My group:Marslina, Ryan, Tony, and myself.
Atomic structure, state, and heat
Heat: Form of energy (Thermal energy) Unit= Joules
Also a measure of the KE (Kinetic energy) of atoms.
Thermal conductivity: Rate at which a material transfers heat.
Thermal resistance: Ability of material to resist transferring heat.
Heat is a measure of the movement of molecules. More heat = more movement.
Solids: all molecules held in place.
Liquid: All molecules are bonding with each other but they can change bonds to flow (more movement).
Gas: Molecules don't have to/can't bond with each other.
More movement = take up way more space.
The nucleus of an atom has protons and neutrons, which both have mass.
Outside of the nucleus there are electrons, which has insignificant mass.
A compound is a molecule made up of different types/elements of atoms.
An isotope is an atom with an unusual number of neutrons.
An ion is an atom with an unusual number of electrons.
Design a hot water heater
For the second part of this lengthy project, we had to create a solar hot water heater. We used a list of materials to design a device tat used solar energy to heat the water we put through it.
Materials:
Plastic tubing (2 feet) :: this was to take water to the copper tube from the water bottle.
soft copper tubing :: This was connected to the plastic tubing. It was inside the box underneatht the plastic sheet. It's function was to heat up the water.
water container :: This was what was used to hold the water at the beginning. The plastic tube was connected to this.
insulation :: This was to keep the water warm as it traveled through the water bottle and plastic tubing again.
aluminum foil :: We put this on the top of the cardboard, at an angle to reflect the sun onto the copper tube, just to heat up the water even more.
cardboard :: This was a cardboard box that the copper tube was inside of.
plastic sheet :: This was over the top of the cardboard to trap the sunlight, and create a greenhouse effect.
How did the device heat up the water?
Our device reflected sunlight into the box which held the copper tube, heating up the water inside. If we fed the water through enough times, it would eventually heat up.
Testing
We had a major problem with our water heater. The water bottle which held the water leaked. A lot. We lost most of our water several times and had to refill it several times. That left us with almost no heat gain to our water. We managed to heat the water up a few degrees, but that water would just leak out. Our heaters final heat gain was 5651 Joules.
This project could have gone a lot better. If the water bottle didn't leak, then our water probably would have heated up a lot more. We could have gotten a better water bottle, or been more careful when creating the hole.
Solar angles and how it changes during seasons
Vertical light (90 degree angle) is the brightest and most concentrated light, therefore it gives the most light and heat per unit area.
Slanted light is less concentrated and spread out over a larger area, therefore it gives least light and heat per unit area.
Seasons:
The hemisphere tilted towards the sun receives more vertical light and experiences summer.
The hemisphere tilted away from the sun receives more slanted light and experiences winter.
Places near the equator receive more vertical light and are warmer. Places far from the equator receive more slanted light, and are cooler.
Daylighting Design Activity
For this activity, Our group had to design and build a model of a house without light bulbs. We had to use four different types of lighting the house.
-Clerestory window: Any high window above eye level.
-Light shelf: This is a horizontal surface that reflects daylight into a building.
-Skylight: Basically a large hole in your roof for letting sunlight in.
-Solar tubes: They are what they sound like. Tubes that you put in your roof to let in sunlight.
Regarding all of this information, my group built an amazing star-shaped house(because we are stars). It worked pretty well
Site Selection
We had to go out on to the San Marin campus to look at different sites where we would theoretically put our house. We had to choose three spots with regards to sunlight, heat, levelness of the ground, noise, and accessibility.
I went out with my group and the three places we found were:
-Between the spanish and auto shop building
-Behind the art building
-Behind the spanish building
These three places were sunny, inviting, and had relatively level flat grounds. It would be a bit noisy, because of all the traffic, and of course, students.
Materials testing lab
For this lab we learned about how all sorts of different materials changed with heat. There were all sorts of different materials, like wood, paint, fabric, water, and more. My group chose do to the transparent things, and we did glass, single layer saran wrap, and double layered saran wrap.
Atomic structure, state, and heat
Heat: Form of energy (Thermal energy) Unit= Joules
Also a measure of the KE (Kinetic energy) of atoms.
Thermal conductivity: Rate at which a material transfers heat.
Thermal resistance: Ability of material to resist transferring heat.
Heat is a measure of the movement of molecules. More heat = more movement.
Solids: all molecules held in place.
Liquid: All molecules are bonding with each other but they can change bonds to flow (more movement).
