Newton Vehicle Project Essays - Copernican Revolution, Physics

Newton Vehicle Project Objective: Apply Newton's Third Law of Motion by building and designing a vehicle. Identify and manipulate variables that affect the performance of a vehicle and communicate the results of their activity through a demonstration. ESLRs: C. O. U. G. A. R. Scenario: The Valley School Automotives hired you to create a new vehicle using Newton's third law of motion, which describes an equal and opposite reaction to every action. In this project, you will use Newton's third law of motion to design and build a vehicle. Vehicle Requirements: A. This vehicle must travel forward 1.5 meters and completely cross the finish line by pushing backward on the floor, the air, or some other object. B. Your vehicle must use Newton's third law of motion to move forward; it must move forward by pushing backward on the floor, the air, or some other object. C. You must build your vehicle from scrap materials. Don't use a ready- made vehicle. D. The path of your vehicle should stay within a width of 1 meter. E. You are not allowed to interfere with the movement of your vehicle. You cannot give your vehicle a push as you launch it, and you cannot help it in any way as it travels from the starting line to the finish line. F. You cannot use any form of electricity or the pull of gravity to move your vehicle. This means that you cannot use a downhill ramp to get your vehicle started. G. You may use a "track" such as a toy car track or a string running from the starting line to the finish line to guide your vehicle. Not only will this help reduce friction, but it may also help you to keep your vehicle within the boundaries. H. Your vehicle does not have to move along the ground. If your vehicle moves through the air, you could use a string stretched between two chairs as a"track" to guide your vehicle. I. Vehicle can be no bigger than 24 x 12 x 12 (LxWxH) No smaller than 12 x 6 x 6 Written and Oral Requirements: 1. Initial Design with power source list 2. 2nd Design with Newton Laws Applied 3. 3rd Design with Friction and Gravity Forces applied 4. Testing Worksheet 5. Vehicle Demonstration including poster size diagrams of your vehicle that illustrate the forces that act upon it. 6. Explanation of Vehicle: a. How your vehicle works b. You should also be able to explain any modifications that you made to improve the performance of your vehicle. Project Hints and Suggestions Online Help There are several sites that offer help, designs or ideas for building a Newton Vehicle. If you chose to use the material you must print out the online information and include it with your initial design. (Yes, I know every site and design available online) Extra credit will be given to original ideas and to those who use online sources but are able to manipulate substantial changes to create a better vehicle. Materials Here are some ideas for materials to build your vehicle: recycled materials from home, toys or building-block sets, balloons, springs, straws, fishing lines, paper towel rolls Project Hints 1. Be creative! Don't limit yourself to vehicles that have wheels. Think about other ways that you could get your vehicle to move a distance of 1.5 meters. 2. The rules state that the vehicle has to stay within a width of 1 meter, but it is allowed to leave the ground! 3. What happens if you inflate a balloon and release it into the air? Can you use Newton's third law of motion to explain this movement? How could you use the balloon's movement to push your vehicle? Can you think of any other objects like this that you could use to push your vehicle? DEADLINES: Monday, October 30 Idea List Wednesday, November 1 Initial Design Friday, November 3 2nd Design with Newtons Laws applied Monday, November 6 3nd Design with Friction and Gravity forces applied Wednesday, November 8 Testing Worksheet Friday, November 10 Newton Vehicle Evaluation Sheet Monday, November 13 Demonstration & Presentation Newton Vehicle Testing Worksheet New cars aren't released to the public until after they have been tested and modified. Often, this stage of development can take months as the engineers and designers change features on the car to improve performance and safety. After you complete your vehicle, you too will need

How to Manage and Identify the Boxelder Tree

How to Manage and Identify the Boxelder Tree Boxelder, also known as ash-leaved maple is one of the most common and adaptable urban trees in North America though  it also may be the trashiest from a visual perspective. Planting it next to your house is probably not a good idea. The best thing about the tree is that it is comfortable on poor sites where more desirable trees cannot maintain adequate health for long life. It is very commonly seen in the treeless plains and western United States as a street tree. You can use the tree for quick growth but plan to interplant with more desirable trees to provide for a lasting tree canopy. Boxelder can be a treasure on adverse tree sites. Boxelder Specifics The scientific name of boxelder is Acer negundo (AY-ser nuh-GUHN-doe). Common names include ashleaf maple, Manitoba maple, and poison ivy tree and the tree is a member of the plant family Aceraceae. Although considered by many a maple outcast, it is indeed in the maple family and the only native maple with more than one single blade or leaflet on a single leaf stalk. Boxelder grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8 and is native to North America. The tree is sometimes crafted into a bonsai specimen but often used as a screen/ windbreak and for land reclamation. It grows rapidly, can become very large and needs a lot of space. Boxelder is still a very common tree to see in a yard or park west of the Mississippi River.​ Boxelder Cultivars There are several attractive cultivars of boxelder including Aureo-Variegata, Flamingo and Auratum. The cultivar Acer negundo Aureo-Variegata is noted for its leaves bordered in gold. Acer negundo Flamingo has variegated leaves with pink margins and is somewhat available at local nurseries. Acer negundo Auratum has abundant gold leaves but is a little harder to find. You must remember that even though these cultivars are ornamental, they still share the original boxelder tree’s undesirable characteristics that include unattractive female fruit and breakage that increase the chances of the trees early removal due to quick growth. Problems With Boxelder Boxelder is a rather unattractive tree where limbs break with a vengeance   a landscape maintenance nightmare. The fruit droops in clusters which some describe as looking like dirty brown socks which adds to the overall trashy look of the tree. The boxelder bug makes things even worse. Robert Schafer / Getty Images Boxelder bug or Leptocoris trivittatus loves the boxelder tree. This half-inch red-striped insect is a true pest during winter where the adult multiplies and invades homes near where boxelder trees grow. It is one of the most common household pests in the United States. The bug emits a foul odor, stains fabric and can cause asthmatic reactions. It does no harm to the tree. Boxelder Description A boxelder in the landscape grows to a height of 25 to 50 feet, depending on tree variety and site conditions. One of the tallest ever measured had a recorded height of 110 feet. The trees crown spread is 25 to 45 feet and the crown is typically broad and ragged or disheveled. The tree often has multiple furrowed trunks or very squat single trunks. Flowers are without petals, dioecious and yellowish-green and the female tassels are very conspicuous. The very maple-looking seeds, called samaras hang in long, profuse clusters and stay on the tree throughout winter. Nearly every seed is viable and will cover up a disturbed area with seedlings   a very prolific seeder is boxelder. Boxelder Leaf Botanics Leaf arrangement: opposite/suboppositeLeaf type: odd pinnately compoundLeaflet margin: lobed; serrateLeaflet shape: lanceolate; ovateLeaflet venation: pinnate; reticulateLeaf type and persistence: deciduousLeaflet blade length: 2 to 4 inchesLeaf color: greenFall color: orange; yellowFall characteristic: showy Pruning Boxelder You will have to prune this tree regularly.  Boxelder branches droop as the tree grows and will require pruning if you have consistent walking and vehicular traffic under the canopy. The tree form is not particularly showy and should be grown with one single trunk to maturity. The tree is susceptible to breakage and can occur either at the crotch due to poor collar formation, or where the wood itself is weak and tends to break. Superior Western Boxelders There are also good qualities of boxelders in western North America. It seems that the tree takes on positive characteristics in the west that is not seen in trees in the eastern half of North America. California interior boxelder takes on yellow and red colors in autumn that rival eastern maple. Its drought tolerance makes the tree a welcome plant in that dry country landscape and very easy on limited water resources.