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(By Katie W) |
Abstract Purpose Hypothesis Experimental Design Materials Procedure Research Report Results Graphs Conclusion Bibliography |
The purpose of this experiment is to determine how much each thickness of polyethylene plastic stretches after 1 min and 30 seconds of wind at 60 miles per hour.
The object of this project was to find out which thickness you would want to bring on a trip to Mt. Everest or Antarctica or even mars for an emergency windshield.
My hypothesis was that the 4-millimeter polyethylene plastic would not stretch as much as the 1 or 2 millimeter plastic because it is stronger because it is thicker.
To conduct this experiment I built a frame with PVC pipes and stretched each thickness of plastic over it and blew wind onto it at 60 miles per hour for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
My results indicate that my hypothesis should be accepted. The 4 millimeter plastic didn’t stretch as much as the 1 and 2 millimeter plastic did in the 0 and 19 degrees Celsius temperature.
From my results, I have concluded that the 4-millimeter plastic didn’t stretch as much because it was thicker. From my results I wonder if the wind speed were higher at what time, temperature or speed each piece of plastic would bust or create a hole.
If I were to conduct this
experiment again I would use a larger verity of thicknesses of plastics
and a higher speed of wind. I might try different brands of plastic
or even different colors to see if the color made any
difference in the results
of this experiment.
The purpose of this experiment is to determine how much each thickness of polyethylene plastic stretches after 1 min and 30 seconds of wind at 60 miles per hour.
I chose this project because I was interested in wind and what might be a good wind shelter on mars, or in Antarctica or other places around our universe that have extreme wind temperatures. I hope this project will give helpful information to anyone that may travel to Mars or Mt Everest in the near future, so they will know what kind of wind shelter to bring along in case of an unexpected wind storm.
This project would benefic tourists/travelers by providing information about different materials that could be used as a wind shelter in a place with winds at extreme temperatures or speeds. It would educate anyone who is interested in going on a trip to Mt Everest, or even to Antarctica, or even Mars. It would advise them on what kind of shelter would be useful to use as an emergency wind shelter.
My hypothesis is that the 4 millimeter polyethylene material will not stretch as much as the 1 or 2 millimeter polyethylene material at 0? Celsius because it is thicker and is made to withstand greater weather conditions
My second hypothesis is that the 4-millimeter polyethylene material won’t stretch as much as the 2 or 1 millimeter polyethylene material in 19?Celsius.
I base this hypothesis on the fact that the 4 millimeter polyethylene material is thicker than the 1 and 2 millimeter material and I believe that will help it to withstand the pressure and not stretch as far.
The manipulated variables were the wind temperature and the thickness of the polyethylene plastic.
The responding variable was the way the material reacts to the temperature and the pressure of the wind being blown on it during each trial.
To measure the responding variable I used qualitative observations to determine the amount of damage that was done to the piece of material, and by measuring the amount that was stretched, in the middle of the plastic pieces.
The Constants in this experiment
were:
? The air pressure on
the material
? The amount of fabric
used in each test
? The size of frame for
the fabric
? The amount of time the
fabric will endure the air pressure
Quantity Material
4
One foot pieces of PVC pipe ½ inch diameter (1.27 cm)
4
6 inch PVC pipe pieces (15.24 cm)
2
½ inch diameter PVC pipe ells (1.27 cm)
4
½ inch diameter PVC pipe tees (1.27 cm)
4
½ inch diameter PVC pipe caps (1.27 cm)
2
One square foot pieces of 1 millimeter polyethylene sheeting
2
One square foot pieces of 2 millimeter polyethylene sheeting
2
One square foot pieces of 4 millimeter polyethylene sheeting
1
120 PSI Air compressor (827370.9 Pascal’s)
1
1 gallon Air tank (3.785 liters)
1. Construct PVC pipe frame
a)
Take PVC pipe pieces and connect 2 out of the 4 corners with the
pipe ells
b)
Connect 2 open sides of the square to the pipe tees
c)
Insert the 4th pipe piece between the 2 pipe tees, making a full
square.
d)
Place the a two 6 inch long pips at the open side of the tee
e)
Insert 2 tees remaining onto the open ends of the 2 foot pieces
(so that the parallel openings are on the bottom)
f)
Put the 6-inch pipe pieces on each of the 2 open ends of the pipe
tees.
2. Stretch 4 millimeter
polyethylene over the frame by duct taping all
sides
3. Fill air tank using
the air compressor
4. Pace the air compressor
one-foot away from the middle of the frame.
5. Turn on the compressor
and aim nozzle at center of the frame
6. Hold nozzle in center
of the frame for 30 seconds or until air pressure
drops
to 40 PSI
7. Record all qualitative
data
8. Repeat procedures 2
through 7 with the 2-millimeter polyethylene and
the
1-millimeter polyethylene.
