Methods 2: Week 5

 Week 5: 

1. The big question addressed in lab, and a description of what you did.

The big question that we attempted to answer in Lab this week was how to design a playground surface that is safe and durable. In order to do this, we used matierals to make a playground surface within a bowl and then dropped an egg from 1 and 2 meters into the bowl. Our group was not very successful at this task. We did a good job protecting the egg from the initial drop into the bowl, but we could not prevent the egg from bouncing out of the bowl. Also, it is difficult to keep the materials from flying out of the bowl due to the force exerted by the egg on the materials. Intitually, we started by putting rubber on the bottom and then covering it with hay. This combination caused the egg to bounce a lot, and the materials did not do a good job staying in the bowl. In our later attempts, we tried adding balls of plastic wrap as a cushion on the top of a bowl to absorb the shock like a pillow and prevent the egg from bouncing as much. This worked better; the egg bounced less, but the materials still flew out of the bowl due to the force exerted. In our final attempt, we used the same method but decided to cover the top with another layer of plastic wrapped around the bowl to hold the materials. This worked well to keep the materials in the bowl, but the egg bounced again. I think this is because the new top layer is kind of acting like a trampoline of sorts. 

1. A description of what you learned in Thursday's lecture.

Exam 

1. Answer questions about the weekly textbook reading:
1. What did you learn?

N/A, no new reading. 

1. What was most helpful?

N/A, no new reading. 

1. What do you need more information on?

N/A, no new reading. 

1. What questions/concerns/comments do you have?

N/A, no new reading. 

1.