Science Engineering Task Blog Post #4

Posted on February 2, 2019 by youngsoo.kim

1st photo, project successfully charging kindle device

2nd photo, Components inside the project

3rd photo, birds-eye view

How the device works is not a simple process. There are 4 leads slaughtered to the 5V USB module. There are two ways that the device can charge another device, but here is when the 1N914 Diode comes into play. There is a battery pack inside the device, so when there is input from the solar panel, but no output for the 5V USB module, the solar panel charges the battery pack, instead of charging another device that can be connected. However, when the battery pack turns on, the current does not go back to the solar panel, and this is because of the 1N914 diode. It only allows for the electrical current to go one way, so the solar panel can charge the batteries, but the batteries don’t output electricity to the solar panel. After the rechargeable batteries are charged, they can charge a USB device connected to the USB module. Another way that the device can be charged is directly. When the battery pack is turned off, the solar panel can directly charge the 5V USB module. Those are the two ways that this device can charge another device.

Although it worked, I don’t define my success on this project whether the product worked or not. Sure, it is a part of my success, but I feel like I was successful because I was able to get the project done during the given class time, and I was able to overcome the challenges of lacking some of the materials as well as the shipping complications.

Some things I would do differently would be that I plan earlier. By the first lesson, I identified the materials I needed. But after the first class of building, there was a lack of materials that restricted me from moving on. However the shipping was taking an extremely long time. Because it was getting close to Chinese New Year, the shipping and TaoBao deliveries took longer, because they had to process a larger amount of requests. So this complicated things. I had to wait for the materials to arrive before I was able to proceed on my build. If I had anticipated this, I could have ordered the materials as soon as I identified them, but I did not know that the school did not have them.

As for the environmental impact of my project, this was my first time actually experiencing solar energy, and how it could serve as an alternative energy source. I feel like in the long run if we started using these sorts of alternative energy it would be efficient in using these types of renewable energy. This is a small project that only needed a couple of materials, and it was very interesting to learn how solar energy could be used in different ways.

A way that the customer could use it was in a place that would not have easily accessible energy sources, like plugs. this could be a compact device that could b used in situations like camping, to charge small devices, or even some emergency situations.

Overall, the project was very fun, and it was very interesting to learn the positive effects using renewable energy sources. It was overall a very fun project to do and I recommend it for next year as well.

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Science Engineering Task Blog Post #3

Posted on February 2, 2019 by youngsoo.kim

CLASS 1

In this first class, I got a lot of things done in regard to my project. unfortunately, my 5V USB module as well as my 1N914 diode did not arrive, and this was making me nervous, because I could not move ahead in this project because I did not have the parts that were crucial in completing my project. In class today, I took a drill and drilled two holes in the Tupperware container, to make space for my positive and negative leads of my solar panel. Also, I got a battery pack with rechargeable batteries, and soldered their respective leads to one another. Next I need to solder the positive lead of the solar panel to a 1N914 diode, and solder their connected leads to the 5V module, which was also yet to arrive.

Class 2

In this second class, I finally got the parts that I needed to complete my project. The 5V USB module arrived, so I soldered their respective leads. As for the diode, I soldered it to th solar panels positive lead as shown above. In todays class, I realized that in order to allow for the USB cord to fit in, i needed to drill a hole. I found that a step bit was the most effective, so i made a circular opening for the module. Because the hole was too high, I elevated the module with two wooden sticks, and it fit perfectly because I sanded it down to fit the height.

I am done with the majority of the project, and what is left now is to test it on a variety of different USB modules.

3rd class.

During this class, I decided to get some feedback from the design teachers. I was disappointed to find that my project was not able to provide enough power to charge a phone, so they suggested that I tests it out on different USB powered devices.

After testing it on a variety of different devices, I realized that it can charge devices with a lower voltage, such as my bluetooth earphones, or my kindle.

There were some improvements that needed to happen, and the two were that after using it for a while, the leads would break their solder, and fall apart. So, I glued my leads down to the case, so they would not be as ripped off easily, because soldering  it again would take more time and decrease the conductivity. The second improvement that I made was that I used double sided tape to the bottom of the case, so nothing inside would move around. I feel like these changes were really beneficial. 

Below is the video of me testing the product, which successfully charges the headphones.

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Science Engineering Task Blog Post #2

Posted on January 27, 2019 by youngsoo.kim

DEVELOP & PLAN

After considering my options from the following class, I chose to make the SOLAR-powered USB charger, because I thought that it could be used for the most diverse amount of situations.

