Some thoughts about the boats... @ 西雅圖‧高雄大城市‧小角落我的心世界

Some more thoughts about the boats

(aka Reflection Questions)

Here are some thoughts and reflection regarding how the boats float and move across the water.

I. After developing explanations using forces and energy, what do you understand better? (What can you explain now that you could not before this assignment?)

This project has made us understand a number of topics better. We now know how to explain why some things float while others do not using density. This also explains buoyant forces, which we had questions about when we started the project. Our energy diagrams helped us see why so much fuel is needed for boats because not all of the energy from the fuel becomes kinetic. This also helped us understand why boats are not that environmentally friendly, because product from the reaction of the fuel gets let out into the air. We also got to explore where energy from the wind comes from, instead of just saying it appears. The rowboat situation we examined also helped us understand why it takes so much effort to row a boat. The energy cubes showed us that a lot of energy is lost, so more energy has to be put in. The energy for these three scenarios helped us compare the different ways boats can be used as transportation, and look at the efficiencies of each.

II. Did some representations support your understanding better than others? Why?

The force diagrams helped our understanding of the overall situations because they show where the forces are coming from. The energy diagrams were not as helpful because it’s hard to know where energy comes from or where it goes. We were also looking at things qualitatively, so it was difficult to decide how much energy to start with or how much would be lost. This also complicated making comparisons between the situations.

III. What do you still wonder? (What questions did this bring up or what is left unanswered even after your investigation?)

We were not able to explore the differences between the efficiency of a cargo ship compared to a cargo plane well, so we are wondering about that comparison. We are also curious about whether a cargo plane or a cargo ship is more environmentally friendly in terms of waste let off and the type of fuel used. We also started exploring the source of energy that wind has, but this seems to trace back further than we researched. This topic would be interesting to delve into more. We also wonder about the forces we listed in our diagram for the rowboat scenario. It seems like the person is almost making a pulling motion with the oar, but the oar makes more of a pushing force. Given the time, we would like to explore this topic more to get a better understanding of this scenario.