Cardboard Canoe Challenge

The Cardboard Canoe challenge has definitely been my favorite project we have done so far in Engineering! Basically, we had to construct a canoe using cardboard and ride it in our school's swimming pool.

My group earner 11 achievements for this challenge. 

Criteria
• Build a watercraft that allows you to traverse the CHS swimming pool.
• Your "boat" must float at least one student through the course of the competition.
•Protect workspace from damage. 

Constraints
• You may only use Cardboard and Duct Tape for this event.
• All Staples or other foreign material must be removed from your cardboard. If we trash the pool, we will not be invited back for other activities during the year (yes, we have other activities in mind for 2nd semester).
• Cardboard must meet our quality standard and be approved by the instructor (more info to follow)
• Each boat must have a minimum of a 3" tall "sidewall" (no completely flat designs).
• All exposed cardboard must be covered in duct tape (this will reduce cardboard disintigration in the pool).
• Each team will be provided one "versa table" cardboard box piece and three 60yrd rolls of duct tape. Any materials beyond this (likely need more cardboard) need to be resourced by your team.


Achievments
We earned 11 achievements for this project!


Design Achievements:
• Define the Problem and Brainstorm Solutions - For this challenge, we are constructing a canoe entirely out of cardboard.We are then covering the entire canoe in duct tape to ensure that it will not get destroyed when it gets exposed to the water. Our goal is to have the canoe comfortably support the weight of our team Member Morgan.
These are some of our construction ideas we had prior to constructing our canoe:

1. Make the walls of our canoe high enough so that when Morgan gets on, it doesnt sink to the point where the water will get in 
2. Increase our canoe's stability by constructing outriggers
3. Cover our canoe entirely with duct tape so that water doesn't get in 
4. On two of the sides use an extra piece of cardboard to ensure stability and durability of the canoe
5. Use two layers of duct tape on places where it is especially dangerous for the water to seep into the canoe
6. Make the walls tall but not tall to the point where it could risk balance 
7. Make the canoe flat bottom 
8. Make the walls an appropriate height so that Morgan is able to reach out of the canoe
9. Make sure to cover the inside of the boat with duct tape too
10. Use extra duct tape for all edges and corners
11. The canoes should be in the general shape of a box
12. The bottom should be fairly large to increase the surface area
13. Construct a paddle using cardboard
14. Cover the paddle entirely with duct tape
15. Contribute extra cardboard 
16. Contribute extra tape if needed
17. Decrease the amount of cardboard used to increase the speed by reducing the weight 
18. Possibly make a sail 
19. Possibly make pontoons 
20. Think of a creative name for the boat .... like .... The Morgan Mobile

• Big Brain - The individual student with the most brainstorms listed will earn a bonus achievement.
• Criteria & Constraints - 

•  Construct a boat using only cardboard and duct tape 
•  Make the boat the appropriate size and weight to transport from the classroom to the pool 
• Use all materials efficiently
• Strive to always keep a clean working environment 

• Sketch Ideas - These are the sketches we originally came up with. We had ideas about making a v-bottom canoe but we realized it probably would not be as stable, we also contemplated about makiing our canoe "coffin shaped" but it would be difficult to balance and control, so we settled on our box idea.

• Prototype Ideas - This is the paper model we constructed of our canoe. Its key features are the high walls, flat bottom, and box shape.

• Select an Approach - Generate feedback (+, change, ?, !) 
+: covering the entire canoe with duct tape truly paid off!
change: the walls didn't have to be as high as we made them
?: why did the water seep into our boat faster than expected?
!: if our boat was a bit larger it might have increased its stability

• Surface area! - We covered an area of 9540 cm^2 with duct tape. To cover that entire area, we consumed 3 rolls of duct tape.



Build Achievements:
• Build It! - This is a picture of our boat and my team minus my best friend Torrey.

Test Achievements:
• Balance Master - A member of our group stood on our boat for 23 seconds.
 
• Videographer - This is a video of our canoe in the pool!

Reflection Achievements:
• Feedback - 

1. We should have used the time provided more efficiently 
2. Our walls should have been shorter 
3. We should have better covered the edges of our boat 
4. We made a great decision to cover the inside of our boat in duct tape 
5. The flat bottom we incorporated in our canoe increased its balance and stability in the water
6. We should have used a little less cardboard so that our canoe wasn't as heavy 
7. I wonder if  our bat would have been more stable if we had increase the surface area? 
8. Why did the boat not go as fast as planned? 
9. Our team should have discussed all ideas with everyone on the team before carrying them through 
10. Our boat was pretty sturdy and stable
    

• How Low Did You Go? - Our boat sank in the water about 2-4 inches.


