Blog Post #5
Science can be used to find the Malaysian Aircraft by building a submarine that is able to search for the aircraft underwater. For example, when we built our first submarine, we didn't have any knowledge of density at first, so it was difficult to make our submarine Float-Sink-Float. In other words, knowing the science behind density would have helped us build a successful submarine that can Float and Sink, which can help the problem at hand about the sunken Malaysian Aircraft. For another example in our submarine project, once we looked over a lesson, we learned that if we increased the volume or decrease the mass, it will cause the density of the submarine to be less than the surrounding liquid its displaced in, so it can float. This suggests that in order to build a submarine to seek the Aircraft under the sea, we'd have to know about density, volume, and mass, which were key points of the project.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Extension Blog Post #3
Extension Blog Post #3
It would be more difficult to find a plane if it sunk in quicksand because quicksand has a much greater density than freshwater and saltwater since its both a mixture of water and sand, so it would be very difficult for a submarine to resurface. Although, an object, like a submarine, sinks quick in quicksand because of its great density. Even so, escaping quicksand can be very difficult, so bringing an airplane back up to the surface will take some time, unless of course scientists used a powerful crane. Next off, saltwater is less dense than quicksand but more dense than fresh water because it has more mass from the dissolved sand in it, as the names says. Freshwater would be the easiest liquid to recover the sunken airplane because its density is less than saltwater or quicksand’s, so freshwater is the best liquid to lower and raise a plane using a submarine. In conclusion, the most difficult substance to retrieve a sunken plane is quicksand for it being most difficult to escape and making the object sink down the more pressure and escaping; saltwater next, and freshwater being the easiest as it is an all liquid with less density than the other opposing liquids.
Extension(s):
3. (5-7 sentences) Would it be easier or more difficult to locate a sunken plane in salt water, fresh water, or quicksand? Explain your answer using density concepts. Think about what it would be like to lower and raise a submarine or plane in these fluids. It would be more difficult to find a plane if it sunk in quicksand because quicksand has a much greater density than freshwater and saltwater since its both a mixture of water and sand, so it would be very difficult for a submarine to resurface. Although, an object, like a submarine, sinks quick in quicksand because of its great density. Even so, escaping quicksand can be very difficult, so bringing an airplane back up to the surface will take some time, unless of course scientists used a powerful crane. Next off, saltwater is less dense than quicksand but more dense than fresh water because it has more mass from the dissolved sand in it, as the names says. Freshwater would be the easiest liquid to recover the sunken airplane because its density is less than saltwater or quicksand’s, so freshwater is the best liquid to lower and raise a plane using a submarine. In conclusion, the most difficult substance to retrieve a sunken plane is quicksand for it being most difficult to escape and making the object sink down the more pressure and escaping; saltwater next, and freshwater being the easiest as it is an all liquid with less density than the other opposing liquids.
Blog Post #4
Blog Post #4
Our submarine works by using 3 magnets as weights to increase the mass, increasing the gravitational force, making the submarine sink down. Also, what the holes in the bottle part of our submarine (which act as the ballast tanks when its filled with water, it will cause the submarine to sink as well) does is push the can of soda can up using the water going into it, causing the can to separate with the part of the bottle and float back up to the surface.
When we tested our submarine, it almost went straight down, not allowing even a second to be floating, because since the whole were at the bottom, it sucked up the water, increasing the mass, causing the submarine to sink down (Not really balanced forces when first placed in water). At the bottom, the soda can was wiggling and trying to separate with the bottle part, in which did (Balance forces here besides the wiggling,). It did this because the holes brought the water under and around the soda can, pushing it upwards, until the two parts detached, making the can of soda float back up.
To measure the mass of our submarine when floating, we placed it on a triple beam scale to see how much it weighed. The mass of our submarine is 442g. To find the volume, we displaced the submarine in a huge beaker of water, to see how much water it displaced. When we tested, the water went up by 440mL, which is the volume of the submarine. To find the density of the floating submarine, we divided the mass, 442g, by the volume, 440mL. Doing the work, we got a density of around 1g/mL.
