Marshmallow Catapult.

Everything on earth has potential energy. This means that it could move even if it isn't right now. When an object is moving it has kinetic energy. 

Say we stored energy in a spring. That spring will have the potential to move, however it wont move until we let it. Like a Catapult, a catapult has the potential to move at anytime we just need to set it off. The catapult is going to transfer energy from the spring to a marshmallow. The marshmallow will have potential energy until the catapult is released. As the marshmallow is flying through the air it will have kinetic energy meaning it is moving. 

The reason i'm using a catapult. The catapult experiment requires minimal equipment, is fun and shows how potential and kinetic energy works really well.

To make this catapult you will require.

1. 10 Popsicle sticks.
2. 4 rubber bands (Not crap)
3. 1 bottle cap (Milk cap recommended)
4. Ammo (Marshmallow in our case)
5. Hot glue gun

1. The first thing you want to do is gather all your materials. 

2. Rubber band two pieces of Popsicle sticks together at the ends.

3. Stack the remaining eight sticks together and rubber band the ends together.

4. Slide the stack of eight in between the other two pieces.

5. Now use the fourth band to secure all the sticks together.

6. Use a hot glue gun to stick the milk cap to the end of the catapult (wait till dry).

7. Put your mini marshmallow in the milk cap and Enjoy!

Results: 

These are the numbers this experiment got.

How to calculate energy.

Potential energy - Due to position

Potential energy is Mgh. M (Mass), g (Gravitational acceleration) and h (Height).

Kinetic energy - Due to movement 

Potential energy is 1/2 mv^2. M (Mass), V (Velocity).

Example 

Let's say for example I climbed to the top of a ten-story building. To do this calculation we will need to know our mass (i weigh around 80kg). For this calculation we will also need to know the acceleration due to gravity or g (acceleration of gravity is 9.81m/s^2). Now we have to convert the ten-story building into meters (which is about 32m roughly).  Now multiply these together, I got 25 113.6 joules. If we do significant digits that is 2.5 x 10^4 joules of energy that my body has at the top of the building and as long as I stay at the top of that building I can use that on the way down. I don't want to jump of the building so for kinetic energy we will use a baseball instead. Remember kinetic = (1/2mv^2). If I pitch a baseball and there are two different pitches. When I throw, I probably throw it at around 20mph. Where a pro pitcher throws at about 100mph. Now to figure out how much kinetic energy would be in one of my throws and then a pro's. First, we need the weight of the baseball (lets say 0.145kg). Since we are doing kinetic the only other value we need is the speed (20mph = 13.0m/s). For these we always have to convert to m/s. A 100mph pitch then is roughly 45 m/s. Now let's figure out how much kinetic energy my pitch would have. We use the equation 1/2mv^2. M (0.145), V (9.0m/s). We then take that 1/2 and square the velocity and get 5.9 joules. Do the same with the Pro's and we should get 150 joules.

Not all potential energy will turn into kinetic energy. Some of the potential energy will turn into sound and heat energy.

That in a simpler way.

M        G        H

80 × 9.81 × 32 = 25113.6 joules of potential energy.

1/2m           v^2

0.145  x  9.0^2 = 5.8725 joules of kinetic energy.

Rock Cycle

Rock cycle

What is the rock cycle?
The rock cycle is a concept in geology that describes how rocks change through geologic time.



Intrusive Igneous Rocks
Intrusive, or plutonic, igneous rocks form when magma cools slowly below the Earth's surface. Most intrusive rocks have large, well-formed crystals.



Diorite is an intrusive igneous rock with a composition between that of granite and basalt. It usually occurs as large intrusions (---), dikes (---) and sills (---) within continental crust. These often form above a convergent plate boundary where an oceanic plate sub-ducts underneath a continental plate. Melting of the oceanic plate produces a basaltic magma (---) that rises and intrudes the granitic rock of the continental plate. There, the basaltic magma mixes with granitic magma's or melts granitic rock as it ascends through the continental plate. This produces a melt that is intermediate in composition between basalt and granite. Diorite forms if this type of melt crystallises below the surface.



Gabbro is an intrusive igneous rock, it is usually black or dark green in colour and composed mainly of the minerals plagioclase (---) and augite (---) . Could find out much more.



Granite is a light coloured intrusive igneous rock with grains (---) large enough to be visible with no special equipment. It forms from the slow crystallisation of magma below Earth's surface. Granite is compose mainly of quartz (---) and feldspar (---) with little bits of mica (---), amphiboles (---), and other minerals. This mineral composition usually gives granite a red, pink, grey or white colour with dark mineral grains visible through out the rock.



