Tutorial (Ignition Prototype)

Objective: Select an ignition design,
build one device, integrate it into the
prototype chamber, test the system.

~
Symbol for approximately.

adjustable Able to be changed, sometimes in predefined increments.

all-encompassing Complete, applying to everything relevant.

apparatus An integrated group of devices designed for a specific purpose.

as a function of Changes in one thing resulting from changes in another thing.

assembled To have put parts together that were designed to fit together.

baseline A standard set of conditions, often used for future comparisons.

bolts Small cylinders with a spiral groove, used to attach things together.

chance A subjective, non-quantitative, way of stating probability.

combined the best ideas Definition.

components Parts of a whole system, often called sub-systems.

conclusion A judgment based on analysis of experimental results.

configuration A defined arrangement of parts that constitutes a system.

cons The disadvantages of something; reasons to decide against it.

constructed To have built or put something together systematically.

countersink To make the top part of a hole larger than the bottom part.

designed Defined and documented the details of what you have/will build.

device A piece of equipment designed for a specific purpose.

disassemble To take something apart.

disproven To have shown that something is not true.

emery cloth Fabric with an abrasive material on it, used to smooth metal.

ensure To make sure or certain that something will or will not happen.

engineering The planning, design and construction of practical things.

external Existing outside something or separate from it.

fixed Rigidly positioned, not capable of being moved or changed.

friction The force that resists motion between two surfaces.

fuse A device with a wire that melts (breaking the circuit) with high current.

galvanized steel Steel coated with a layer of zinc to prevent it from rusting.

graph A diagram showing the relationship between two or more sets of data.

gridlines An arrangement of evenly spaced vertical and horizontal lines.

hacksaw A tool with a fine-toothed, strong blade designed to cut metal.

heating element The part of an electrical device designed to produce heat.

high value Important, unique, one-of-a-kind, expensive, irreplaceable.

horizontal Parallel to the horizon and perpendicular to the vertical.

hypothesis A prediction that you test methodically.

hypothesized To have made a prediction that you test methodically.

idea Things you think of, know or imagine; often new to you and others.

incandescent Glowing from intense heat caused by the flow of electricity.

inconsistency Something not in agreement with something else.

integrate To combine parts to make something whole or complete.

integrated Definition.

internal Existing inside something, often an integral part of it.

installed Had put in place or connected something that was expected to work.

laboratory notebook A book that investigators use to record their data.

L-brackets Angled supports that are shaped like the letter L.

lead-acid battery A very powerful rechargeable source of electricity.

Nichrome Trademark for a specific kind of wire that heats up with high current.

objective The specific purpose for which you do something.

opinion A belief one develops based upon the available information.

on/off push button A device used to turn on a circuit for a short time.

on track Proceeding as planned, heading in the right direction.

plan The documented method by which you will get something done.

potentially Possibly as opposed to actually, but that could become real.

production The final model that will meet all agreed-upon expectations.

pros The advantages of something; reasons to decide for it.

prototype A functioning model that verifies you can build the real one.

proven To have shown or established something is true, valid or a fact.

resistance Opposition to the flow of electricity in a circuit, measured in Ohms.

result The outcome (information, data) from an experiment.

reverse engineer Analyze a product to understand how it was made and works.

review To read or study someone's work and offer constructive suggestions.

rigid Definition.

routine Describing a process done the same way time and time again.

s
Abbreviation for seconds.

satisfy To completely fulfill a need or obligation.

safety switch An on/off device used to shut down a circuit in an emergency.

sparks Small pieces of material glowing due to high temperatures.

spatial dimensions Measurements of size: length, width, height.

stainless steel Steel mixed with chromium to prevent it from rusting.

system An arrangement of equipment designed to perform defined functions.

tapered Becoming smaller toward one end.

technology A device(s) that demonstrates that an idea or theory is correct.

technology demonstration
A practical example of a technological innovation.

test To examine or try something; usually in a systematic way.

testbed The apparatus on which something can be examined or tried.

tested To have examined or tried something; usually done in a systematic way.

test plan A document to guide how something is examined or tried.

test program A formal activity to determine if something works properly.

trend A general tendency observed in a set of data.

versus In comparison to or contrasted with; often displayed on a graph.

vertical Perpendicular to the horizon, in an upright position.

voila Behold! It worked! Look at that! A statement of surprise and joy.

word Definition.

