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Nom:Pau

Llinatges:Monroig Quetglas

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This 3rd term in technology classes we had been working in electricity and with some things related with it.

There are various ways to produce electrical energy, in order to you check I've had learn this year of technology I'll will explain you some of them. As all we know, we use electrical energy for practically all of our daily activites and is very necessary to know the different ways the energy can be produced. The ways of producing electrical energy are divided into renewable and non-renewable energy, renewable energy is the one that lasts forever and the non-renewable is the one that can not be reused, so it does not last forever.

RENEWABLE ENERGY is the energy obtained from the natural resources; water, sun, wind, etc.

examples of ways of obtaining energy by natural resources:

-  Solar energy; it catches the energy of the sun through collector panels. Many houses use solar systems to provide for hot water, cooling and supplement their electricity.

- Wind energy; Air flow through wind turbines to mechanically power generators for electric power.

- Geothermal energy; Produced from the heat inside the earth. High temperatures are produced continuously inside the earth's crust, the earth heats up the water that produces steam and finally the steam helps to move the turbines.

NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY:

A very common type of obtaining electrical energy is by fossil fuels.

The good thing is about fossil fuels is:

Unlike many renewable sources of energy, fossil fuels are relatively less expensive to produce. This is probably why it is in higher demand as it tend to cost less.

The bad thing about fossil fuels is:

Fossil fuels are made up mainly of carbon. When they are burned (used) they produce a lot of carbon compounds (carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) that hurt the environment in many ways. Air, water and land pollution are all consequences of using fossil fuels.

Nowadays people are developing a lot of ways to reduce the pollution caused by the non-renewable energies. One innovation I have found while looking information is that now investigators are developing fuel cell technologies which will led us to transport all type of vehicles only using oxygen and hydrogen and only releasing water and heat. I think it is one of the best innovations I've heard because it is very impressionant to move our vehicles, which people use a lot, with only using oxygen and hydrogen and only releasing water and heat!!!!!

Is very important to reduce the consumption of electrical energy at home because of the amount of money it cost and because is better for we all to reduce energy consumption. Is very easy to reduce the consumption at home, some examples are putting bulbs of low consumption,.....and some examples I'll explain below also show us how to reduce the consumption at home.

REDUCE YOUR CONSUMPTION!!!!

WAYS TO REDUCE ENERGY AT HOME

1. Turn down the thermostat, turning your thermostat down by just 1 degree can reduce your energy consumption by over 5%. Is better to turn down your thermostat by just 1 degree because you won't even notice the difference of the temperature in the room and you will reduce the energy consumption, and this is good. It is also important to not heat rooms when you are not using them.

2. Decrease the hot water temperature, your hot water thermostat needn't be higher than 60 degrees centigrade. Any higher and you will only be mixing it with cold water to cool it back down for use. 

3. Wash economically, front-loaders washers save considerable amounts of water and energy compared to top-loading washers. Try to only use the washer when you have collected a large amount of clothes, if not try to wash it by hand that you use less water and you do not consume energy. 

As a project of this term we went to the workshop to create a solar device. Me and my group; Tomeu Carrió and Maria Fuster did the written Project together and we didn't had any problem but...when we had to start the solar device we didn't knew how to start and we had had a lot of problems. The main problem was of organization, we didn't know how to organize us well and then we recieved the consequencies. Another problem was that we didn't know how to cut the woods in order to be in a perfect size, tomeu has panic to the saws and to all these things so we need help from another person to cut the woods. Finally we had finished the solar device, altough it is not the best, we had worked a lot to do it and we had worked in group very well. It consists of a wodden box of 30*30cm, it is completly painted in black sprite and inside it is covered in aluminium paper and as a lid we used a strange type of plastic.

This year of technology has been very complete, why do I think that? Well, because we have done a lot of things, some that I have liked a lot and some I didn’t like at all, as to be expected, because it is impossible to do something all students will enjoy because, as I said, we are students, and there are a lot of us, and each of us has very different tastes, and remember that there are some students who are not interested in any type of work! I will give an example, I didn’t like doing the circuit with the crocodile clips because I think that it wasn’t important and I don’t like doing this type of things. However, if I look on the bright side, I learnt how to use a new programme and how to make electrical circuits with it. On the other hand, I liked a lot doing the electrical bill study because I think that while other things we did this year were not important and not useful for our daily life, the electrical bill is, because this is something we will have to understand when we are older and when we will have to pay our own bills. I also learned to identify any problems with the bill, and to try to find out a solution. I really enjoyed studying how to analyse an electrical bill. I also liked a lot Kahoot, I think it was very fun to do it during class because of the music that is put while you are thinking the answer and all these things that seemed that we were on a television programme.

I also liked the freedom that our teacher gave us because we had the necessary period of time to do the work we had and we could organize ourselves very well, and this is very important.