Below is my plan

–>

The materials as well as the wiring process is detailed in the plan above

PLAN

As for the materials, all the materials I need were in the classroom, except for three components. Yesterday after school, I bought a Tupperware container from the convenience store, and the other two components I need are the 1N914 electrical diode, as well as the the USB 5 volt USB module. After my materials arrive the only thing left to do is prototype and build.

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Science Engineering Task Blog Post #1

Posted on January 27, 2019 by youngsoo.kim

Part of our 9th grade science curriculum is a engineering and design project that the entire grade partakes in. In this project, we are provided with a variety of options to build something that we are interested. Among those, I personally would like to either make a project that could transform and transfer energy, or maybe a toy that has some relation with energy concepts.

This first class, i was did not consolidate my choice on what I wanted to do, but after looking around the internet, I found some cool ideas that could be possible for the project, most of which were based off solar panels and solar energy powering some kind of mechanism.

One of the ideas that I found to be pretty cool as well as possibly efficient was a solar charger, which took a solar panel, and used the energy to power or charge any USB-powered device.

Another cool idea that I found was a solar powered car, which could be a fun and interesting toy for this project

The last project that I found was a solar power fan, which was most appropriate for modeling different energy transformations.

For the first idea of the solar charger, it would have the most practical and usable outcome, because it can be used for a variety of real life situations, and it would be the most useful and efficient. One Con of this project would be that since it requires lots of components, it would be hard to acquire the materials as well as test the project out a few times within the time frame.

For the second project, a solar car, it would be a fun toy that could be used for smaller children, and it is a cool alternative toy that also incorporates science. One downside of this is that it is not very applicable to target audiences of our own age.

The last project, the solar powered fan, it is quite as interesting as the first project, but the downside is that it is limited in a sense to be used in the most practical and efficient ways. The solar charger is more compact and portable, whereas the the fan is only applicable to certain situations. Another con of this fan is that it could be simply replaced by the first project, the solar charger, because it could also power a USB-powered fan itself.

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Identity

Posted on December 13, 2018 by youngsoo.kim

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Almost Maine

Posted on December 12, 2018 by youngsoo.kim

In the past few classes we have been exploring the complexities and elements of the play “Almost Maine” by John Cariani. As we explored the text and the elements within it, there were different elements that we needed to explore.

The General process:

Examine the title

The tiles of my scene with Jessica is called “Sad and Glad”. I think the title is quite significant in the story, as emotion is used throughout the story, and there is a wide spectrum of those emotions being used. In the scene, there is a part about drinking for free if you are sad, but then the character comes to a realizations his own emotions, and this title explains the surge of emotions within this text

Read the Play

I think that this scene is very interesting, as it goes trough a surge of different emotions. I think the entire play was a general link to the aspects of emotion, and how drastically it could change, for example the main character was in dread over the fact that he was replaced to suddenly glad that he found another woman that might be the match for him

Study the ending

The ending is a sudden plot twist, where the majority of the scene is about jimmy repeatedly experiencing the downsides of life until at the very last moment, the plot turns as his tattoo reveals that maybe they were meant to be. Surprisingly enough, I think the ending of the scene was the climax of emotion, as it took a sudden turn.

Examine the play or parts

I think and interesting symbolic part of this scene in particular is the concept of “getting found” and although used in different ways it has been mentioned several times in the text. For example, in the beginning jimmy is depressed and congratulates his ex for being found, and then he uses the same line to express the joy of somebody else finding him.

Determine the tone

In the scene, there is not much evidence to support any claim of how the authors claims were regarding the authors tone on this, as there was no text or feelings written toward the characters or the story, but rather the fact that it simply stated the actions and speech made by the characters.

WHAT

This play is about a man that comes to a realization that he has been replaced by another man, is filled with dread, but suddenly becomes filled with hope and joy as he discovers a waiter that found him, who her name is villian, is coincidentally tattooed on his arm.

WHO

In this play, there is no point of view, its just two different characters, and its hard to determine the protagonist or the antagonist. The characters consist of Jimmy, Sandrine, and the waiter (Villian).

