The Water Clock 5000

In the last unit of Light Sound and Time, we talked about time. We learned a lot about different ways to tell time. We focused mainly on unorthodox ways of telling time such as a sundial, time zones, and a pendulum. We had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Lighthouse which is an organization that helps people who are blind. Inside their building, they have a factory where they make clocks for federal buildings around the country. For the Action Project in this unit, I had to design my own time telling device. I decided to create a water clock that descends from the clepsydra. It was tricky at first to figure out what kind of device I wanted to make. I am proud of the device I designed and I think that it came out looking exactly how I wanted it to look.
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Many cultures decided to create a water clock after they realized that the sundial was not very useful since it could only be used in sunlight. The first water clock or the clepsydra was seen in 1500 BC, inside the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep I. There were two types: outflow and inflow. The inflow water clocks were small bowls that were placed above a large basin of water. In the small bowl, there was a hole in the center which would flow the water into the larger bowl. The clock’s attendant would have to check in periodically and once the tub was filled to a certain point, he would have to let everyone know that an interval of time had passed. He would then empty the large tub and let the clock reset. The outflow water clocks were similar to the inflow in the sense that they both used dripping water, but this version would only have one bowl of water with lines of measurement on the inside that would leak at a steady pace. After a while, the attendant would measure the remaining water in the bowl according to the lines and that way he would know how much time has passed. The clepsydra can be used as a timer or a clock. This clock was mainly used to time speeches in courts in Athens. For example, "Some Athenian sources indicate that the water clock was used during the speeches of various well-known Greeks, including Aristotle, Aristophanes the playwright, and Demosthenes the statesman," (Ḏḥwty, The Ancient Invention of the Water Clock). The water clock also prevented people’s speeches from running too long. Depending on the type of speech or trial that was going on, different amounts of water would be put into the bowls. My device and the klepsydra are related in the sense that they both use water. My clock however can not act as a timer, only a clock.

The device I created is a large box. It is not something that you can take around but maybe later in production if it is successful there could be a handheld version. My device measures minutes and hours. There are 12 tubes on the top, in the middle there is a section filled with water, and then at the bottom there are 60 tubes. Depending on the time, the corresponding tubes would fill up with water. For example, if it was 4:34, the 4th tube on the top would be filled while the other ones are empty and 34 tubes on the bottom would be filled while the rest are empty. There are also different colored lights in each of the tubes so that each one can light up to show you the time as well. My device is an unorthodox clock. It isn’t just your generic wall clock, it incorporates water to show the time. My water clock is better because it would be incredibly accurate, it would be a mix of a digital and analog clock since there are no minute hands.

My device applies the concept of pi because my device uses a lot of circles. The height of all 12 cylinders on the top of my device is 8 and the radius is 2. In order to calculate the volume of this, I had to multiply π 2^2 x 8 = 100.53 For the cylinders on the bottom, the radius is also 2 but the height is 6. In order to calculate the volume of these tubes, I had to multiply π 2^2 x 6 = 75.4 . The circumference of the circle on top of all the tubes is  π4 ( the equation is pi x diameter and since the radius is 2, 2+2=4) which equals 4 or approximately 12.5.

Works Cited:

Mintz, Daniel. "Timekeeping in the Ancient World: Water-clocks." Water-clocks. N.p., Apr. 2007. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/HistTopics/Water_clocks.html>.

Ḏḥwty. "The Ancient Invention of the Water Clock." Ancient Origins. N.p., 3 July 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology/ancient-invention-water-clock-001818>.

Tales of Racial Discrimination

In the last unit of the Argument class, we were asked to take a position on an issue, identify our opposition and seek a solution through synthesis. In this unit, we learned about synthesis which is the resolution or solution to an argument. We looked into the fight for Civil Rights and the different arguments that come with it. The hardest part of this AP was figuring out which topic I wanted to take a stance on. There are so many oppositions in America right now that it was extremely hard to chose. I learned a lot about the country I live in and how there are still people who are so stuck in the past that they still agree with discriminatory ideology. Enjoy!

Tales of Racial Discrimination 

Thesis:
The definition of police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. “Excessive use of force” describes a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation, for example, firing 24 shots at an unarmed suspect who is running away from an officer. In the Declaration of Independence, our country states that all men are created equal, yet there are still people getting arrested or killed just because of the color of their skin. When it comes to the issue of police brutality, I believe that all law enforcement officials, especially police officers, should be required to wear body-cams when on-duty. This way, there are fewer opportunities for cops to get away with wrongfully injuring or murdering suspects or individuals they encounter.