Pegmatite are  intrusive igneous rocks that form during the final stage of magma's crystallisation.
They contain large crystals and they sometimes contain minerals that are rarely found in other types of rocks (---). The name pegmatite has nothing to do with the mineral composition of the rock. Most pegmatite have a composition similar to that of granite.



Peridotite is a dark coloured, ultramafic (---) igneous rock. Peridotite contain olivine (---) as its primary mineral, also with other mafic minerals like pyroxenes and amphiboles. Their silica (---) content is low compared to other igneous rocks. They also contain very little quartz and feldspar. Much of earths mantle is believed to be Peridotite. different types of Peridotite include dunite, lherzolite, harzburgite, wehrlite.



Extrusive Igneous Rocks
Extrusive igneous rocks form when magma reaches the Earth's surface a volcano and cools quickly. Most extrusive (volcanic) rocks have small crystals.



Andesite is an extrusive igneous rock that is usually light to dark grey in colour.

Basalt

Obsidian

Pumice

Rhyolite

Scoria

Clastic Sedimentary Rocks
Breccia
Conglomerate
Sandstone
Siltstone
Shale

Chemical Sedimentary Rocks
Iron ore
Chert
Flint
Dolomites
Limestones

Organic Sedimentary Rocks
Coal
Dolomites
Limestones

Line graph

What does the graph show us?
How the population of NZ changed over the years.

Why do you think the numbers of Māori change? Because they breeded with pakeha.


Why do you think numbers of Europeans changed? Because more came from foreign countries.

Blog post about Japanese food.

Being a Qualified Sushi Chef Requires Many Years of Training.

Cave art post.

They made the art using clay, berries, blood and stone powder.

They did it to decorate and document their hunting expeditions.
Cave art is mostly found in European countries.
My art didn'tzzzzzz tell a story it was just a cave man.

Social

While working on this we have been looking at tech and change and how much time has been used on-screen time.

I recoreded which devices were used more often. to see what students preferred to go on in there spare time

Electrochemical Cell / Voltaic cell.

Aim: To create an electrochemical cell.

Equipment:  Copper metal, Copper nitrate ion, Zinc metal, Zinc nitrate ion, Salt bridge, Potassium nitrate. Two 250ml beakers, and a 100ml beaker, a voltmeter, paper and sellotape. Metal scrub.

Method: 

1. Fill one 250ml beaker with copper nitrate. Fill the other 250ml beaker with zinc nitrate.
2. Fill the 100ml beaker with potassium nitrate.
3. Fold a tissue until it is a long strip, sellotape it to keep it like that.
4. Scrub the metals clean.
5. Attach one of the voltmeter wires to the Copper metal.
6. Attach one of the voltmeter wires to the Zinc metal.
7. Place the Copper metal into the beaker with the Copper nitrate ion inside it.
8. Place the Zinc metal into the beaker with the Zinc nitrate ion inside it.
9. Pour Potassium nitrate onto the strip of paper.
10. Place the strip of paper into from one beaker to the other.
11. Record results.

Results: Making my electrochemical cell went quite well. My group did not run into any problems.
We created 0.895 volts. However, the theoretical amount of volts from an electrochemical cell is 1.10.

Discussion: An electochemical cell is capable of either generating electrical energy from chemical reactions or using electrical energy to cause chemical reactions. The kind of electrochemical cell that can be recharged is an electrolytic cell. An electrolytic cell also consists of two beakers filled with electrolytes into which electrodes are dipped. 

Seeing others as human beings

Seeing others as human beings

Should all of the people on earth be treated the same, Is it fair to treat them differently because
of who they are, Where they come from and who they are associated with? In Children of Blood
and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. A memorable idea is “Seeing others as human beings”. This idea
is shown when, Kaea asks Inan How long he had been a magi, Inan sees a burner for the first
time and when Zelie meets Inans amber gaze at The Holy Temple.  