Gas: Molecules don't have to/can't bond with each other.
More movement = take up way more space.
The nucleus of an atom has protons and neutrons, which both have mass.
Outside of the nucleus there are electrons, which has insignificant mass.
A compound is a molecule made up of different types/elements of atoms.
An isotope is an atom with an unusual number of neutrons.
An ion is an atom with an unusual number of electrons.
Design a hot water heater
For the second part of this lengthy project, we had to create a solar hot water heater. We used a list of materials to design a device tat used solar energy to heat the water we put through it.
Materials:
Plastic tubing (2 feet) :: this was to take water to the copper tube from the water bottle.
soft copper tubing :: This was connected to the plastic tubing. It was inside the box underneatht the plastic sheet. It's function was to heat up the water.
water container :: This was what was used to hold the water at the beginning. The plastic tube was connected to this.
insulation :: This was to keep the water warm as it traveled through the water bottle and plastic tubing again.
aluminum foil :: We put this on the top of the cardboard, at an angle to reflect the sun onto the copper tube, just to heat up the water even more.
cardboard :: This was a cardboard box that the copper tube was inside of.
plastic sheet :: This was over the top of the cardboard to trap the sunlight, and create a greenhouse effect.
How did the device heat up the water?
Our device reflected sunlight into the box which held the copper tube, heating up the water inside. If we fed the water through enough times, it would eventually heat up.
Testing
We had a major problem with our water heater. The water bottle which held the water leaked. A lot. We lost most of our water several times and had to refill it several times. That left us with almost no heat gain to our water. We managed to heat the water up a few degrees, but that water would just leak out. Our heaters final heat gain was 5651 Joules.
This project could have gone a lot better. If the water bottle didn't leak, then our water probably would have heated up a lot more. We could have gotten a better water bottle, or been more careful when creating the hole.
Solar angles and how it changes during seasons
Vertical light (90 degree angle) is the brightest and most concentrated light, therefore it gives the most light and heat per unit area.
Slanted light is less concentrated and spread out over a larger area, therefore it gives least light and heat per unit area.
Seasons:
The hemisphere tilted towards the sun receives more vertical light and experiences summer.
The hemisphere tilted away from the sun receives more slanted light and experiences winter.
Places near the equator receive more vertical light and are warmer. Places far from the equator receive more slanted light, and are cooler.
Daylighting Design Activity
For this activity, Our group had to design and build a model of a house without light bulbs. We had to use four different types of lighting the house.
-Clerestory window: Any high window above eye level.
-Light shelf: This is a horizontal surface that reflects daylight into a building.
-Skylight: Basically a large hole in your roof for letting sunlight in.
-Solar tubes: They are what they sound like. Tubes that you put in your roof to let in sunlight.
Regarding all of this information, my group built an amazing star-shaped house(because we are stars). It worked pretty well
Site Selection
We had to go out on to the San Marin campus to look at different sites where we would theoretically put our house. We had to choose three spots with regards to sunlight, heat, levelness of the ground, noise, and accessibility.
I went out with my group and the three places we found were:
-Between the spanish and auto shop building
-Behind the art building
-Behind the spanish building
These three places were sunny, inviting, and had relatively level flat grounds. It would be a bit noisy, because of all the traffic, and of course, students.
Materials testing lab
For this lab we learned about how all sorts of different materials changed with heat. There were all sorts of different materials, like wood, paint, fabric, water, and more. My group chose do to the transparent things, and we did glass, single layer saran wrap, and double layered saran wrap.
Building design
For this project we designed two things. First we needed to fix something from last year. Last years STEM class created a small solar home. There is no electricity, only windows. But, there is a problem with one of the windows. The north window in the front doesn't let any light in. In fact, it lets out the light coming in through the windows opposite.
For this project we designed two things. First we needed to fix something from last year. Last years STEM class created a small solar home. There is no electricity, only windows. But, there is a problem with one of the windows. The north window in the front doesn't let any light in. In fact, it lets out the light coming in through the windows opposite.
We had to design a solution for this problem. My group, instead of creating some fancy reflective window thing, opted for the simpler solution: curtains.
Our second part of this was to cold frame. A cold frame is basically a mini greenhouse. We built a small model and created a presentation:
These are just a few of the different types of energy sources that we have learned about. Each group got assigned two different sections, and the document was shared with the entire class.
That is a picture of the star-shaped house model we created(because we are stars).