(If you click on the image you will directly go to the Kahoot programme).

http://www.wikihow.com/Save-Energy-in-Your-Home

http://www.eschooltoday.com/energy/non-renewable-energy/what-is-non-renewable-energy.html

TRY ENGINEERING

TRY ENGINEERING

Last month, in a technology class, two students from the UIB (UNIVERSITAT DE LES ILLES BALEARS) came to our high school and explained us a Little bit their experience in the university if it was difficult, if they need to study a lot, etc. But their objective was to introduce us about all this world of engineering.

An engineer is a person trained and skilled in the design, construction, and use of engines or machines, or in any of various branches of engineering:  a mechanical engineer; a civil engineer.

They method was making us do a Project with diverse material, like for example: straws, aluminium paper, wood, etc.

We had to put in groups of 4 or 5 and together we had to think and solve the problem to the situation that was that we did'nt have any idea of how to do that. With the material we had to do a mil which's objective was to rise some centimentres from the ground a tea back. The main condition was that the bag had to be raisen by wind energy.

My group that was: Annabella, Marta, Laura, Ivan and me, worked together with any problem, each of us gave ideas to built the structure and finally, thinking, thinking more, and trying things and things we did it! We built the mill and the most important thing!!! That the mil worked with wind energy!

I really enjoyed the activity and I liked a lot listened the experiences of the two students. They explained us the thing very well and we could understand all very quickly.

I think our team worked very well together and for this we got what we wanted!!!

INFORMATION:

http://www.uib.es/digitalAssets/290/290331_logo_dircom.png

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/engineer

CLEAN UP PLASTICS FROM THE OCEAN

HELLO!!! Now in technology classes we are studying things about plastics and today I am going to explain to you a very interesting thing that Boyan Slat is working on.
First of all, Boyan Slat is a Dutch inventor and entrepreneur who creates technologies to solve societal problems. He was born in 1994, so he is 22-23. He is also the founder and CEO (a chief executive officer, the highest-ranking person in a company or other institution, ultimately responsible for taking managerial decisions) of the Ocean Cleanup, whic develops advanced technologies to rid world's oceans of plastics.

The problem of plastics in the world is very big because we use a lot of plastics in our day to day and they pollute a lot. Our oceans are covered of more than 150 tones of plastics and we know how much it is but we don't do nothing to evoid it. We don't do nothing but Boyan Slat does.

(A very interesting video that I've have seen about that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IjaZ2g-21E) 

When Boyan was 15 he decided to start with this project that for me, and for a lot of other persons is very interesting to see how it works. 

They say: Why move through the ocean, if the ocean can move through you?

They have built an artificial coastline in the center of the Garbage Patch. But they have not used any nets because the Ocean Cleanup uses solid screens which catches the floating plastic, but allows see life to pass underneath the barrier with the current, and this is very important!!

Then the plastics will be diverted towards the central collection point and all this thanks to the orientation of the barriers moored to the seabed.          

  

And then all the plastics are extracted, stored, shiped and recycled. A central collection point extracts and buffers the debris, before being shipped to land. By recycling the debris and selling the semi-finished product directly to B2C companies, they aim to eventually make the operation self-sustainable.

Is the first time that I've heard about Boyan and his project and when I finished reading all about his project I was very impressed about the idea because I think it is a brilliant one and with a lot of future ahead!!! I think that it is a very good way to care about our oceans and I can not think of a better idea. 

If you want to contribute with this project and for more information visit https://fund.theoceancleanup.com.

Almost all the information is from the official web page which is this: https://www.theoceancleanup.com/

The images are or from the official web page or from images of google. 

And a video from youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmPHBhYaCR4

LEARNING ABOUT FTALATES

1.- What are ftalates?

Phthalates are additives used in everyday plastic products to increase their flexibility, durability and transparency. Phthalates pollutes environment and also our body.

2.- Where can we find them?

Phthalates are found in products to which we have a high exposure, such as babies' toys, beverage containers, cosmetics, and even food wraps.

3.- Are they dangerous? Why?

Phthaletes are horrible because they're so easly taken into our bodies. They can be absorbed by skin contact, ingested, and inhaled. They have been shown to cause cancer and birth defects by acting a hormone disruptor. 

4.- What are the two young scientists trying to do?

They are trying to do a project. The first step in their project was to collect soil samples from three different sites along the Fraser River. Out of thousands of bacteria, they wanted to find ones that could break down phthalates. So they enriched their cultures with phthalates as the only carbon source, this implied, if anything grey in their cultures, then they must be able to live off of phthalates. In conclusion they were trying to find a new bacteria that could be able to biodegradate the plastic, certainly, breaking the phthalates. Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, the scientists, identified a new bacteria that breaks down nasty compunds called phtalates, common to flexible plastics and linked to heath problems.

5.- Give your opinion about their work and their achievements.