Evidence:
Look at people like Donald Trump or the KKK, they are real human beings who still think that one race is inferior to another. The 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act was a couple years ago and although people say we have come far, to me it feels like we are traveling back in the wrong direction. This country isn't going to last for very much longer if this ideology is still present. The number of people who feel like this is only growing with each Trump rally, or KKK meeting. This matters to me on a personal level because I am half black and half white. I have witnessed racism first-hand and I have seen the damage it can do. The US advocates for every person of every race to be free, but when citizens try to change that, our local and state government doesn't seem to do much to stop them. It is a proven fact that “A black man is three times more likely to be searched at a traffic stop, and six times more likely to go jail than a white person” (Jeff Nesbit, USNews). Racism in any form needs to be stopped. To go into further detail about this topic, police violence against black Americans has become a nation-wide problem.

The line between black and white is so thick that children are getting exposed to it the minute they are born, and in ways that are punitive. For example, “Black preschoolers are far more likely to be suspended than white children. Black children make up 18 percent of the pre-school population, but represent almost half of all out-of-school suspensions,” (Jeff Nesbit, USNews). In murder cases like Laquan McDonald, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and many others, these young people’s lives were cut short by a policeman for no reason. The dash cams that are currently found on police cars are terrible quality and can be tampered with, as appears to have occurred in the McDonald murder in Chicago. Evidence can be deleted and changed, which is why most of these cops don’t end up being charged with murder. Body cams would help give a better insight about the actual incident so no one can get away with murder. In the McDonald case, “A police dashcam video from last October clearly showed the African-American teenager walking away from police when Officer Jason Van Dyke unloaded his gun, striking Laquan 16 times.” (Marilyn Rhames, Huffington Post). It was completely unnecessary to shoot this teen 16 times; a friendly reminder that the mayor didn’t release the video for over a year after the killing happened (ABC 7). The people that we hire to keep us safe need to be checked out to make sure that we are putting the right people in charge of protecting our country.

Antithesis:
The opposition believes that although police killing innocent people is a terrible problem in today’s society, body cams are not going to change that. Some crime officials state that “body cameras are seen as an invasion of privacy, as they provide state-owned footage. When police cameras are on, they will capture everyday civilian and police behavior that does not necessarily need to be recorded. Do all defendants want their arrests recorded? Do all bystanders want to be in those videos when shown in court?” (Eric Baum, Newsmax).

Evidence:
The opposition says that this will not solve anything because these cameras can still be tampered with which would keep us stuck in the place we are at right now with this problem. In the case of Rodney King, an African American man who was beaten to death by white police officers in Los Angeles in 1991, a witness named George Holliday recorded the incident which was then broadcasted around the country. The officers claimed that King was resisting arrest but it was clear in the video that the police officers were in fact beating him harder than what was needed. The police on trial said that King was on PCP at the time of the killing. In court that was proven to be mistaken, but the cops were still acquitted. Although body cams might be helpful in some cases, it is not reasonable to equip the entire police force with them; this technology is expensive. The country does not have enough money to pay for these. It just isn’t plausible. The opposition might also feel that trying to attack racism in this way is futile, claiming that black people are going to continue to get oppressed no matter what we do to stop it. Police need to be watched, but not with body cams. Racism is clearly still going to happen no matter what, but we as citizens of the USA should try to promote fairness and equality in our society.

Synthesis:
Both sides can agree that the violence that has been going on is a problem. People are getting killed for no reason and that needs to be stopped, and racism as a whole should be stopped. Both sides can also agree that police need to be watched and checked to make sure our country is putting the right people in charge.

The synthesis for these two arguments would allow mandatory background checks on police. There would also be a better quality dash cam that will record everything and make sure cops can’t get away with murder. I do agree with the opposition that body cams may not a plausible solution. If that is the case, then citizens should be able to record police if they witness a case of brutality and upload their video evidence directly to a non-biased police review board. Also, racism in schools and jobs needs to be lessened. There should be equal opportunities for everyone. The color of your skin should not determine how much money you make. If a white person and a black person are doing the same job, they should be paid equally. The opposition agrees that racism could be stopped for good in America. If these changes were implemented, it would allow for a more fair and just country.