• (Make Your Own Achievement) - Our boar was extremely study and even after violently jumping on it it still held together pretty well. I think a "Indestructible" would be a great achievement to be rewarded to the team whose boat held together the best.

Mousetrap Race Car Challenge!

For this challenge, my team and I had had to build a car and propel it forward using a mousetrap.

My team earned 9 achievements for this challenge.  

Criteria:
Design, build and compete with a Mousetrap Racecar (A "car" uses at least two axles).
Maintain a clean workspace.

Constraints:
One mousetrap
No more than 12" of masking tape
Fischertechnique robotics parts
No more than 24" of string
All materials used must travel with your vehicle
You must work through the stages of the event (see Achievements below)
Additional materials by Instructor approval


Achievements (by stage):

Design Stage:
"Brainiac" - Before getting started on our race car, we brainstormed some designs.

1. Catapult 
2. Use a tennis ball to propel the car 
3. Put the car upside down and snap the mouse trap 
4. Barrier
5. Lighter Car to increase the acceleration 
6. Heavier car to increase stability 
7. Decrease Volume and Mass
8. Use rubber bands for traction 
9. Attach a stick to the mousetrap to use as a lever to propel the car forward
10. Use as much string as allowed to get the most acceleration/distance

Build Stage:
"Build It" - This is our fantastic race car!

"The Price of Glory" - Each part we used to construct out race car cost $1 each.

• 4 wheels = $4 
• 2 axels = $2 
• 1 popsicle stick = $1
• 24" of string = $1 
• 6 black building cubes = $6 
• 12' of masking tape = $1 
• The remaining parts of the structure = 8$ 

TOTAL COST: $24 

Test (Compete) Stage:
Each car participating in this challenge competed in two events.

1) The Distance Event: In the Distance Event, the mousetrap race cars competed on who would earn the farthest distance. Even though we didn't win, our car did an exceptional job by earning third place.
2) The Acceleration Event: In the Acceleration Event the cars competed head to head in a competitive bracket. We got third place as well in this event.

"Competitor" - Unfortunately we did not compete in the 2nd Annual Mousetrap Race Car Challenge, but we feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to compete on the third.

"Long Distance Winner!" - Even though we did not win for the longest distance, we came in third place, and we are very proud of that.

"Going the Mile!" - Our car came in third place out of all the distances traveled by all cars.

"Led Foot" - Unfortunately, we were not the team that won the Acceleration bracket, but we did come very close.

"Feedback" - Collect feedback (at least one each of +, change, ? and !) 

• + Our car was constructed very effectively, allowing us to control the acceleration by tightening the string
• change: we should have utilized more time to better plan out our race car 
• ? If the car was longer would it have gone farther? 
• ! We should have thought out our ideas a little better.

Iterate Stage:
"Re-work" - Our first design was very difficult to construct, it required advanced materials, and it was too complicated. We resulted to changing our first design completely and settling with a better and more simple design that worked better in the end. If we had more time to improve our second design even more I am sure we would have ranked higher in the challenge.

"Game Changer" - Develop a new rule or change to the game that you feel would make the event better. 
I think it would have been very interesting if it was mandatory to use a catapult to propel the cars because it would have been a bit more challenging and interesting to construct the car.


"Name it" - The name of my catapult challenge idea would be "Let the Cat Propel"


Clean Up Stage:
"Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It" - Did we leave our workspace clean?
Our group did a remarkable job in ensuring that we always gathered our materials and maintained a clean working space throughout the entire challenge. We even helped the other groups keep a clean working space as well by helping them put their materials away at the end of class.


Reflection Stage:
"Design/Build" - The "Design/Built" process we utilized in this challenge truly taught me the importance of planning before getting started on any project. Planning is key to ensuring a smooth and stress-free experience while constructing the project.

Greetings Fellow Engineers!

Hi guys! I'm so happy to finally start up my Engineering Blog and share with you all of the amazing projects we do in my Engineering Class! This is going to be an amazing year and I look forward to bringing you guys along with me every step of the way!