In the novel there is a scene between Inan and admiral kaea. Where kaea confronts Inan about
being a magi. She says “How long?” she breathes. “How long have you been a maji?”  She
judges Inan although she knows who he is as a person, just because he’s got a different title.
She was taught to hate the type of person Inan is becoming. Although she knew him since he
was a small child. This to me relates to how in the real world, Someone might stop believing in
something like God. Then there family and friends might look down upon them for being
different. I think even people in real life to this day are too quick to judge people based on
names and titles. When Inan sees the burner for the first time, he is quick to judge kwame.
He judges Kwame because he is different from Inan and has power that strikes fear into
Inan. Inan doesn't know what to think about this new person, So straight away Inan assumes
that Kwame is bad. This is similar to in the real world how multiple cultures don't accept one
another. They choose to fight against one another and not with each other. I don't think this is
okay, Just because people have different skin colours, religions etc. This doesn't mean we
can't get along and I think we should work harder to live in peace.

In Children of blood and bone there is a really good scene between Inan and Zelie. “Inan’s
amber eyes trap me in the truth of his betrayal, but it isn’t the gaze I know. He’s a stranger. A
soldier. The shell of the little prince.” Zelie thinks this without taking in any of the reasons why
Inan was doing what he was doing. Inan had an upbringing where he hated magi and looked
up to his father. Inan was only trying to impress his father, I feel this is understandable in most
cases. This reminds me of the saying, “The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.” I think trying to
be like a loved one shouldnt be frowned upon and should be looked at as quite a beautiful thing.

I believe we are all the same. We might be different in our skin colour, religion, culture,
sexuality. But were all people, People who shouldn't live in constant fear of other people.
Were allowed to have our own opinions and beliefs.

English Another World Diversity

In the last to terms in english we've been learning about different humans from different backgrounds.

Metals (Changing copper coin to gold)(Alloys).

Aim: Turing a copper coin into silver and gold.

Method:
1) Clean the copper coin with the wire wool.

2) Add five grams of zinc powder into the water ( Now you have made the solution).


3) Now turn on the bunsen burner to boil the solution.


4) Once the solutions are boiling then add the copper coin.


5) Once the copper coin turns silver lift it out the glass beaker.


6) Now put the silver coin in some water to cool down.


7) Take the coin out of the water and dab it dry with a tissue.


8) Now take the coin using the beaker tongs and put it on the flame of the bunsen burner.

9)  flipping it occasionally

Equipment: Wire wool, Five grams of zinc powder,  beaker, Bunsen burner, gauze mat, tripod, tissue, beaker tongs. 

Result: This experiment turned out great this is what my coin turned out like:

Discussion:
An alloy is a mixture of two or more elements, one or more of which is a metal. Alloys often have properties that are different from the metals they contain. This makes them more useful than the pure metals alone. For example, alloys are often harder than the metal they contain. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is used to make many things such as cars, ships, bridges, and building frames. Steel is harder, stronger and more flexible than iron and doesn't corrode (rust) as quickly as iron. Other examples of Alloys are brass, bronze, pewter, cast and wrought iron, coin metals, and solder. Alloys have special properties, They are more conductive to heat or electricity, less prone to rust or corrosion. Alloys are made by melting metals, mixing them while they are soluble to form a solution, Then leave them to cool and turn into a solid again. There are two different alloys, one is called substitution alloys and the other is called interstitial alloys. In substitution alloys, the atoms of the original metal are literally replaced with atoms that have roughly the same size from another material. Brass, for example, is an example of a substitution alloy of copper and zinc. Aluminum alloys contain next to no iron and without any iron, the alloys cant actually rust. It does however oxidize. When the alloy is exposed to water, a film of aluminum oxide forms quickly on the surface. The oxide layer is resistant to further corrosion and protects the metal. 



Substitution alloy and Interstitial alloy
Substitution alloys are when you replace one atom with another that is of the same size as the photo above shows whereas Interstitial alloys are where the other atom occupies the spaces in between the former metal atoms.

Year 10 (Acids and Bases) (Making Salt)

Aim:
To produce copper sulfate salt by reacting copper oxide with an acid.

Equipment:
Copper oxide powder, dilute (0.5 mol L-1) Sulfuric acid, 50mL measuring cylinder, two 100 mL beakers, Bunsen burner, tripod, gauze mat, funnel, filter paper, thermometer, spatula, evaporating basin, stirring rod.

Method:

Evaluation:
My experiment was a bust it was going just fine until a classmate decided that she should pick it up, She dropped it. So I do not have my results but I do have those of another few groups they ended with tiny blue crystals, But they were all a little different.

Here are two of them.
Discussion:
In class we have been learning about acids and bases. We learnt how Chemical equations worked.
        CuO         +       H2SO4        ➝            CuS04          +     H20
Copper Oxide  +    Sulfuric acid   ➝     Copper Sulfate    +    Water 
We have also been learning about positive and negative charges (also known as Ions) Here Is a photo that goes more in depth about what an Ion is and how they works. 

