could have done better is I could have taken some more leadership. That is one thing that I am always working on, and will need in my future. I need to learn to step up and take action, as it will be a benefit to me in my upcoming projects.