Questions for the Opposition:
1. Why are innocent black lives not as important as other races?
2. Where is all of the money that could be used for these cameras going?
3. Should it be legal for people to record police?

Questions the Opposition Might Have for me:
1. Why should police who are truthful and trustworthy be forced to wear body cams?
2. Why should civilians’ privacy be invaded by body cams?
3. Since body cams also be tampered with, wouldn’t we remain where we are now?

Works Cited:
Bail Set at $1.5 Milllion for Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, Charged in Laquan McDonald Shooting." ABC7 Chicago. ABC7, 30 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. <http://abc7chicago.com/news/jason-van-dyke-posts-bond-leaves-jail/1103665/>.

Baum, Eric. "5 Pros and Cons of Police Wearing Body Cameras." Newsmax. N.p., 30 June 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Nesbit, Jeff. "America, Racial Bias Does Exist." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

Nesbit, Jeff. "Institutional Racism Is Our Way of Life." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 6 May 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

Milligan, Susan. "The Struggle Goes On." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 14 Mar. 2016

Rhames, Marilyn. "Laquan McDonald and What My Dying Father Told Me About the Chicago Police." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Dec. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

Vertesi, Janet. "The Problem With Police Body Cameras." Time. Time, 4 May 2015. Web. 16 Mar. 2016. <http://time.com/3843157/the-problem-with-police-body-cameras/>.

The Cellphone Debate

For our second Action Project in the Argument course, we were asked to take a look at the GCE Code of Conduct and amend one of the rules. In this unit we talked a lot about the Constitution and Declaration of Independence and how both establish arguments. The purpose of this Action Project was to show the flawed logic behind a rule in the school Code of Conduct that students have to abide by. I am proud of how I remade the rule that I amended. I think that it takes very important things that go along with it into consideration. Newly amended, the rule will help benefit the school community. It was challenging to figure out which rule I was going to pick, but I am glad I chose the one that I did.
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Paper Shredders- You Get What You Pay For!, Trudy. Your Organized World. Sept. 12, 2012.

This picture reprints the metaphor of if you are using a piece of paper to do something school- related, and a teach assumes you are using it for other reasons so they immediately take it. If you can show that you are responsible to use your phone for school related things, you should have the option to.

The GCE Code of Conduct is filled with a bunch of different types of rules with sections including, truancy, plagiarism, dress code . The rule I chose to ammend states that we as students are not permitted to use cellphones in class, yet so many people do. The rule reads:

The use of electronic devices during class time or Field Experience, unless specifically authorized by the teacher for class work, is prohibited. Cell phone use is allowed between classes and during lunch. It also states that If a student uses his/her cell phone in class , the following disciplinary actions will be taken: First time- ­device into ‘class bin’ until the end of the class, second time- school personnel will retain cell phone until the end of the day, third time- ­school personnel will retain the device until parent/guardian claims it. If a student uses his/her cell phone during an FE, the following disciplinary actions will be taken: First time-­ verbal warning from FE Leader's), second time-­ FE Leader/s will retain cell phone until the end of the day, third time- ­school personnel will retain the device until parent/guardian claims it.

Deconstructed into a formal argument, this rule is:

P1: Using cellphones in class without authorization is against the Code of Conduct.

P2: Students are not permitted to use cell phones on FE unless authorized.

C: Students who use cell phones without authorization are subject to their cell phone being taken until the end of the day.

Students may need to use their phones to record something, send themselves a reminder, etc. Some students need their phones in case of a problem or emergency with their family. Students should also be able to take calls if they know they are important. If there is a case of a family emergency and someone calls the student, s/he should be allowed to check their phone. If the student knows it is out of the ordinary for them to be getting a call during school, they should have the right to check it. Students who have been deemed trustworthy should also able to use their phones if necessary. My rule change as a formal argument would be as follows:

P1: A student can only use their phone in case of emergency.

P2: This student must be one who is known to be trustworthy and will not use their phone to go on social media, text, etc. (unless there is an emergency).

C: Trustworthy students can use their phones for emergencies or class/FE use only.

To better understand my argument, consider the following situation: If someone is using a piece of paper to write things down, and someone else comes and takes it from them with the excuse that it is against the rules to use this piece of paper, it would not be fair. The paper is that person’s property and no one should be able to take that and assume that they are using it for something other than school when they aren’t. The paper being used is the person’s property. They are using it for a reason to benefit them in school. This goes along with cell phones because cell phones are a student's property.