Year 10 Atomic Science (Burning magnesium)

Aim? I am investigating whether or not burning magnesium makes it heavier.

Hypothesis? I think the magnesium will become lighter because it will become ash instead of a solid, I also think some of the ash will get stuck on the tongs and be blown away with the lightest wind.

Equipment:
Heat mat, Bunsen burner, Scissor Tongs, Beakers, Scales, Magnesium, Safety glasses, Lighter.

Method:

1. Gather and set up all your equipment.
2. Weigh a strip 

Safety: Glasses are needed. long hair must be tied back. Flame killed as soon as done with it.

Evaluation: My experiment was some what a failure. Instead of weighing your magnesium on paper I highly suggest that you measure it in a beaker. I say this because my piece of paper got burnt when i put the magnesium down on it. 

Discussion:

What i learnt from the Scipad?

Stupid boomerang.

In wood tech, we were told to make a boomerang.
I feel this project was a waste of time that Mr made us so because he didn't have anything else to give us to do. Honestly, the lesson could have been planned better with a better task that would actually get us to want to do it. My boomerang was done well but a waste of wood so I chucked it. Next time please set up a better lesson, Thank you.

manufacturing a metal drill gauge

At school in metal tech. We have been making drill gauges, used to find the size of drills. I would have a photo of my drill gauge on here but unfortunately, I took it home and dumped it before I knew we were doing an instructional blog.

Although this is what a proper drill gauge would look like.
To make the drill gauge we used these tools.

1. Metal bar 20mm W 100mm L 5mm T

2. 300mm stainless steel ruler

3 Scriber.

What is a Scriber?
A scriber is a hand tool used in metalworking to mark lines on workpieces, prior to machining. The process of using a scriber is called scribing and is just part of the process of marking out. 

4 Engineers Square.

What are engineers square?
An engineer's square is a tool used in metalworking and woodworking. It is. very similar to a try square in appearance and use, and is mainly used to check a workpiece is 'square', (that is, two sides are at 90 degrees to one another).

5 Buffer.

What is a buffer?
The Polishing Machine (also called the Buffing Machine) is used to polish soft metals including copper and brass as well as plastics such as perspex.

6 Drill press.

What is a drill press?\
Drill press, also called Drilling Machine, device for producing holes in hard substances. The drill is held in a rotating spindle and is fed into the workpiece, which is usually clamped in a vise resting on a table.

7 Micrometer.

What is a micrometer?
a gauge that measures small distances or thicknesses between its two faces, one of which can be moved away from or towards the other by turning a screw with a fine thread.

How to use a Micrometer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-cm_ocn9p4

8 Vernier caliper.

What is a vernier caliper?
A vernier caliper is a measuring device used to precisely measure linear dimensions. It is a very useful tool to use when measuring the diameter of a round objects like cylinders because the measuring jaws can be secured on either side of the circumference.

How to use vernier caliper?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNdkYIVJ3Vc

9 Emery cloth.

What is emery cloth?

Description

Emery cloth is a type of coated abrasive that has emery glued to a cloth backing. It is used for hand metalworking. It may be sold in sheets or in narrow rolls.


10 Center punch.

What is a center punch?
A tool consisting of a metal rod with a conical point for making an indentation, to allow a drill to make a hole at the same spot without slipping.


11 Hammer.

12 Odd leg caliber.

What is an odd leg caliper?
a caliper having the points of its legs bent in the same direction for measurements on stepped surfaces or similar surfaces

My drill gauge was done well Although I could have marked my work out a little better. I found marking it out to honestly be the hardest part of making my drill gauge because im not a very precise person. I overcame this by asking for help and seeing how other people were doing. I learned ho to center punch on the line.

Method of making this drill gauge is pretty simple. You clean up your 100x20x5 bar, Mark out through the middle of the bar and space out where your drill holes will be. Drill the holes the size you are doing. Clean the bar again, buffer it. Then you should be done.

This is my own online created drill gauge.

If I'm being honest, I did have a much better design that I put two lessons worth of time into. I could however not find it so I made a quick 5 minute one. This way I can at least get a score for it.
Here is a picture of my original design that was a failure due to me not setting the printer up properly. However, if I was to attempt it again I would know how to do it easily this time because I have learned from my past mistakes.