Reflection : Lee Kai En says....

Pre-camp reflections

Read the introduction, objectives and theoretical background to the project and then answer the following questions:

•      What interests you about this project?
•       What do you want to learn by doing this project?
•       What questions do you have about this project?
•      What do you personally want to have achieved by the end of this project?
  This project has its challenges and it will enable me to explore to find the best angle of inclination for the ball to travel at the fastest speed and compete with other groups which is a goal that enables us to push ourself to be the best. We will be able to apply our knowledge of the conservation of energy in this project as well. I would like to learn more about conservation of energy from this part of the project. As for my doubts, I have some: What does the symbols represent and how do I pronounce it and how does every single factor affect the result of the project and how do we find the best angle to allow the ball to go at its fastest speed.
  The other part of the project will enable me to learn different ways of extraction and the concepts behind it which adds to my knowledge. From this project, I hope I will gain more knowledge about extraction and the concepts of it. For this project, I have questions like how does this particular step help extracting and separating the solvent from the mixture.
  From both parts of this project, I hope to gain new useful skills and knowledge to help me in my life in the future.

Reflections on Plenary Sessions

For each plenary session, consolidate your learning by answering the following questions:

•     What are your key learning points?
•      What new questions do you have about the topic?
  Prof Kerry Sieh
  Regarding geography earthquakes which we learnt this year during geography lessons, I have the opportunity to learn from an actual professor who did an actual study and was at the scene. I learnt many things that an earthquake can cause like uplifts of the land. I also learnt that what we aspire to be in the future sometimes does not really work out and we should focus on what we are suppose to focus on in our lives today. I learnt something new about coral reefs during the plenary session and the effect of an earthquake on the coral reef. I also learnt the plate we are actually living on the and the plate that is actually subducting under the very plate we live on and i learnt about the cycle of earthquakes which actually causes an island to sink under water and when the tension releases in the locked sections, the island will appear above water again.
  Prof Seah Hock Soon
  Animation is something i have experienced from last year when we did the stop motion animation. I can tell that it was a tremendous time spent on it. During the plenary session given by Professor Seah Hock Soon, I learnt more types of animation, 2D and 3D, both of which requires hard work. 2D, however, requires a larger workforce, has budget pressure and requires of a certain skill level to be able to work in this area.Thus, if the requirements of the skill level are not met, the workforce will be reduced, resulting in 2D animation to be produced. As for 3D, I learnt that the movie Avatar is actually an example of 3D animation which I did not really know and it is much easier to produce than 2D but 2D animation is of a higher demand.
  Prof Ma Jan
  Through Professor Ma Jan’s plenary session, I have a better understanding of the real life usage of nanotechnology and the usefulness of it. The usages being kill bacteria,treatment for freckles for the females, creating relief cards, cleaning water, creating eye contact lens of different colours,creating “invisible bracers”, coating for aircraft so as it does not get destroyed when traveling to the destination. I also learnt that they are currently developing some kind of coating to enable the human being to be invisible to the naked eye for the military. I also learnt that the military uniform has been made in such a way that it is hard to spot the person in it from far and this is done so using nanotechnology. I feel that this plenary session is very enriching.
  Doubts and Questions:
  Prof Kerry Sieh
  Do some of the coral reefs actually survive after the earthquake?
  How much of the tension in the locked sections of the plate to be able to cause the island to go under water?
  Why are there some earth formed after a tsunami?
  Prof Seah Hock Soon
  If 3D is easier to produce than 2D,Why is 3D not produced as much as 2D animation?
  How long does it require to make a 2D movie that is more than an hour long?
  Prof Ma Jan
  How does nanotechnology enable the usages of it?
  How is nanotechnology discovered and how did us, humans, made it possible to use it to improve our daily lives?

Reflections on Applied Project Challenge: Your Accomplishments

• Discuss how the project has deepened your understanding and broadened your awareness of the selected discipline.
• What do you now understand about this discipline that you were unaware of at the beginning?
• Describe how what you have learned from doing this project can be connected to what you are learning at school.
• Describe how you can apply what you have learned from doing this project.
•  At the end of the project, what new questions do you now have?
  The projects taught me new concepts that involves in each particular project.
  Fastest ball challenge:
  For the fastest ball challenge, I learnt that different angles of inclination will produce different timings of which the ball takes to cover over a certain distance on the horizontal track. I learnt that even if the steepness of the ramp is increased, it does not necessarily mean that the ball bearing will go at a higher speed and that the timing will be decreased. I also learnt that even with oil, the ball went at a slower speed. Many people will think that oil is a lubricant and will increase the speed of the ball,like me. Thus, it corrected one of my misconceptions.
  Extraction of caffeine from beverages(tea bags):
  I learnt the a new method of extraction and the reasons behind the steps and i also got to experience handling what the undergraduates or graduates are actually dealing with right now like their equipment they use for their experiments. I find this experience to be very enriching and helpful as I got to learn more and increase my knowledge.
  
  
  From both of these projects, I learnt to work as a team, divide up the work and cooperate with one another and I learnt that equipment should be handled with care whenever one needs to use equipment for their experiment.
  In school, we have plenty of group work thus, we will need to apply the skills above and since the school has given us the privilege to work with some equipments, we will need to treat it with care.