Perhaps they needed the ignition device for their own work. Perhaps they had first hand experience that would be useful. Perhaps they just wanted to help their friends. Or, maybe all three?

The ignition technology has been proven by itself, but that doesn't mean that it will necessarily work when integrated with the other parts of the experimental apparatus.

First, they wanted to become familiar with how the device worked. Second, they wanted to be sure it worked so they wouldn't have to worry about it not working when they needed it.

In some cases, you have to select one of several existing designs. In other cases, it might be better to use the good parts of several existing designs, or even start a completely new design yourself.

From a scientific perspective, testing the designs would be best. However, sometimes experts can offer opinions which can save a lot of time if you believe that the testing isn't necessary.

Possibly. With flexibility comes the opportunity to accidentally set up your experiment in different ways from one test to the next. This lack of uniformity could cause differences in your results.

While there could be surprises ahead, the technology had been proven by other groups. Once you get set up to build one of something, its often only a little more work to build three more.

When you build things, you have a responsibility to make them safe to use. To do otherwise would be disrespectful, and could cause harm to the people who trusted in your workmanship.

Gloves would have been safer, but it would have been difficult to use the wire cutter for such fine work: a safety/progress trade-off. In this case, however, the gloves would have been a better choice.

There is a big difference between thinking that something will work and knowing it will because you actually tried it. Scientists confirm (or refute) what they think by testing their ideas.

This was highly unusual and, on hindsight, probably a mistake. Investigators should record their data in their own lab notebook. It did, however, make it easy for the other group to find the data.

The graph in the lab notebook was good enough for this group to understand the data on that day; but not good enough for anyone who wasn't there. It is missing a title and good axes labels.

They were confident that the short wire would work so they tested it first to make sure their apparatus was working properly. This way they would feel confident about their long wire test.

Do you remember that the resistance was higher with the longer wire? With increased resistance, less electricity can get through the wire so it doesn't heat up as much and it glows a deeper red.

It is very beneficial to have other people review your work before you're done. They can often see things that you miss because you're too close to it. Be sure to thank them and give them credit.

They have another plan in mind. They aren't going to use magnets, which were hard to adjust anyway. Look at the four holes Victoria drilled in the stainless steel plate; does that give you a clue?

Yes for you, but not for the other people who will use the finished apparatus. They would expect you to have done a better job when you built the apparatus. You need to be respectful of them.

The apparatus is made of metal so it will last a long time and not catch on fire. However, the metal can also conduct electricity and the plastic insulates the part where alligator clips touch the metal.

There may be less current; but if so, why? You could find out by measuring the electrical properties of the circuit. What was the current? Did the voltage or resistance change?

When you build something new, many things can go wrong; that's why you test them. Here, it could be a loose connection (sparks), wire that is too thin (overheating), bare wires (short circuit),...

Yes! This was a short, limited test, done without a plan. Some faults don't show up right away, or only under certain conditions. Without a test plan you will not know if your equipment works.

You might be able to do that with a simple device that doesn't have to work with components that other people build. But that isn't the case here. Solve that problem and you'll be very famous.

No. The students who made each device already tested them separately. The question is, do the devices work together? That is, can students load cigarettes into the prototype and ignite them?

They could, however, they'd probably forget something. It is hard to remember all the details when there are many components to be tested, particularly if you didn't build all of them yourselves.

They did an excellent job satisfying three tasks in their objective (select a design, build one, integrate it). However, the other components weren't complete so they couldn't do a system test.

Because they didn't do a system test yet. The ignition technology itself has been proven. However, it has never been tested in the experimental apparatus as a single integrated system.

1. If you aren't limited to the choices, you may get better results.
2. It's amazing how many investigators had the wrong idea at first.
3. Writing a plan helps you think about the details more carefully.

Mr. Pittman thinks so, if they: (1) pay attention to the details,
(2) work together toward a common goal, (3) not fret over who gets credit for success and (4) think, think again, and think more.