To calculate the density of the sinking submarine, we need the mass and volume again. For the mass, we first submerged the submarine in a beaker of water; then we weighed it again on the triple beam scale, getting a mass of 443.5g. We kept the volume of 440mL and divided 443.5g by 440mL. After working out the problem, we found that the mass of the submarine when sinking was around 1.1g/mL.
The amount of buoyant force acting on the submarine was around 400N. We found this by putting our submarine in a large beaker filled with 1000mL of water. The amount of water it displaced, turning out to be 400mL, was our buoyant force.
When we tested our submarine, it almost went straight down, not allowing even a second to be floating, because since the whole were at the bottom, it sucked up the water, increasing the mass, causing the submarine to sink down (Not really balanced forces when first placed in water). At the bottom, the soda can was wiggling and trying to separate with the bottle part, in which did (Balance forces here besides the wiggling,). It did this because the holes brought the water under and around the soda can, pushing it upwards, until the two parts detached, making the can of soda float back up.
To measure the mass of our submarine when floating, we placed it on a triple beam scale to see how much it weighed. The mass of our submarine is 442g. To find the volume, we displaced the submarine in a huge beaker of water, to see how much water it displaced. When we tested, the water went up by 440mL, which is the volume of the submarine. To find the density of the floating submarine, we divided the mass, 442g, by the volume, 440mL. Doing the work, we got a density of around 1g/mL. To calculate the density of the sinking submarine, we need the mass and volume again. For the mass, we first submerged the submarine in a beaker of water; then we weighed it again on the triple beam scale, getting a mass of 443.5g. We kept the volume of 440mL and divided 443.5g by 440mL. After working out the problem, we found that the mass of the submarine when sinking was around 1.1g/mL. The amount of buoyant force acting on the submarine was around 400N. We found this by putting our submarine in a large beaker filled with 1000mL of water. The amount of water it displaced, turning out to be 400mL, was our buoyant force.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Blog Post #3
Blog Post #3
Our redesign for our submarine works because the weights of the magnets allow the submarine to sink. Once the plastic with the magnets slides off the coke bottle, it causes the can of diet coke to float since it is less dense than the water it is put in. When our group tested the submarine it sunk fast, but took a while to float back up. This happened because the length of the plastic bottle that was cut in half was too long which caused the bottle to float up very slowly.
Our redesign for our submarine works because the weights of the magnets allow the submarine to sink. Once the plastic with the magnets slides off the coke bottle, it causes the can of diet coke to float since it is less dense than the water it is put in. When our group tested the submarine it sunk fast, but took a while to float back up. This happened because the length of the plastic bottle that was cut in half was too long which caused the bottle to float up very slowly.
To measure the mass of our submarine we used the triple beam scale. After using the scale, we found that our submarine’s mass was 443g. To calculate the volume of our group’s submarine, we used a large graduated cylinder with 1000ml of water inside and placed the submarine into, making the water rise up by 440ml, which is the volume of the submarine when floating. We found the density of the submarine when floating by dividing the mass, 443g, by the volume, 440mL, and got 1.01g/mL.
To calculate the density of the submarine when sinking, we measured its mass when sunk using the triple beam balance, which turned out to be 500g, and its volume, 440mL again. Finally, we divided 500g by 440mL to find the density of our submarine when sinking, giving us 1.14g/mL.
A submarine floats when it’s density is less than the liquid it is put in, such as a submarine with a density of 0.2g/mL being put into water with 5g/mL as its density. This can be done by increasing the submarine’s volume, where its greater than its mass, allowing more buoyant force to push up due to the submarine taking lots of space. Another way to make a submarine float is by decreasing the mass of the submarine. In order to sink a submarine, our group would have to increase the mass of the submarine or decrease its volume, which allows gravity to push a lot stronger than the opposing buoyant force. To cause a sunken submarine to float again we’d have to decrease the mass or increase its volume. This will make the submarine less dense than the surrounding liquid, allowing to it float back up to the surface.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Blog Post #2
Blog Post #2
In this experiment, we are building a submarine that follows the pattern, Float-Sink-Float.
