Rachel+Example

=__Mission 2 Mars: The Rocket__ = ** By Rachel K **

__ ** History of the Rocket ** __



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**Not one person invented the modern rocket that we know and love today- it evolved from many different inventions and ideas over time. One of the first known devices which has rocket-like qualities and was an early basis to the modern rocket is called the Hero Engine or aeolipile which was invented by a Greek inventor named Hero around 100 B.C. The Hero Engine is powered by steam. When the fire heats up the water, it creates steam which travels through the pipes and into the sphere. The steam then travels through the two L shaped tubes and gives a thrust to the sphere, making it turn. Like the rocket, this engine uses air pressure to make mechanical motion. Another key invention that led up to the modern rocket is a bamboo tube filled with gunpowder connected to an arrow invented by the Chinese, the Chinese fire-arrows. When the gunfire is lit on fire, it produces gas and the arrow flies. This weapon was used against the Mongols in war; the Mongols stole this idea, modified it, and probably passed on this idea to Europe and other parts of the world.** =====

[[image:rmk_chinesefirerockets.gif align="right"]]
** In 1926, Robert Goddard from America tried to propel the first rocket into space. Though it only ascended 12.5 meters for 2.5 seconds, it was an important part of rocket history. Goddard kept trying and varied his model in many ways. He soon got the result of a bigger, better, higher-flying, and safer rocket. He is now known as the "Father to modern rocketry". **

**As rocketry kept improving, new ideas were proposed. In 1957, a satellite called Sputnik I was launched into space by a rocket by the Soviet Union. Soon after this, the Soviets launched a dog named Laika into space. Laika died after only one week. Next came the United State's first satellite called Explorer I and the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The goal of this administration is to peacefully explore space. ** 

**Even after this long journey of steam engines and satellites, Robert Goddard and of course rockets, the rocket will undoubtedly still be modified and changed even more. In addition, rockets produce a world of questions: will rockets become so common that every person will own one? Or maybe rockets will take us to Pluto? Only time will tell.**

= = = = = = = = = = = = = __Parts of the rocket:__ = = =

Motor Mount- keeps the Rocket Motor in its place
** __ Rocket Stages Video: __ ** ** Every time a rocket flies, it goes through six different stages **

__ Our Experiment & the Results: __
=== The purpose of this experiment was to see whether or not the mass affects the altitude of the rocket. My hypothesis was that the more mass the rocket had, the lower it would fly. For this experiment, my class first built then painted rockets. Each rocket was painted differently, and because of this each rocket had a different mass. We then launched each rocket and measured the angle of the apogee with an angle gun. Once we got the angle, we could use trigonometry to figure out how high the rocket flew. It seemed like the less mass the rocket had, the higher it flew, and the more mass it had, the lower it flew. My hypothesis was correct. The highest flying rocket rose 166m and its mass was only 46.3g; the lowest flying rocket rose 87m and its mass was 49.9. In conclusion, the mass does affect the altitude of the rocket. ===

[[image:RMK_rocketresults.jpg]]
** Figure 1: Mass vs. Altitude **

**When my partner, Carolyn, and I launched our rocket, it rose 87 m, the lowest out of the whole class. When it was launching and coasting, our rocket seemed to go straighter than the other rockets, though it didn't fly straight up for the whole flight. At first, it flew in the direction of the middle school. Then when it reached its apogee and the parachute ejected, the wind blew it towards the baseball field. I think our rocket flew straighter than the others because we painted the whole rocket evenly. Other groups only painted parts of their rockets but we painted the whole thing. The mass of our rocket was 49.9g, which is the second heaviest in the class.** **I think our rocket rose the least meters out of the whole class because it was so heavy, and I think that if we had not painted the rocket, it would have flown higher. In addition, we used a lot of glue in order to construct our rocket. If we had used less glue, I think the rocket would have flown higher because the glue weighs down the rocket.** Figure 2: Results

__ ROBOTICS __ What is a robot? A robot is a machine that senses and reacts to things.

__Robotics History__ In 250 B.C., Ctesibus of Alexandria started working with robotics to build organs and water clock. The first humaniod robot was designed and built by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1495. This robot could sit, move its arms and head, and move its jaw. In 1738, Jacques de Vaucanson built automatic instruments and a duck. The duck could quack, flap its wings, and eat. During the 1800 and 1900's, textile machines, automatic instruments, a steam man that could pull things, robots with human-like qualities, and many other innovations were invented. The Steam Powered Man