The original ignition device was designed after three months of trial-and-error. The Smokey Situation, a 1998 student plant/smoke study, was very helpful and led to our 4-wire re-light design.

Construction of the ignition device was easy, however, finding the right kind of batteries and building the circuit to control the current was quite complex. That work took several months also.

After a series of tests and design refinements, the ignition device had become reliable technology. Those tests, however, had not been integrated with other parts of the experimental apparatus.

The ignition technology was used to create cigarette smoke, which was used to calibrate the lasers that will eventually measure the amount of smoke that plants are exposed to in our experiments.

The ignition technology, in a simple 1-wire form, was used to study the thermal characteristics of incandescent wire; specifically the air temperature from convection, conduction and radiation.

The ignition technology, in a simple 1-wire form, was also used to study the thermal characteristics of materials being considered for building the ignition chambers in the experimental apparatus.

The first task we completed was to combine the best features of two existing designs (shown in Mr. Pittman's sketches). However, we never made a sketch of the combined design.

The second task we completed was the actual ignition device. The rigidity came from bolting the L-brackets to the bottom metal plate; the adjustability came from the holes in the side metal plate.

The third task we completed was integrating the ignition device into the chamber. The loading tube is anchored to the bottom metal plate; the ignition wires go to terminals in the chamber wall.

For our fourth task, we were only able to test the ignition device itself. None of the current groups had enough time to complete their components so it was not possible to conduct a system test.

If we had written a test plan we would have started to think out important details. For example, we noticed the circuit seemed to get quite hot. Should heat be included in the testing?

Writing the test plan would have stimulated our minds even more. We probably would have also questioned the impact of the air flow on the ignition and continued burning of the cigarettes.

The first adjustable height ignition device allows you to change the wire height by adding or removing magnets. However, the magnets are so strong that it is hard to align the device properly.

This fixed height ignition design has a unique feature; once it is in place, it can't be be moved by accident. However, the fixture is so rigid that it also can't be moved if there ever is a need to adjust it.

Other groups had told us that sometimes the cigarettes didn't hit the ignition wire correctly. So we thought we'd solve this problem by giving the cigarettes a bigger target using two ignition wires.

We knew that one wire would become incandescent and assumed, without even thinking about it, that two wires would also work. We were quite surprised to find out that two wires didn't work.

The group that built the cigarette loading device probably thought about testing it; even testing it with the ignition device. But they didn't write a test plan so we don't know what they were thinking.

Our group didn't have time to write a test plan. If we had written one, we would have included the loading device and possibly other devices so we could see how the whole system worked.

Smokey air will move up the convection duct to the test chamber and back down the forced air duct to the ignition chamber
(or vice-versa). The convection ducts have not been installed.

Entry to the chambers will be through rectangular access ports that are cut into the chambers. Insulated, removable, see-through doors (not installed yet) will prevent smoke from escaping.

We normally record all of our data in lab notebooks. Occasionally we make the mistake of writing on pieces of paper which can get lost. The test plans and data are too important to lose.

A lot of testing has been done by the groups working on specific activities; none of which were intended to be a total system test. This group used aquariums because the chambers were not ready.

This group tested the idea of using lasers to measure the amount of smoke in the chambers. Simulated cigarettes served their purpose very well but a system test would need real cigarettes.

This group tested the flow of smoke from one chamber to the next. The apparatus was, in essence, a complete system but it was only a testbed since the prototype had not yet been constructed.

1. It would be useful to discuss the four tasks in this group's objective. The first task (select an ignition design) implies that they will select from among several existing designs. But these designs are not finished products like you would buy in a store; they are demonstrations of technology and may not be ready to use for practical purposes. The second task (build one) acknowledges that limitations. The third task (integrate it into the prototype) means that they will have to take what they build and make it work with the other devices already in the ignition chamber. The final task (test the system) implies that the whole system will be ready; but some devices are not finished and other groups are responsible for building them.

2. You should select perhaps two of the words defined on this screen for discussion; technology (first) and engineering (second) would be good choices the first time students view this screen. There are three commonly used meanings for the word technology; an idea, a device, and the discipline. Here the meaning is a device; something you build to demonstrate that an idea will work. A technology (demonstration) device is rarely a finished product that consumers could use. Engineering, however, uses that technology to build practical things for people to use and that are needed for continued scientific exploration. Engineering is a very disciplined, requiring planning to make sure these practical things actually work.