I think they are doing a very good job, it's a very good idea because a lot of people is worried about the environmental pollution in the world but not a lot of people try to avoid them. These girls seem to be very very intelligent and I think no one more in the world tried to do what they are trying to do. I am sure they were working very hard because if not, it's a very difficult thing to find. 

6.- What is an accident? Is always a bad thing? Give some examples of positive results from accidents.

We usually consider accidents to be harmful, unfortunate or even dangerous, and they certainly can be, but they are not always bad things. Some accidents have led to discoveries. For example without biologist Alexander Fleming's moldy accident caused by a neglected workstation we wouldn't be able to fight off so many bacterial infections.

WHAT DO I KNOW ABOUT SIMPLE MACHINES? (summary)

SIMPLE MACHINES make work easier for us by allowing us to push or pull over increased distances.

In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refers to the six classical simple machines which were defined by Renaissance scientists:

1. LEVER:

A rigid bar that pivots about one point and that is used to move an object at a second point by a force applied at a third. Here we have a clear example:

2. INCLINED PLANE:

An inclined plane is a ramp assists moving object up and down heights. It is a plane surface, set at an angle against a horizontal surface.

3. WEDGE:

The wedge is the active twin of the inclined plane. But unlike the inclined plane, which is stationary, a wedge does useful work by moving.

4. PULLEY:

Sometimes is not easy to lift heavy objects with only one human force. A basic pulley comprises of a wheel on a fixed axle, with a groove along the edges to guide a rope.

5. WHEEL AND AXLE:

When we have to move a really heavy object, we have to use a great deal of force push it. That's because of:
Friction: force resisting the motion of the object on the ground.
Gravitational force: force that pulls the object to the ground.
The wheel and the axle solves this problem!!!
In this simple machine, a wheel is locked to a central axle and they rotate each other when a force is applied on either one of them.

6. SCREW:

A screw is one of the most commonly used machines in the world. It is a machine that converts rotational motion into linear motion.

Could we live without machines? No. Something as simple as a cart requires wheels to move. Think about how our clothes are cleaned, what do we use to cook food, and how do we get to school on rainy days. It would be very hard to live without machines.

CAMS AND ECCENTRICS are mechanisms that convert rotational motion into reciprocating linear motion. They consist of a revolving piece, the cam or eccentric to give it is proper name, and an element that this piece comes into contact with; the follower or lever. Eccentrics are circular in shape, with the special characteristic that the turning axis is not in the centre. Cams can have any profiles depending on the type of movement that you want the lever to have. In the animations below you can see how they work.

GEARS: Gear trains transmit rotary motion. Gears are toothed wheels that interlock. A gear train is where two or more gears are linked together.

 The driver, turned by hand or a motor, turns the driven gear. Both will automatically turn in different directions. If the driver turns clockwise, the driven will turn anticlockwise and vice versa.

If you use a third gear, it is named idler, the driver and the driven will both turn in the same direction, and the idler in the other directoin. Example: in the photo.






As you can see in the image, the gears are different in size, and this means that they turn in different speeds. In the photo the driver (that is the big gear) makes 1 turn while the driven (the small gear) turns 2 times

Gears can change the type of motion or the direction of motion:
For example you can change from the rotary motion to linear motion.
A rack and pinion are used to turn rotary motion to linear motion. The pinion, a round gear, is turned to move a flat gear, the rack.

A worm drive and worm wheel change the direction of rotation through 90º. The worm drive (the driver) only has one tooth and will turn much faster than the worm wheel, which has many teeth so will turn very slowly.
Bevel gears algo change the direction of rotation through 90º. The teeth are angled at 45º so the gears fit together at right angles.

MECHANICAL SYSTEMS:

Electrical systems aren't the only type of system. There are also mechanical systems. All mechanical systems have mechanisms which transform an input motion into an output motion.

They're designed so you can gain an advantage from using them- they making something easier to do.

Some mechanisms change one type of motion into another.

Linear motion

reciprocating motion

oscillating motion

rotary motion

I have done a mind map with a very good programme, is very easy to use and you can put whatever you want, photos, different colours in the title, etc. Is the first time I have used this programme but I like it a lot!!!! If you want to see my mapmind, click here!!!

MYSELF

Hellooooo, my name is Aina Monroig, I live in a village of Mallorca with my family and I am studying in a high school near to my village. I really like discover new things and investigate all this I am interested about. I also like a lot staying with my friends and with my family. I don't understand nothing of football and I think is for this I hate it. I started this blog because my technology teacher has proposed us to put and explain here our technology tasks and presentations.
By now I have done a presentation about inventions I like. I've done it using powtoon presentations that is a very good programme to work if you want to do presentations or things like this. Is not difficult to use but first yo need to experiment it to know what things are you able to use or not. My presentation is not the best but because is the first I've done using this programme. If you want to see my powtoon presentation, click here: