Reflection #8

This week was below average in productivity. At the beginning of the week I started working on my Annotated Bibliography. I slowly work on this all week. I have three sources so far. I have a website with an instructive video that was very useful. I also have a book about electricity and wiring. This was also helpful. My third resource, of course, is my interview, which was kind of helpful. This week was not very productive because I didn’t do very much on my project. I would rate myself a 4 out of 10.

Reflection #7

This week I was medium productive. I experimented with new speaker designs. I compared their sound quality and volume output. I also tested to see how hot they were getting after long amounts of time. I tried to make a bass speaker too. The bass speaker did not work out to well. First it was so strong that I couldn’t hold the parts together. I learned that bass speakers require large amounts of energy. The bass speak would over heat within thirty seconds on a medium volume level. Another day I was showing off my home made speakers, and the bass speaker started on fire because it was so hot. I quickly blew the flame out and turned the stereo off. This week was a medium productive week because I worked on my project a lot, but only on one day. I would rate my self a 6 out of 10.

Interview

For my 8th Grade Project I decided to interview Trevor Nurmi. I did my interview over e-mail.

Q: What exactly do you do?
A: I install low voltage equipment in homes.

Q: Why did you choose your career?
A: I chose my career because I have always been interested in sound systems.

Q: What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
A: I earn pretty good money, and I am my own boss.

Q: Where did you go to college?
A: North Seattle Community College.

Q: Why did you select your college or university?
A: It was a convenient location, and it costs a lot less than a university.

Q: What college subjects did you like best?
A: I liked Physics.

Q: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A: I am a very good worker, and I don’t mind working long days, but I am not that great of a manager.

Q: What are your interests?
A: I like waterskiing, hiking and camping.

Reflection #6

This week was very productive. At the beginning of the week I ordered some new magnets for my speaker. I ordered them in express mail so they would come in two days. During that time I interviewed a person name Trevor Nurmi. He installs low voltage equipment so I thought that he would know a lot about speakers. He was very knowledgeable about that sort of stuff. After two days my magnets came in the mail. While I was waiting for them I thought of a different way to build the speaker. Since I had already built one speaker, all I needed to do was deconstruct it and rebuild it with the new magnets and my new design. It actually worked! It worked very well. A lot better than I thought it would. Since then I have been experimenting with new designs. This week I would rate myself an eight out of ten.

Reflection #5

This week was very exiting. I got my magnets in the mail. After I got them I started to build my speaker. It took almost an hour. As I was building it I started to think that it wasn’t going to work. I tried to hook it up to a stereo and it didn’t work. I don’t know what is wrong with it. It got late and I went to bed. The next day my dad had some of his friends over and he was showing off the magnets I had ordered. He was demonstrating how strong they were. I knew it was going to happen but my dad wouldn’t listen. Eventually the magnets broke and I got really mad at my dad. This week I would rate myself at seven out of ten. This is because I spent a large amount of time working on my project.

Reflection #4

This week I made some progress on my project. I finally ordered some parts of my speaker. I ordered two magnets. They should come in about five days. I already have all of the other things I need to build it. I also did some more research on speakers. On a scale of 1 – 10 I would rate myself four. This is because I made some progress but not ass much progress as I could of made. By next week I hope to have a working speaker that I made.

Reflection #3

This week I made some progress. I think on a scale of 1 to 10 of progress I would give my self a 2 or 3. This is because I have not done very much. The next step I am going to take is to do more research and start a poster. My best source of information so far is the internet. Basically the research I have done I about how sound is made from speakers. I have learned that when music is in the form of an electrical current it consists of pulses of electricity. When the pulses reach the speaker the electricity is ran through an electro magnet which pushes and pulls on a magnet that is attached to the diaphragm. This push and pull creates vibration in the air that our ears interpret as sound. Aside from my research, I am concerned about who to interview. I am thinking about interviewing some one from a stereo store. I would hope to learn what he does at his job.

Reflection #2

So far my project is going good. I have not made any changes in my proposal. I have not started and work on my poster or model. My 2nd meeting with my mentor went good. At this point I have done a lot of research. My plan is to start working on my poster this weekend. I have not decided who to interview yet. There have been no surprises while working on my project.

Reflection #1

For my 8th Grade Project I chose sound and speakers as a topic। I chose this topic because it focuses on my favorite subjects, electronics and physics। My first proposal was very easy for me to write and it got accepted। My long term proposal was also very easy to write and it was accepted too। The only difficult part of the long term proposal was making the time line, because I am not good at following schedules or doing things when I am supposed to do them। So far my project has gone smoothly, probably because I have not started it yet। If I stick to my time line, I am sure that I will be able to complete my project on time। I have scheduled enough time for ever task I am going to do। I am a little bit confused because I have not met my mentor yet I my teacher said that I was supposed to meet them yesterday। So far I have not had trouble with anything on my 8th Grade Project.