9. Measure the amount
that the material stretched by measuring from the
center
to the flattest part of the material. (Do this with all three of the
polyethylene
pieces)
Wind
Wind is air in natural
motion, as that moving horizontally at any velocity along the earth's surface.
A wind is named according to the point of the compass from which it blows.
Solar wind is made up of electricity charged particles (atoms and electrons)
that are constantly flowing from the sun’s corona (the sun’s outer atmosphere).
Antarctic Wind
Antarctica is the windiest
continent of the world. The winds are Katabotic winds, which blow
up to three hundred twenty kilometers per hour, these winds batter Antarctica
regularly. The wind in Antarctica changes drastically from season
to season. In the winter, the July temperature is between negative
forty degrees Celsius to negative seventy degrees Celsius, the inland temperatures
range from about negative twenty-one degrees Celsius to about negative
thirty degrees Celsius. In the summer, the January temperatures range
from about negative fifteen degrees Celsius to about negative thirty-five
degrees Celsius, with inland temperatures at about zero degrees Celsius
to about ten degrees Celsius. The wind from the plateau has an average
speed of about 70 kilometers per hour and wind from the coast averages
at around one hundred twenty kilometers per hour.
Solar Wind on Mars
Solar wind is made up
of electricity charged particles (atoms and electrons) that are constantly
flowing from the sun’s corona (the sun’s outer atmosphere). The one
to two million-degree heat of the corona strips electrons from oxygen and
hydrogen atoms, which creates the charged particles. Solar wind speeds
on mars have an average high temperature of about negative twenty-two degrees
Fahrenheit, an average low temperature of negative one-hundred-and-twenty-two
degrees Fahrenheit in mid-afternoon. Mars’ atmosphere is not very
dense so the solar wind affects it greatly. The atmosphere was blown
away by the solar wind. Mars’ atmosphere is less that one percent
as dense and earth’s. Solar wind effects all the planets
in our solar system but earth’s magnetosphere protects us from its harmful
blows. On mars the nighttime winter temperatures are about negative
one hundred twenty four degrees Celsius and the summer daytime temperatures
range from negative thirty-one to about twenty degrees Celsius. The
nighttime temperatures around the north and south poles are about negative
one hundred forty degrees Celsius.
Mt Everest
Mt Everest has a very
cold climate; during the year the temperature never rises above freezing.
January is the coldest month of the year, the temperature at the summit
ranges from about –36?Celsius to about -60? Celsius. In July, the
warmest month of the year, the average summit temperature is about -19?
Celsius. The wind in this region of the world ranges from about 80
km/hr to about 285 km/hr. Unexpected storms can drop up to 3 meters of
snow in one day. Around the Khumbu Glacier the average precipitation
is about 450mm per year.
Plastic
Plastics are a man-made
product that can be shaped into any form. They can be extremely useful
for many things. Plastic can take many forms. It can have the
strength of steel or be as soft as a cotton ball.
Plastics are made up of long chains of molecules called “ polymers”. They are made out of repeating patterns of smaller molecules. Every one of the small ones makes a link in the chain. These chains can be arranged in many different ways; lined up like logs floating down a river, which would make them rigid, or on others they are tangled which makes them more flexible.
Plastics came from the Greek word “Plastikos” which means, able to be shaped. The first plastics relied on the big molecules in cellulose that usually came from wood. Plastic is a nonconductor of electricity that is why it is used around electrical cords and wires.
The fact that it takes plastics a long time to decompose creates an environmental problem because we don’t know what to do to dispose of plastic waste.
Plastics have been used to replace many different things. It can replace metals, natural fibers, paper, wood, stone, glass, and ceramics. Plastics can be used to make products stronger, lighter, longer lasting, easier to maintain or less expensive to manufacture. They can also be used to make things that can’t be
The original purpose of this experiment was to find out which thickness stretched the least. The results of this experiment were that the 4-millimeter plastic did not stretch as much as the 1 or 2 millimeter plastic because it was thicker and stronger to withstand the wind.
My hypothesis was that the 4-millimeter plastic would stretch the least. My conclusion was that I should accept my hypothesis because the 1-millimeter plastic stretched the most and the 4-millimeter plastic did stretch the least. A new question that was raised is that if there is a material that is as light as the 1-millimeter but as strong as the 4-millimeter. If I were to conduct this experiment again I would use a larger variety of plastic thicknesses and conduct more trails so I could get more accurate results.
“Arctic” World Book Encyclopedia. 1999 ed.
“Antarctica” World Book Encyclopedia. 1999 ed.
“Mars” World Book Encyclopedia. 1999 ed.
“Plastics” Encyclopedia Britannica. 1983 ed.
“Plastics” World Book Encyclopedia. 1999 ed.
Shroder, John Ford. “ Mount
Everest.” Mount Everest.” Microsoft®Online®Encyclopedia2001
http://encarta.msn.com
(18 January, 2001)
Vogt, Gregory. Mars and the Inner Planets, New York: Franklin Watts, 1982.
“Wind.” 23 Jan. 2002
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