A week into Term 4, we started a research about Slinkachu, a British artist that uses figurines and everyday objects to create his photos. Recently, we made a slide focusing on our research about him, and after that, we made some photographs using similar figurines. Here's the slide:
Weeks or a few months ago, my 9CMM class started a project. In this one, we made an aluminum drill gauge. Before going on to craft it, we plan the model over in Tinkercad. We made a bit of adjustments to the model, because it wasn't exactly measured right. After I finished modelling mine, I helped some of the other students through.
A good two or so weeks later, we get to working on the aluminium model. First, we used engineering glue on the model so we could mark our cuts with scribes. Then, we punched some dents into the lines to make sure we weren't cutting unnecessary parts of our work. Then, we did the same for the drill holes. After, we drilled the holes using drill machines that I can't remember the name of. Then, we cut the measurements and got rid of the engineer's glue left over weeks prior. Recently, we put some glue on some acrylic cuts of our initials and sizes, and plastered them onto the model.
Because of gravity, the things kept sliding down. The next day, we come back to dried glue; with some of our acrylic stuck diagonally or off-center. I believe we have yet to finish the project, but we're close. Just hope I get to see the finished product.
Today, in Science class, we dissolved sugar in water. Done.
Roll credits!
Never mind, I'll talk about what we did. During class, we were given some beakers and a small spatula. We were given some sugar along with some cold and hot water. We tested whether something would dissolve faster if we stirred or not and whether it dissolves in cold or hot water faster. Because of the test, we found out that the mixture dissolves faster when stirred and in hot water, which seems much obvious.
During the experiment, we discovered the average time for the sugar to dissolve in several conditions. We divided the total amount of time with the amount of tests and these were what we had:
(These are not completely accurate, some of these were mistimed)
- 50 ml of cold + 1 spatula of sugar, stir - 54 sec.
- 50 ml of hot + 1 spatula of sugar, stir - 29.75 sec.
- 50 ml of cold + 1 spatula of sugar - 76.2 sec.
- 50 ml of hot + 1 spatula of sugar - 163.8 sec.
Yeah, seems about right.
The long explanation:
Experiment: Test to see where sugar dissolves faster and record the time on how long it takes to dissolve.
Testing: We put one spatula of sugar into the beakers with cold and hot water. One pair we didn't stir and let to settle while the other pair we kept in a constant moving spiral. We used a stopwatch to record the time.
Result: Our results were:
Cold water: stirred - 55s, untouched - 156s
Hot water: stirred - 37s, untouched - 87s
After: We added the results and divided it for the amount of the results. The average time of dissolution is shown above.
Conclusion: The sugar dissolved faster in hot water, even faster when stirred.
11 Jan 2018
We visited the remote island of Tokelau with a small group of scientists, curators and media creators. We were headed there to learn about the culture, the land and its people. On the ship we were aboard, there were supplies to bring with us and to give to the locals and passengers as well. During our conversations with some of the other young passengers indicated that they were returning home for Christmas from Fiji, where they were studying for the University of the South Pacific. During the trip on the ship, it impresses me how some people get to shower in a boat, constantly rocking back and forth. And how they manage to get a hot drink from a teapot into a cup with no problem whatsoever is baffling just as much. After a good 24 hours or more, we see the low-lying atolls of Tokelau. Just staring at it strikes me about how vulnerable the islands and people are.
It’s hard to imagine how well they would fare against the ever so rising sea levels, considering the highest point in the island is only a few metres above sea level. During the low tide, you could see the protective seawall, that, although small, provides a bit of safety from the ocean. Despite being geographically isolated and their vulnerability against the sea, they are sufficiently developed villages hosting even hospitals and a large school somewhere in another island.
The townspeople were warm and hospitable but shy at first. Eventually, they warmed up to the tourists and they became keen to share their stories with us. Their solar power station has kept the entire place up and running for a long time, and thanks to the deliveries before, they’re building a municipal building with the development of some houses with televisions, computers and fridges. And everything seems pretty steady and well-run.
But that won’t stop the problems of the future. When we met a teacher in a primary school, she said that they’re talking about the future they believe in and expect. Like most places, they seem different through a postcard than actually visiting the place. Their seawall helps, but it is only a temporary solution against an insurmountable problem. However, a sign on the side of a building gives us a message, a message we must hear: a clean environment is the only way to survive.
After the study, we returned back to our homes, in the comfort of our family’s embrace and the warmth of our home. That was a very interesting experience, I hope to visit that country again soon.
Facts about Niue:
Niue is one of the world’s largest coral islands.
The people in Niue (Niueans) are citizens of New Zealand.
Niue is possibly the smallest independent nation as of now.
The island is most commonly referred to as “The Rock” as a reference to it being one of the biggest raised coral islands in the world.
The island lies about 2400 km northwest of NZ between Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands
Facts about Tokelau:
Of the total 265,941 Pacific population in the NZ Census 2013, approximately 2.4% or 7,173 Pacific people identified as Tokelauan.
Tokelauan women are more likely than men to learn two or more languages, at 44.4 to 40.2 percent respectively.
English was the most spoken language in Tokelau by 93.6% or about 6,537 people.
The region of Wellington is home to the biggest Tokelauan population in NZ and in the world, with almost 50% living in the region (49.1% or 3,525 people).
One of their proverbs say “Nohe mānumanu ki te ika kae mānumanu ki te kupega” which says “Do not be too concerned about the fish, but be much more concerned about saving the net.” but means “There are things in life which are important to save and preserve for the future, and the language is chief amongst them.”.
In DTE class, we were told to make a project of our own using some cardboard and bamboo sticks and some Spheros. For our project, we were made into several groups of three or four. We wanted to make our program close to a drag strip, and this is what it was close to what we wanted it to look like:
The dragstrip we made as an inspiration for the track.We want to develop a drag race themed code for Spheros and make it work like a race. We want the Sphero to run on a randomized speed that will determine whether the player will win or lose.
We make the chassis for the Spheros with bamboo sticks holding the wheels, which were cardboard. The chassis itself was made out of tiny rolls of paper, and was supposed to work as a car, but after a while, we didn't manage to finish it. Here's the development log for the project:
August 2, 2021
Dear Diary,
It was Tim, again. He took my stuff, again. It’s been going on like this for a week or so. I think it’s because I look weak, that I was short compared to him when I sit down, but normally, I just avoid confrontation. This time, I confronted him personally because he never saw me standing up. He comes up to me and threatens me like the little turd he is and I stand up. I guess this is the first time he’s seen me stand because I can tell by the look on his face that he was terrified. Sucker ran off without a word. He hasn’t bothered me since. I’m actually pretty happy about it.
- Harry
