Week 5 Post 1-3

a.     Which labs, activities and/or videos have you completed?   

I have completed the third simulation and have written the report for it. I have also selected a partner for the circuits project. Ray and I will be working together. 

b.     What did you learn and what questions do you still need to ask? 

s     After completing the lab on the relationships between resistance, current, and voltage, I was able to learn a number of new things. First of all, I learned that the resistance of a circuit has no effect on the voltage. However, the resistance does have an effect on the current. The greater the resistance is in a circuit, the lesser the current. Similarly, voltage has no effect on the resistance, however, it does have an effect on the current. The greater the voltage, the greater the current. I also learned that one can manipulate the current by increasing or decreasing the resistance of the circuit, since the resistance does not depend on the current but the current depends on the resistance. Similarly, one can manipulate the current by increasing or decreasing the voltage, since current also depends on the voltage but voltage does not depend on the current. In a circuit, both the voltage and the resistance are the independent variables, while the current in the dependent.  
o    In conclusion, this activity has given me a deeper understanding of what Ohm's law is and how it works.
s
     c.     How will what you learn help you to complete the projects for this unit? 

T    This activity on the relationships between resistance, current, and voltage has helped me to better understand what Ohm's Law is and how it works. This new understanding will help me on the upcoming quiz on Ohm's Law, the circuits project, as well as the final assessment on the unit for I now know not only what the formula for the law is, but also the relationships and how it works. Understanding how the components relate to each other and understanding how the law works will be important on answering questions on upcoming assessments that need you to answer questions where you are to find the resistance given only the voltage and current or where anyone those components are missing.

     d.     What do you plan to do next and when do you think you will complete your next step?  

      

      I plan to work on the circuits project next. I am not sure if our will be able to complete it in the next week or so, but we will try our absolute best to do so.

  

      Day 1: School- Complete floor-plan sketch   Home- find out wattages of appliances and lights, buy poster

      Day 2: School- Begin work on circuit sketch, finalize the floor plan diagram Home: work on written requirement 

      Day 3: School-  Finalize circuit sketch, work on written requirement.  Home: Finish project during the break

Week 4 Post 1-3

a.     Which labs, activities and/or videos have you completed? 

    I have completed the second simulation (the one on resistance) and watched the Bozeman science video on current and resistance. 

b.     What did you learn and what questions do you still need to ask?

      After watching the video and completing the simulation, I learned a number of things. First of all, I learned that voltage is potential energy, current is the amount of energy flowing, and resistance is anything that slows down that flow. I also learned the unit of measurement for each of these these terms. For example, voltage is measured in volts, current in amps, and resistance in ohms.  

      

      After that, I learned what ohm's law was and the formula for it. Ohms law is

      the formula thats used to find either the voltage, current, or resistance, when only two out of the three different values are known. It also tells you that there is an inverse relationship between the resistance and current and a direct relationship between the current and voltage. The formula for Ohm's law is V= IR.  

      

      The simulation also helped me understand the relationships between the three factors a bit better. For example, I was able to learn that voltage divided by current gives you the resistance and the voltage divided by resistance gives you the current. Also, resistance multiplied by the current will give you the voltage, like the formula states. 

      

c.     How will what you learn help you to complete the projects for this unit?

      The information that I learned this week will help me on my upcoming projects, for it will help me understand what I will need to do to complete the projects. For example if the project asks for me to find the resistance, I will be able to do so. Similarly, if the upcoming quiz asks me to find the resistance, voltage, or even the current, I will be able to do so. 

d.     What do you plan to do next and when do you think you will complete your next step? 

    

      Schedule for NEXT WEEK:

      Day 1:    Class: Simulation 3        Home: Finish Simulation

      Day 2:    Class: Write Lab report  Home: Finish Lab Report 

      Day 3:    Class: Simulation 4        Home: Finish Simulation 4, Begin lab report, Blog     

Week 3 Post 1-3

a.     Which labs, activities and/or videos have you completed? 

      I have completed the lab report for the first simulation, completed two sets worksheets on circuits, watched the khan academy video on electrostatics, begun to work on the second simulation.

b.     What did you learn and what questions do you still need to ask?

     I was able to learn a number of new things this week. I learned that charge is a property that objects and particles have. I learned that there are also two types of charge. There is positive charge and negative charge. Positives repel other positives and negatives do the same to other negatives. However, positively charged particles and negatively charged particles attract.  
      I learned that charge can in fact, be measured using a unit called a Coulomb. I learned that the formula for finding charge is C= 6.24 x 10^18 e. The e stands for elementary charge, which is basically the charge of the protons or electrons. 
     
      The worksheets also solidified my knowledge of circuits and what we have learned about them. For example the questions on what components are needed to have a flow of electricity in a circuit reminded me that a circuit must always have a source of power and a closed conducting loop to function. The questions on the diagrams relating to this question further solidified my knowledge for it showed pictures and visuals are always important for understanding and applying concepts.
     
      The questions that involved definitions also helped to reinforce prior knowledge attained from watching the Khan Academy videos. They reminded me of important definitions of concepts, as well as what is important to remember for the upcoming assessments and assignments. For example, the question on where current exists reminded me that current exists whenever there is a charge moving through a loop. It also told me that this piece of information may possibly be on one of the upcoming tests or quizes  and that it is important. 

c.     How will what you learn help you to complete the projects for this unit?

      The information that I learned will allow for me to have a strong understanding of the concepts and topics of the next few projects. They will allow for me to understand what I will be asked to investigate and therefore are crucial for completing future assignments and projects. 

d.     What do you plan to do next and when do you think you will complete your next step? 

     

I plan to finish the second simulation by the end of week 4.