If the current rule was changed, students will be able to use their phones in class when there is an emergency. There have been many times when students get an unexpected call, but they were not allowed to answer it. With my proposed amendment, students will be allowed to use their phones if needed. My argument has some supporters already. According to student DR, “When there is a time where access to a computer isn't well, accessible, there is some contradiction in the Code of Conduct because without my phone, my production and participation in class would be almost absent. Sure, phones can be a distraction for some students, but with the right guidelines and rules, phones should be permitted. For some students, phones are a savior.” DR raises another great reason for why my amendment is needed when he refers to the tech challenges students sometimes face and their inability to have a working laptop at all times

The rule that I am amending follows closest to the first amendment which states that “the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances is prohibited.” This amendment represents the rule I chose to change because students have a right to use their own property. Students own their phones, they should be able to use them if need be. Teachers should not be allowed to dictate if they can use them, especially in emergency situations. I understand that students need to focus, and they should not be able to use cell phones just to go on social media or text, but I think that people should be able to use their phones if necessary. This amendment will help benefit the school community because it places more trust in students.

The Diddley Bow Experiment

In the second unit of Light, Sound and Time, we learned about sound and how to create it. We learned about the different waves that sound can create and what they look like. For the action project, we were asked to build an instrument and explain how it works and how it relates to some of the science and math topics we covered in this unit. One thing I struggled with was getting my string around my screws. It is very difficult to bend and wrap a guitar string around a screw so it took me a while to finally get it. I also struggled with creating a good sound. I am proud of how my guitar came out. I think that the pitch of my guitar came out really nice and I think the design I created worked well for me. If I could do this project all over again, I would get a thicker wire and get a thicker board so that the screws wouldn’t go through the board and potentially stab someone.

MF (2016). Diddley Bow. 

I built a diddley bow which is a variation of a guitar. I created this to show that it is nice to get a professionally made guitar but it's equally nice to build one yourself so you can see your work and you can know what it feels like to create something. There is a small town in Paraguay called Cateura and it is built completely on a landfill and the people there have taken it upon themselves to create instruments made out of the garbage that they find around their town. There is a documentary about Cateura called The Landfill Harmonic and they have done amazing work and have toured around the world to show kids and adults how you can make something out of nothing.

My diddley bow demonstrates many of the science principles we talked about in this unit. The pitch of the instrument is based on how much tension your wire has, how long it is, and the material of it. When something plucks the string, it vibrates a creates a tiny wave that reaches the tin can then vibrates that creating a sound. The amplitude differs depending on how hard or soft you pluck the string.

MF (2016). Diddley Bow (Back). 

MF (2016). Diddley Bow (Front). 

My guitar produces sound through the tin can. Plucking the string makes it vibrate against the can causing a sound. In order to create a sound, the string has to be extremely tight so I tied my string around two screws, screwed them all the way into the wood and then placed a battery in between two screws so that it would be even tighter. The tin can’s circular shape amplifies the sound when the string is plucked. When using a slide on my guitar, it can change the note rapidly. Using the slide makes the wave shorter. If I place a finger on the string, I can hear two notes: the original note and a higher/lower note.

To create my guitar, I used a wood board, a thin guitar string, a nine volt battery, screws, and a tin can. I poked a hole in my tin can by hammering a screw into it, then I ran my string through the hole and tied it to the screws placed on opposite sides of the board. For tuning pegs, I used screws, and for a nut I used a nine volt battery. I put a screw on either side of the battery and the tin can to keep them in place. The width of my guitar string is 0.84 mm.

MF (2016). Diagram 

I used a can with a diameter of 7 centimeters, which means the radius is 3.5, and a height of 11 centimeters. This means that the volume is 3.14 x (r^2) x heigh t= 3.14 x (3.5^2) x 11= 423.115 cubic centimeters.

The Doppler Effect is the idea that a sound gets a higher or lower pitch as it moves closer or farther from the observer. If someone were to play my guitar and two people were on either side of the player, the person that the player is going towards would hear a higher frequency, and the person that is farther away would hear a lower frequency.

The part of the string on my guitar that vibrates is 24 centimeters long. My open note is G4 with a frequency of 392 hertz and a wavelength of 88.01 centimeters. Below, you can see the approximate first 4 harmonics of my guitar:

MF (2016). Guitar Harmonics Visual

MF (2016). Harmonic Drawing