Can you design and make your own seismograph?
My seismograph consists of four chopsticks held together by twine, glue, and many pens and highlighters. In order for it to work, you need to hang it from the ceiling by very long twine or string, similar to a mobile, and make sure the sharpie you use to record seismic activity touches the long piece of paper you have. Whenever a tsunami hits, it will be recorded on the paper without interference, because whenever heavy objects hang on string, they generally don't move when the string does. Here are questions and answers concerning my seismograph.
1.) What problems or shortcomings did you encounter with the seismograph you tested in Part 1? Why do you think these problems occurred?
When I tested my seismograph in part 1, I noticed that my pen didn’t write anything. All it did was just dangle there, wobbling on top of the paper, without recording anything. It made a few marks, but no lines. I decided that this might be because either I didn’t have a dark enough pen or I needed to press harder to make a mark with it. Also, my pen moved when the “earthquake” occurred, but it was only the paper that was supposed to move. I thought that if I added more weight to the bottom of the seismograph, it wouldn’t wiggle as much when the “earthquake” happened, and I would make bigger and better marks.
2.) How did you incorporate what you learned in Part 1 into your seismograph design in Part 2? For example, what changes did you make to improve consistency from trial to trial?
In order to make my seismograph work better, I stuck more pens and highlighters into the twine criss-crossing between the chopsticks its bottom, and used a felt-tipped pen instead of a ball-point pen to record the “earthquake”. This way, I thought I would solve both problems of not enough weight and invisible marks. The thing was, I did make marks, but my pen still wobbled around a lot when I created the “earthquake”, which definitely interfered with what it was supposed to be recording. Also, it made better lines, but not dark enough for my satisfaction.
3.) As you designed, built, and tested your seismograph, what problems did you encounter? How did you solve these problems?
As I designed, built, and tested my seismograph, I encountered a big problem: my pen and my paper moved, so I wasn’t actually recording a good earthquake. In order to solve this problem, I just kept on adding more and more weight to my seismograph to keep it from jiggling, which really helped. In order to make my lines darker, I used a sharpie, which worked very well.
4.) What limitations did factors such as gravity, materials, costs, time, or other factors place on the design and function of your seismograph? Describe how you adapted your design to work within these limitations.
One of the major factors that affected my seismograph was material. Originally, I’d had a soft, pliable string in mind to tie the chopsticks together in a square, but I was stuck with twine. The thing about twine is that it doesn’t like to make knots, and will quickly untie itself if jiggled around too much. This was very frustrating, because whenever I started tying two more chopsticks together, the one that I’d just tied previously came loose. I solved this difficulty by using a supposedly quick-dry glue (which didn’t dry quickly at all), to keep the twine in place. Also, I had a hard time finding pens that would make good marks on the paper, so in the end, I chose a sharpie.
5.) Why is it important for scientists around the world to have access to accurate and durable seismographs?
It is important for scientists around the world to have access to accurate and durable seismographs, because then they can record the various earthquakes happening around, and look for patterns. If they can discover patterns, they might actually be able to predict when the next earthquake will happen and where, which could give people ample time to evacuate if needed. Since strong earthquakes can cause disaster, this would be very useful knowledge to have.
Advertisement:
Geologists all over the world should buy my seismograph, because it is only $25, it is reliable, and it has been tested multiple times in order to make sure it works well. The first time we tested it, it made no marks at all, and if it had, it would have recorded inaccurate earthquakes. To fix this, we added more weight to it, and used a different pen. Although this pen worked much better than the first, it was still too faint, and inaccuracy was still recorded. In order to make darker lines and better accuracy, we added much more weight, and used a sharpie. This worked perfectly, and now our brand new seismograph is just right for recording earthquakes.
My seismograph consists of four chopsticks held together by twine, glue, and many pens and highlighters. In order for it to work, you need to hang it from the ceiling by very long twine or string, similar to a mobile, and make sure the sharpie you use to record seismic activity touches the long piece of paper you have. Whenever a tsunami hits, it will be recorded on the paper without interference, because whenever heavy objects hang on string, they generally don't move when the string does. Here are questions and answers concerning my seismograph.
1.) What problems or shortcomings did you encounter with the seismograph you tested in Part 1? Why do you think these problems occurred?
2.) How did you incorporate what you learned in Part 1 into your seismograph design in Part 2? For example, what changes did you make to improve consistency from trial to trial?
3.) As you designed, built, and tested your seismograph, what problems did you encounter? How did you solve these problems?
4.) What limitations did factors such as gravity, materials, costs, time, or other factors place on the design and function of your seismograph? Describe how you adapted your design to work within these limitations.
One of the major factors that affected my seismograph was material. Originally, I’d had a soft, pliable string in mind to tie the chopsticks together in a square, but I was stuck with twine. The thing about twine is that it doesn’t like to make knots, and will quickly untie itself if jiggled around too much. This was very frustrating, because whenever I started tying two more chopsticks together, the one that I’d just tied previously came loose. I solved this difficulty by using a supposedly quick-dry glue (which didn’t dry quickly at all), to keep the twine in place. Also, I had a hard time finding pens that would make good marks on the paper, so in the end, I chose a sharpie.
 |
| The Faint Lines |
 |
| Dark Sharpie |
5.) Why is it important for scientists around the world to have access to accurate and durable seismographs?
It is important for scientists around the world to have access to accurate and durable seismographs, because then they can record the various earthquakes happening around, and look for patterns. If they can discover patterns, they might actually be able to predict when the next earthquake will happen and where, which could give people ample time to evacuate if needed. Since strong earthquakes can cause disaster, this would be very useful knowledge to have.
Advertisement:
 |
| Labeled Sketch |
Riena,
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting design. You used Newton's first law of motion to design your seismograph. By suspending it in mid air, the seismograph should have technically stayed still, but the problem was, the paper caused the pen to wobble. You successfully modified your design, and reached a semi successful seismogram. I think you were able to understand much about various materials and the importance of a durable seismograph. Good job!