Many different types of robots were invented during the late 1900's. These robots are very advanced- they can talk, walk, clean, sense objects, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. In 1985, a toy robot controlled by a remote control called the Omnibot 2000 was created by the Tomo Kyogo Company Inc. In 1998, another toy robot, FURBY, was made. FURBY could talk to its owner and was able to react to different environments. There were also many robots that resembled animals built in the 1900's, such as the robot cat built by Omron called the NeCoRo that has a mind and consciousness- which gives it the ability to have feelings. There was also a robot fish called RoboTuna which was used to study fish and the Oblix which has snake-like abilities such as slithering around. Though the inventions in the 1900's were pretty advanced, the modern robots are even more advanced. The Robot Cat, NeCoRo

__ ** Modern Robotics ** __ Today, there are many types of robots that are used to do all kinds of things. Many robots are used to do household chores- like the Roomba, an automatic vacuum cleanor that can sense dirt, and the Cye Robot which can deliver mail, carry and wash dishes, and clean. Robots are also used to explore- like Genghis, a robot that can walk on many different types of terrain. Robots can also explore places that it would be dangerous for humans to go- such as the inside of volcanos or outerspace. There are many humanoid robots (like the one seen below playing the violin) that can do pretty much anything a human can do. One humanoid robot called the Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility can even recognize human's faces.

Here is a video of a modern robot playing the violin:

media type="youtube" key="EzjkBwZtxp4" height="344" width="425"

__**Computers**__ A computer is an electronic device that can compute and process digital information.

__**Parts of the Computer:**__ There are seven parts of the computer: the motherboard, the CPU, the RAM, the video card, the power supply, the hard drive, and the optical drive. The motherboard is the "heart" of the computer that every parts either connects to or touches. CPU stands for central processing unit. The CPU runs the software and processes the data. RAM stands for random access memory. The RAM holds the data and software which you are currently running. The video card creates the images that appear on your monitor.The power supply supplies power to the computer. The hard drive holds your information. When you turn your computer on, your software and data load from the hard drive. The optical drive uses a laser to read or write CD's or DVD's.



 __** Programming Robots: Motors & Sensors **__ The motors on the robot are what make the robot move. The motors can make the robot go forward, backward, or turn by making the wheels turn. On the robot that we used, there were three different motors. There was a motor on each of the two large wheels in the front and on the small wheel on the back. The two front wheels help the robot move forward and backward, and if only one motor/wheel was programmed to move, the robot would make a pivot turn to the side. The wheel and motor in the back help make the robot balance. Motors are essential to make robots move.

Sensors are a very important part of robotics. On our robot, there are four types of sensor. There is an Ultrasonic Sensor, a Light sensor, a Touch Sensor, and Sound Sensor. The Ultrasonic Sensor can sense how far away an object is. With the Ultrasonic Sensor, the robot can be programmed to stop, turn to the left or right, or go backwards when it senses an object a certain distance away. The Light Sensor can detect different colors. With a Light Sensor, you can program a robot to follow a line or stop when it senses a certain color. The Touch Sensor can sense when the button on the sensor bumps into something and can react when it touches something. Lastly, the Sound Sensor can sense sound, and the robot can be programmed to react to different volumes of sound.

This video shows a robot that is programmed to stop moving when it hears a noise. media type="file" key="ALH_robotics video.avi" width="300" height="300"

<span style="color: #00bdf5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%;">__Life__ <span style="color: #fd17c5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">There are six characteristics of life that every living thing has. The first is cells. Every living thing is made up of at least one cell, and each cell can do a different thing. The next characteristic is reproduction. All living things can copy the DNA to a cell that can grow into a complete organism. Next, every living thing can grow. Growing is when a living thing increases in mass by duplicating cells. All living things have DNA. DNA assembles the chemicals in livings things' bodies to make proteins that their living things' cells are made of. Living things also need and use energy. The sixth characteristic of life is reaction to environments. A living thing can sense its environment and react to it. Lastly, a living thing can carry out homeostasis. Homeostasis means that the living thing can maintain a steady eternal environment for the cells when the environment around it changes. Every living thing has to have all seven of the characteristics of life.

<span style="color: #fd17c5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Scientests are trying to detect life other planets. However, this is easier said than done. Though there are many experiments scientest could do, we are nopossitive that they would work because life could be **different** on other planets. One thing scientests can do is examine the air for oxygen and other elements that life needs to live. Scientests can also look for products of living things on other planets. A product of a living thing is something that a living thing produced but is not living. An example of this would be bee's wax or hair on a human. Extraterrestrial life is quite a mystery because it could be so different from life on earth.



Classification of Life by Rachel K.