The Great 9th Grade Odyssey Project
Description of Project:
For the Great 9th Grade Odyssey Project We had to design boats to actually sail in on the bay made of only cardboard, tape and water bottles. We started out making a 1/8th scale design made or foil and then a 1/4th scale design made of cardboard. We then tested which designs worked the best according to how much weight it could hold and how well it would cut through the water when racing. With only a couple weeks to build a boat big enough to hold two people and the correct measurements to know it will float by keeping the density under 1, we sailed on the bay.
For the Great 9th Grade Odyssey Project We had to design boats to actually sail in on the bay made of only cardboard, tape and water bottles. We started out making a 1/8th scale design made or foil and then a 1/4th scale design made of cardboard. We then tested which designs worked the best according to how much weight it could hold and how well it would cut through the water when racing. With only a couple weeks to build a boat big enough to hold two people and the correct measurements to know it will float by keeping the density under 1, we sailed on the bay.
Reflection:
After making the ¼ scale models and testing how much weight it could hold we really didn’t change much. It could hold quite a lot and the design we used was sensible. I think the most effective part of my design was the huge base. The wide base distributed the weight of the two people evenly throughout the boat. The large base made the volume larger which made the density less making it easier to float. The part of our design that didn’t work was the shape. It was square and so it wouldn’t cut through the water very well when it came to racing. If I could change part of my design now I would probably taped the inside and used more water bottles.
Project Reflection:
I saw that some people’s boats were much thinker than mine, more layers of cardboard. They’re were some other ones that had the whole bottom of their boat lined with water bottles and many people who just taped and ton making their boat nearly waterproof, all were very effective.
The buoyant force principle applies to floatation because it is how objects float. Objects float if the volume of the object displaces water that weighs more than the object itself. To make sure my boat would float we found the volume cubic feet and multiplied it by the weight of water per 1 cubic foot to find the weight of the water displaced by the boat. The weight of the water was more than the weight of my partner the boat and I together making the buoyant force strong enough to float our boat.
After making the ¼ scale models and testing how much weight it could hold we really didn’t change much. It could hold quite a lot and the design we used was sensible. I think the most effective part of my design was the huge base. The wide base distributed the weight of the two people evenly throughout the boat. The large base made the volume larger which made the density less making it easier to float. The part of our design that didn’t work was the shape. It was square and so it wouldn’t cut through the water very well when it came to racing. If I could change part of my design now I would probably taped the inside and used more water bottles.
Project Reflection:
I saw that some people’s boats were much thinker than mine, more layers of cardboard. They’re were some other ones that had the whole bottom of their boat lined with water bottles and many people who just taped and ton making their boat nearly waterproof, all were very effective.
The buoyant force principle applies to floatation because it is how objects float. Objects float if the volume of the object displaces water that weighs more than the object itself. To make sure my boat would float we found the volume cubic feet and multiplied it by the weight of water per 1 cubic foot to find the weight of the water displaced by the boat. The weight of the water was more than the weight of my partner the boat and I together making the buoyant force strong enough to float our boat.
Final Sketch & Calculations:
Reflection of My Efforts:
I am proud of how well my partner and I used our time. When something needed to be done we would say we are going to get the taping done in the next two days and we would. We are very dedicated students and are always working our hardest. One thing I feel I could of done better was collecting the water bottles, we originally planned for tons more than what we had in ou final product.