By Rebecca Oblites and Marilynn Hunt
This project was about discovery and learning new things by trying different ideas. It was a partner project and we learned about electrical circuits programming and much more. The end goal was to create a robot art show using a program called arduino.
Concepts
Electrical Circuit: a complete loop of conductive material from positive to negative sides of a power source
Resistance (R): measure of how much current is slowed/how many obstacles; it is measured in ohms Series: all parts of the circuit are connected on one path for the electricity (the total resistance of resistors in a series is the sum of the resistors) Parallel: all parts of the circuit are connected across from each other forming two paths for the electricity (you can add the resistors in a series to get the total resistance) Current (I) : "flow" of electricity through a circuit Voltage (V): potential energy drop across a component of a circuit Power (P): rate at which electrical energy is transferred by a circuit power = current * voltage (P=IV) Ohm's Law: voltage = current * resistance (V=IR) Kirchoffs Laws: current and voltage Current Law: the sum of the currents going into a connection must equal the sum of the currents leaving the connection Voltage Law: the sum of the voltages around a circuit must equal zero Circuit Diagram: graphic representation of an electrical circuit Perseverance: never giving up, no matter how hard the task I used perseverance during this project when I got frustrated. This project was basically a big experiment. My partner and I had never done anything with electricity, so we had no prior knowledge. We got really confused at some points and perseverance to complete the project. |
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Overview
The goal of this project was to create a robot art show. This project was a lot different from the prior projects because we had no background knowledge and we worked in partners instead of groups. To help us understand how electricity works, my partner Rebecca and I completed three activities to help us infer and hypothesize ideas: circuit building, breadboard set ups, and arduino programming.
We started off making simple circuits with light bulbs, resistors, and batteries. This taught us about the components of a circuit, parallel connections, and series connections. Once we understood how circuits work and all of their components, we started using breadboards. Breadboards were a bit different. The concepts for why they worked was the same, but the process was different. You used wires to electrically connect different parts of the board together. Once we mastered how to use breadboards, we learned how to use a program called arduino. Arduino is a computer software and board that can control and program breadboard circuits. You set up a circuit on a breadboard, and then connect the breadboard to the arduino board. The arduino board relays your code from the computer, telling the breadboard circuit what you want it to do. We learned what different codes meant and how to use them properly in this activity.
After we completed the three activities, Rebecca and I started designing our robot art show. We decided that we wanted our project to type words, play music, and flash lights. In order to do this we would need to use a liquid crystal display, a buzzer, a red-green-blue(rgb) lcd light, a potentiometer, and lots of wires. The process of writing the code took a long time. It was a very tedious. Sometimes it would do one thing, but not the other. We had to rewrite certain parts over and over again until it did what we wanted. Our end product was a buzzer that played Fur Elise, a rgb light that glowed a certain color for each note in the song, and a liquid crystal display board that wrote an intro to our art show.
We started off making simple circuits with light bulbs, resistors, and batteries. This taught us about the components of a circuit, parallel connections, and series connections. Once we understood how circuits work and all of their components, we started using breadboards. Breadboards were a bit different. The concepts for why they worked was the same, but the process was different. You used wires to electrically connect different parts of the board together. Once we mastered how to use breadboards, we learned how to use a program called arduino. Arduino is a computer software and board that can control and program breadboard circuits. You set up a circuit on a breadboard, and then connect the breadboard to the arduino board. The arduino board relays your code from the computer, telling the breadboard circuit what you want it to do. We learned what different codes meant and how to use them properly in this activity.
After we completed the three activities, Rebecca and I started designing our robot art show. We decided that we wanted our project to type words, play music, and flash lights. In order to do this we would need to use a liquid crystal display, a buzzer, a red-green-blue(rgb) lcd light, a potentiometer, and lots of wires. The process of writing the code took a long time. It was a very tedious. Sometimes it would do one thing, but not the other. We had to rewrite certain parts over and over again until it did what we wanted. Our end product was a buzzer that played Fur Elise, a rgb light that glowed a certain color for each note in the song, and a liquid crystal display board that wrote an intro to our art show.
Reflection
The electricity and robotics project was one of the hardest projects for me. It tested my patience and perseverance. I got frustrated during this project sometimes because I didn't know how to do things. Overall I think this project was okay. It wasn't as fun as the other project because it didn't take very much innovative thinking. This project had both high and low points.
I learned how to program and set up breadboard circuits during this project. This was a new experience for me. I enjoy learning new things, but do not see myself becoming an electrician or programmer in the near future. This wasn't something I particularly enjoyed doing. I am glad to have gotten the chance to learn about electricity though. I think knowing how electrical circuits work is very important. I believe that the knowledge from this project will be useful later in life.
Two things I could have done better are be more motivated and not get easily distracted. I had trouble with being motivated during this project because I wasn't enjoying it. I think I can do better at being motivated by having a positive attitude and always finding the light at the end of the tunnel. I can become less distracted by focusing on my work and being determined to finish.
This project will be prove useful in the future. I may not have enjoyed it, but I think I will come to appreciate it. In the end I am glad that we did the electricity and robotics project. It shows that important things are not always fun.
I learned how to program and set up breadboard circuits during this project. This was a new experience for me. I enjoy learning new things, but do not see myself becoming an electrician or programmer in the near future. This wasn't something I particularly enjoyed doing. I am glad to have gotten the chance to learn about electricity though. I think knowing how electrical circuits work is very important. I believe that the knowledge from this project will be useful later in life.
Two things I could have done better are be more motivated and not get easily distracted. I had trouble with being motivated during this project because I wasn't enjoying it. I think I can do better at being motivated by having a positive attitude and always finding the light at the end of the tunnel. I can become less distracted by focusing on my work and being determined to finish.
This project will be prove useful in the future. I may not have enjoyed it, but I think I will come to appreciate it. In the end I am glad that we did the electricity and robotics project. It shows that important things are not always fun.