spacecar+gymboree



We have mad crazy ideas for our super solar stellartron space craft. Some problems we might encounter are people not being able to handle it.

This car is like nothing ya'll ever SEEN before.

**//Journal Assignment #1//**:
When dealing with a non-material/non-quantitative fuel- that is, something that is not solid, you have to comprehend that firstly: the fuel has an economic downside, because it cannot be taxed and solar energy would mean a one-time investment by consumers. This takes millions of people out of the job market because workers would no longer be needed to drill and manufacture oil. That said, consumers themselves would greatly benefit from the installment of solar energy. Gas is now over 4 dollars a gallon, adding up to huge amounts of money over time, but buying a solar panel would be a single investment and would cost each person much less in the long run. However, there are other issues with solar energy. Scientists would have to develop an extremely senstitive solar platform to insure that cars could run in overcast conditions, where sunlight was not direct.
 * Initial Observations**

**//Journal Assignment #2: //**
(A) Post a response to the discussion thread based upon Brice's prompt. (B) Go to the K'Nex Solar Energy Kit site: http://www.knex.com/educational_toys/solar_energy_set.php and look over the kits that we will be ordering. (C) Research the Internet to find a relatively current article on either solar energy or solar cars. On your page post the link to the article and a summary of the article. Include how you think the article could help you with this project.
 * Due: Thursday September 25th**

 http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/16814

This artical was about how Asola, a green company, is gaing to start producing and distributing solar modules in Ital. Italy is the third largest market for solar powered vehicles in the world. Knowing that solar cars are actually a viable option, and seeing them in use, could inspire us and give us ideas about our own solar car.

 Due: Friday, October 31st
(A) Answer the question - "How does your understanding of **//motion//** and **//forces//** pertain to this project?**//"//

Our understanding of motion and forces are obviously vital in this project as they are what we will have to manipulate in order to create the most efficiant solar car. We will have take in to account the use of things like friction, gravity, and Newton's basic laws while building and testing our car. As we have learned, a car that does not factor in forces like the normal force and decelleration will not function as cleanly as a car that does. We plan on creating a car that creates very little friction when it moves, therefore moving more quickly and easily.**

=//Journal Assignment #4:// = (A) Respond to Discussion Topic #3 (B) Answer the question - "How does your current understanding about **//work//** and //**energy**// pertain to this project?" On rainy, cloudy days like today, a solar car that solely depends on immediate and direct sunlight will not be able to run. To counteract this, it is prudent to understand about work and energy. It is necessary to understand how much energy the sun is outputting, how much the solar car can collect in a certain amount of time, and much work is done when the car moves. If we know these things and experiment with more efficient materials, we can find out how to make a solar car that doesn't need constant sunlight to move. Energy storage is very important.
 * Due: Wednesday, December 10th**

(C) Make a list of modification ideas that you have to the base model and notes about each. Put these in table format on your page (see Student Template).


 * Add reflective surfaces (tin foil, mirrors) to the solar car to try acheive optimum solar energy recieval.
 * Make the car 4 wheel drive so we can drive it on any surface.
 * Put a battery storage system on the car so when it's cloudy the car can still run
 * Put rims on the wheels for style and flair.

(D) Sketch out your current ideas about modifications to the base solar car model on a piece of plain computer paper. Brice will scan these in so they can be posted on your site.

Mid-Term Grade: 94%

I really like and appreciate the effort and thought you are putting into this project!! Maybe a bit more elaboration on your journal responses, but I like the discussion dialogue and the organization of your page

Brice

=__Journal Assignment #5:__= (A) Determine a method to find the speed (velocity) of your car and test it. Include your method and results in your journal. (B) Compare your results in part (A) to the base model. This may require you to build a base model car from on of the un-used kits. Record the base model and comparison in your journal. (C) Determine a method to find your car's power by running it uphill. Record your method and results in your journal. (D) Respond to Discussion #4

One method to determine the speed of our solar car is to define a set distance for the car to travel and then precisely timing the amount of time it took for the solar car to travel that distance. The method we used to attain information about the car's power is similar to the method we used to record the car's speed. We weighed our car, measured the vertical distance of the designated hill, and from this determined the amount of work the car had to do to go up the hill. Dividing this figure by the time it took the car to go up the hill, we were able to deduce the amount of power the car has.

=__Journal Assignment #6:__= (A) Read Pages 1-5 on the following site: [] (B) In your journal explain how your current understanding of electricity from the unit relates to the solar car project. (C) Your Kit contains a "capacitor" which acts similar to a battery in that it can store electrical charge that can be used later. Find a way to include the battery into your model if you have not already done so. Can you have both the battery and the cell connected at the same time? Can you find a way to test the battery outside? (D) Respond to Discussion #5

Understanding electricity is an important part in understanding how our solar car works. It helps our group understand why we connect the minus side and plus side on the solar power generator. Our current understanding of energy help us to better visualize how the solar cells work, and make it less complicated in our minds. We have found a way to connect the battery to the car but finds it just weighs our car down and unless it is fully charged it significantly decreases the speed as it takes up half of the incoming solar energy. Because of these reasons and the fact that it does not hold charge for a long time, we have chosen to leave our battery off. =__Journal Assignment #7:__= (A) You should be getting your car to its final stage so make plans to get your car ready for its racing build. (Yes will eventually be racing your car to determine distance and speed) (B) In your journal explain how optics/mirrors can be used to enhance the power output of your car. Can you test a mirror setup?

for our car we used aluminum foil as a light reflector to amplify the power of the sun and more effectively harness energy to power our solar car. we also added rims by putting tin foil on the inner spokes of the wheels to increase the aerodynamics nature of our car, and to let errybody know we're solar G's.

we tested. it works. =Final Journal Assignment=

(A) Write a brief essay on how your knowledge of Physics pertains to the modeling of the solar car (just a few paragraphs) (B) Get your car into its final "racing" form and prepared for the trials. Your car will go through 2 trials (1) Drag-Race for top speed and (2) Uphill Race for power. (C) Post a picture of your final car.

PS: KINSEY JOINED OUR GROUP CUZ SARAH NEVA COMES 2 SCHOOL.