Submarines are underwater vessels; “sub” referring to under or below, and “marine” relates to the ocean, so below the ocean is basically a submarine. One interesting fact about submarines is that they are usually large vessels that can usually stay submerged for a month if the submarine is large. Another interesting fact about submarines is that they are used to study about life in the sea, military purposes, and exploration. In addition, some submarines can be controlled remotely if it they are very small then an average submarine, such as Bluefin-21, the submarine in search of Flight 370. Finally, modern submarines have towers at the top of them called the sail or conning tower, where its used to hold mechanisms, like Periscopes, in a straight tube.
Submarines float when its density is equal or less than the surrounding water, where it has buoyant force pushing up the submarine. A submarine can control its buoyancy using ballast tanks, where if its on the surface, the tanks are filled with pressurized air, allowing the submarine to float. To get a submarine to sink, they’d have to dive into the water, where the water floods the ballast tanks, increasing its density, allowing it to sink further into the ocean, called negative buoyancy. Basically, whether a submarine sinks or floats is based on its density.Our submarine is an unopened diet soda can in the bottom half of a 20oz bottle. It starts floating. The weights glued to the bottom will tip the sub, letting in water, increasing the density. The sub will sink because the force of gravity is stronger than that of buoyancy, but once the submarine hits the bottom, it will begin to leave the ballast behind, floating back up after a minute or two due to now having a lower density.
Extension Blog Post #2
Extension Blog Post #2
Extension(s):
1. Scientists say that recovering a plane from the ‘deep ocean’ is not very easy. What makes it difficult to search for a plane that is so deep? What kind of scientific problems do engineers encounter in designing a submarine to search and recover at such extreme depths?
Some of the problems scientists face when searching for the plane under water are water pressure, weather conditions and currents. The water pressure can affect the equipment because the sheer weight of all the water above the sub may crush and badly damage the equipment. The weather can also make it hard to search the waters. Currents can be hard for the submarines to move through and could move the plane debris around as well. Engineers must consider and counter the pressure by building the submarine to carry more weight, whether it be by using a different material for the hull, better supports, or otherwise. The engineers tackle the problem relating to currents by using strong propulsion systems. To be able to search wreckage, the design should also include powerful lights, a retractable arm, and side jets to improve the turning ability.
Extension Blog Post #1
Extension Blog Post #1
Extension(s):
1. How could scientists and researchers figure out where a plane crashed? What information would they have to start out with? What assumptions would they have to make? What type of equation might they use to predict where the plane went? Why would they want to figure this out before they got ‘in the water’ to search?
1. How could scientists and researchers figure out where a plane crashed? What information would they have to start out with? What assumptions would they have to make? What type of equation might they use to predict where the plane went? Why would they want to figure this out before they got ‘in the water’ to search?
Scientists and researchers could figure out where a plane crashed by learning its velocity, if it had accelerated or decelerated during flight, and the plane's destination. The fact that the plane went in a u-turn is useful for learning the plane's location because it would mean that it had accelerated during the flight. Even so, the only way it would have made a u-turn is if the pilot changed the direction, or they were rendered any sight of where they were going. Also, if any debris was found, it could probably give a direction for the plane's crash or changed destination. Assumptions they'd have to make is that the plane hadn't passed its take off area when it took a u-turn, so anything on one side of the "u" could be where the plane crash landed. If about the way it crashed, it could have been technical problems, a person sabotaging the plane, or dangerous weather. By learning this, the scientists would come up with a conclusion on the cause of the plane's crash landing, and the location of the crash. Scientists would want to figure this out because then they could have some sort of clue to help them find the plane.
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