2007-2008 Physics Challenges

 Portfolio Product

Expectations

For this assignment, you are expected to communicate to an audience of readers the results of the five “Physics Challenge” experiments that you have performed.  You will create an analytical/expository “journal article” of a scientific nature that examines:

·         The nature of the challenges.

·         The design and intended function of the “devices” that you and your teams created.

·         The effectiveness of your designs under test conditions.

·         A thorough analysis of the specific physics involved in each experiment.

·         An analysis and discussion of the failure mechanisms of each of your devices

·         A proposal for improvement for each of your devices.

As this assignment will become part of your portfolio as an example of excellent work, nothing less than the highest quality of personal excellence and effort will be accepted.  Your finished article will contain no typographical, grammatical, conceptual, mathematical, professional, or formatting errors or errors of omission. 

Your article will include the following components:

• Descriptive Title
• Author’s name
• Names of all fellow researchers
• Abstract
  • Brief description of your entire article.
  • Should offer the reader a full and accurate summary of your work in a minimal amount of text.
• Introduction
  • Attract the readers attention and draw them into reading your article.
  • Introduce the reader to your article and provide an expectation of what it contains.
  • Thorough description of the main goal of the physics challenge experiments.
• Section describing all of the four challenges.
  • Subtitle
  • Thorough description of the goal, allowed materials, and limitations of each challenge.
• Distinct section describing all four of your devices.
  • Subtitle for each section.
  • Names of fellow researchers for each challenge.
  • Description of the device that you created for each challenge, including physical information regarding weight, components, construction process, etc.
  • 3-view drawing, with dimensions, for each device.
  • Discussion of the intended function of your device.
• Results
  • Subtitle
  • Discussion of the actual performance of each of your devices.
  • Include load data, maximum percent deformation, observations, etc.
  • Include calculated score for each device.

• Analysis
  • Discussion of the failure mode of each of your devices.
  • Discussion of why each device failed.
  • Description of all the forces, their types, and their magnitudes and directions, acting upon your device at the moment of failure.
  • Free-Body diagram for each device at the moment of failure.
  • Physical picture of your device at the moment of failure.
  • Discussion of how the following concepts affected the intended function, performance, and failure of each device, where applicable.
    • Newton’s Three Laws of Motion
    • Gravity
    • Kinetic Energy
    • Potential Energy
• Conclusion
  • Final summary of your research.
  • Considerations for how you would improve the design of each device within the stated limitations.
  • Provide suggestions for further research.
• Bibliography
  • Citations in APA (American Psychological Association) format.
• Appearance
  • Your article should be well organized, easy to read, and reasonably eye-catching,

Analytical/Expository Writing General Guidelines

A major part of the scientific process is communication.  A scientist needs to be able to gather information, analyze it, and then effectively communicate what they understand to others.   

Analytical (Expository) writing is one way to communicate information.  The author observes natural phenomena, and applies concepts that they understand to thoroughly describe what they are observing.  If the author is successful, the reader will come away with an accurate and thorough understanding of the "what" and "why" of the observations that the writer made.

The following guidelines should be considered: 

Critical Thinking

• Thorough knowledge of topic.
• Exacting discussion of complex ideas.
• Absence of "empty" sentences.
• Perceptive thinking.

Topic Development

• Topic clearly stated.
• Observed phenomena provided as examples.
• No unnecessary repetition.

Organization

• Effective ordering of concepts.
• Engaging opening.
• Good transitions between paragraphs.
• Coherence within paragraphs.
• Good closure.

Style

• Passive voice (No "I").
• Clear.
• Precise vocabulary.

Sentence Structure

• Well-crafted sentences.
• Variety of sentence structure length.

Conventions

• Author and fellow researchers names.
• Descriptive title.
• Proper word usage, spelling, capitalization, punctuation.