WHEN

This play seems to be set in current day, or something along the lines of the present, but the time does not seem to be that significant in terms of the development of the story

WHERE

This entire scene is set in a restaurant, and this adds to the story as it helps with the development of the fact that the confined space is what brings them together and the setting is quite symbolic in the way that it helps in the further development of the confined space, and the concept of “getting found”

WHY

The genre seems to be nothing absurd, just realistic, naturalistic, something that could have happened in real life. I think the writer used the surge of emotions, as well as the repeated concept of getting found to show that there are ups and downs to life, and some situations are not  really as bad as you might think. This i important to me, and I’m sure it is to a lot of people, as sometimes we let the dread of past events take over our lives.

That is my analyzation of the scene “Sad and Glad” in the play “Almost Maine”. Mr. Redman, it was a pleasure in this class, it was so much fun, we grew so much as individuals and as an ensemble, and I really loved the class in general. i hope to see you in my future endeavors as an actor! 🙂

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Naturalistic Monologue

Posted on October 30, 2018 by youngsoo.kim

Over the course of the class, we have been exploring the concept of naturalism, which is a concept in which we have been building up to this demonstration of our understanding. We were asked to perform a piece, that would prove our understanding of naturalism and the ideology of Stanislavsky.

For this process, we had to

-Choose our monologues

-analyze the monologue, and add in emotion and details like sighs, and breaths

-Memorize the monologue

-Put yourself in the shoes of the character, and ask yourself several questions regarding, “who are you” and “what is your goal?”

I think I was successful in the area that I maintained clarity, and I maintained un adequate volume

One thing I think I could work on is contrast, I tended to use one volume or one form of emotional representation throughout the monologue, so I think it would be better to include a variety.

If I had the chance to create another Stanislavsky inspired character, I would start with the process of putting myself in the character’s shoes first, rather than just memorizing and then adding the emotion.

Although I think I did exceptional, there were few minor things I could have done to improve my monologue. So I think I am in the range of meeting the standard.

 

 

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Visiting Artist – PJ Rebullida

Posted on October 28, 2018 by youngsoo.kim

For the past couple of weeks, we familiarized ourselves with the face of our artist in residence, PJ Rebullida. PJ is a artist who specializes in physical theater, and incorporating our body and motions to further advance our performances. During our sessions with PJ, we studied the art of improvisation and the use of our bodies, and most activities would include engaging in spontaneous body movements that collectively became our introduction to the physical aspect of theater. My favorite activity that we did with him was by far the leader and followers game. it was an activity in which there were leaders at the ends of the line, and they had to improvise and think of an activity in which they would the rest of the people would copy their actions. It was my favorite because it game me some adrenaline and a sense of anticipation when it came my turn to lead and do an activity. I think the most surprising thing that I learned was the confidence that came out of a few classmates that were normally on the shyer, quieter side. Not to mention any names in particular, there were a handful of people that just blew me away with their ability to stand up there and be so confident in their actions an performances. It was truly a nice surprise that put a smile on my face. I generally learned a lot, because I think in acting when people come to think of it they overlook the physical aspect of it, and I really felt it was much easier to express myself in the form of my body and my voice, it was like I was utilizing dual powers. I certainly enjoyed this experience, and I will use this to improve my general acting skills in the future.

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Mini-Devising and collaborative project (Humpty the gangster)

Posted on September 29, 2018 by youngsoo.kim

In this class, we entered to a classroom filled with tribal music. We had to partner up and create a dance movement, and we joined in groups of 4 or 3, and we used a simple nursery rhyme to devise a complicated scene filled with many traits, such as a freeze, repetition, and many other aspects of a detailed scene

There were many steps in achieving our final result.

1.we brainstormed on the board and thought of ideas to include.

2. We tried several different scenes to see which ones we wanted to include.

3. we then pieced things together,

4. and we revised scenes that were not so um, good

5. And then we ran through it several times until we were satisfied with the result.

One of our successes were that we included successfully al the aspects that were required.

One thing we could work on is keeping our character on stage. We often burst into laughter and went out of character, and we need to be able to control that.

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Acting DAY 1

Posted on September 27, 2018 by youngsoo.kim

This was not uploaded when it should have been, but here it is

On the first day of acting, we introduced ourselves, did some drama warmups, the usual for a drama class. But here is where naturalism came in. We explored the concept of naturalism, and the types of productions that were classified within. We also came in contact with a key player to the development of naturalism, a russian man of the name of Stanislavski. He had a set of rules that he believed were required to make a successful actor.

As I have done theater before, i felt that this was a very different approach to drama, introducing the concept behind naturalism as well. Another thing I found intriguing was the fact that different drama teachers introduce drama exercises differently but they all have a common concept.

I just want to make it through this class 🙂

It will be fun!

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