Today, I built a boat from a bottle cap that can float.
First, I looked at Nanogirl's video and learnt how and what I can use to make a boat.
Second, I gathered the materials which were a bottle cap, toothpick sticky paper and scissors.
Third, I made my invention by making a hole in the bottle cap and poking a toothpick in it. Then I cut a traingle from the sticky paper and attached it on the toothpick.
Next, I made a screencastify of me showing my boat and testing how much weight it can carry. I realised that my boat can only carry upto four orbeez balls because it sank when I added one more.
Then, I measured the distance of my boat and I relised it was very small to move. Anyways I tested and came to know it moved from the wind about 2 centimeters.
Lastly, I thought to stick two horizontal toothpicks and add a folded paper between them so that it becomes a sail and uses the wind to move faster.
I learnt that buoyancy is the reason why something floats. It describes how floaty or sinky a boat is.
An interesting fact is that things that float well usually have a lot of air in their structure. Wood floats really well becuase it has tiny air pockets in them and that is the reason why rafts are made out of wood.
Something that I didnt know was, materials that are heavy compared to their size and dont have air in them are dense. One example is rocks because they sink in water and are not hollow.
I liked doing this Summer Learning Journey task because I re-used and re-purposed materials to make my floating invention .
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| My invention |
Hi there, Sahil!
ReplyDeleteI'm Ruby, a volunteer commenter from SLJ.
I think this is such a cool project. What I'm most impressed by is how well and deeply you have reflected on the task and written about it. You have written methodically, clearly and intentionally. In particular, I love your thoughts around buoyancy and why things float the way they do. This is great inquiring.
Overall, it seems like you learnt so much from it - am I correct in thinking that you love and have a knack for science?
Have you made any other floating inventions? Do you have any further thoughts on how you might make a structure that carries more weight than this one?
I look forward to following up and seeing what you come up with in the future!
Ngā mihi,
Ruby
Namaste Sahil! I agree with Ruby's comment that you have shared your reflections on buoyancy very clearly and with helpful detail. For example, as a reader I was really informed by your description of dense versus hollow materials. Thank you for your video demonstration which helped me to visualise your investigation. Question: You mentioned that the boat moved in the wind. Did you take the boat outside to test the sail? I look forward to your reply. Kind regards, Naomi (Manaiakalani Facilitator)
ReplyDeleteKia Ora Sahil,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Zana and I am a blog commenter from the summer learning journey.
I really enjoyed this activity as I used to love making boats with my brother and racing them down the creek!
Again, I think you introduced the activity well and explained the process you went through while creating your boat. I think your boat looks amazing and it is great to see you using recycled materials you found around the house.
It is great to hear that you have learnt some cool facts about the science behind buoyancy and designing a boat that will float. Using that information what would you do differently to improve the buoyancy and overall quality of your boat?
I also see you built a sail, have you tested your boat outside in the wind?
Keep up the good work and I hope to see more of your posts during the Summer Learning Journey!!
Ngā mihi nui,
Zana Yates
Kia ora Zana,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my blog post and the feedback too.
I think I would make my boat bigger next time. I would collect more bottle caps and stcik them together so that it can carry more weight and improves the buoyancy and overall quality.
I made the sail and tested it too. I didn't go outside but I used the fan inside my house so that it moves faster.
Do you have some ideas to make my boat move faster?
Thank you so much!
I am looking forward to your reply.
Sahil
Kia ora Sahil,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Fiona and I am a Manaiakalani facilitator. It is great to see that you had a go at this boat building challenge.
I really like your boat design, and the fantastic introduction you wrote about the process of designing, creating and testing your boat. Great idea to use a bottle cap for the main body. I wonder what changes you could make to your design so that it moves further in the water?
Keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing more great quality posts from you during the summer learning journey.
Ngā mihi nui,
Fiona Waugh
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteKia ora Fiona,
DeleteThank you for commenting on my blog post and the feedback too.
I thought to stick two horizontal toothpicks and add a folded paper between them so that it becomes a sail and uses the wind to move faster.
Do you think my idea will work?
Do you have any other idea?
Thank you so much!
I am looking forward to your reply.
Sahil
Kia Ora Sahil,
ReplyDeleteI love your boat! It is so well made and being created from things you already had meant that you were able to repurpose items for something else. Great testing on the weight too, I thought it was able to take quite a lot of weight for such a small boat!
Nanogirl