3. Students use three electrical devices to light a cigarette; a fuse, a safety switch, and an on/off button. The reason is safety. The ignition wire becomes very hot. The battery supplying the electricity is strong enough to start a car. The fuse protects the circuit from overheating if something goes wrong. It is normally left in place for the entire research session but removed when the days work is finished as an added safety precaution. The safety switch has three positions: battery charger-on, charge/ignite-off, and ignition-on. The button has a spring so it only stays on while someone pushes the button. Once the person stops pushing the button, the spring pushes it out and the circuit is automatically turned off.

4. Students may ask why there were three designs for the ignition device. The reason is that, while the technology (the idea) is the same, the technology (the devices) served different purposes. The original design demonstrated the idea; it worked for one cigarette but had four ignition wires to relight cigarettes if they went out during the experiment. The adjustable height ignition design was intended to test various materials to see if they would catch on fire if they accidentally touched the ignition wire. The fixed height ignition design was used to test the idea of loading multiple cigarettes from a hopper, overcoming the original designs limitation of a single cigarette for each experiment.

5. The students may notice the rather sloppy handwriting in the lab notebook. Most of it is Mr. Pittman's writing and he should have written a little more carefully. Does the lab notebook need to be neat? No, it needs to be legible enough to read later when you want to remember what you did. Why did they have to make a pro/con table; why couldn't they have just decided. The process of writing helps you think out the reasons for your decision. It also helps others understand your thinking so they can decide if they agree with you or not. Putting that information in the lab notebook also preserves your thinking, so later, if you find your made a poor decision, you can go back to understand why that happened.

6. Students may notice that the ignition wire that Steven is using is under the metal plate and that it was over the metal plate in the two previous screens. Why is that? If you looked at their lab notebook to find out why he changed the design, you'll find no reason listed. That information is lost. Could there have been some really good thinking or was it just a mistake? Perhaps he wanted to protect people from being burned by the hot wire (an intentional "pro" for that design); or perhaps the upward flow of heat would melt the plastic parts of the alligator clips (an unintended "con" for that design). We will probably never know.

7. You need to think out what you're going to build carefully before you start to cut the parts. Brandon cut four pieces of metal (one for each of the four ignition chambers that will be in the Transport apparatus) using the size of the adjustable height device as a model. There are two potential problems here. One is that the adjustable height device (designed to test materials) may not be the right size for the ignition chamber. Another is that, once you cut the materials, you can't use them if you find they need to be bigger. Notice also that Brandon is using good safety procedures while he cut the metal; goggles to protect his eyes from metal fragments and heavy-duty gloves to protect his hands from the saw blade.

8. The sparks in these photographs are small pieces of metal that break away as the grinding wheel rubs against the metal plate. So much heat is created by the friction that the metal pieces glow. The particles are very tiny and "burn up" quickly; much like meteorite that burns up in our atmosphere as they bump into air molecules. Look closely at the sparks in the photographs which were taken with an exposure time is 1/25 of a second. Each streak, therefore, portrays the distance the sparks traveled in the exposure time. How fast do they go? It looks like they went ~2 inches in 0.04 seconds exposure time.
Spark speed = (2 in/0.04 ~~sec~~) x (1 ft/12 in) x (1 mi/5280 ft) x (3600 ~~sec~~/1 hr) = 2.84 miles/hour which is walking speed.

11. Look closely at the alternate (roll-over) photograph on this screen. The Nichrome wire isn't in a straight line while being measured with the ruler; it is not six inches long, it is about seven or eight inches long. Suggest that you ask the students if it matters that the wire isn't straight while making the measurement, but that you not tell them that it does matter and why. When you get to the next screen you will see that Calvin used six inches to graph the resistance versus wire length so the graph does not portray the real relationship between resistance measurement and wire length. Notice also that the meter displays 0.8 ohms (a unit of resistance), but the graph (next screen) plots 1.0 ohms.

12. There are three additional things wrong with the graph of Wire Resistance (y-axis) versus Wire Length (x-axis). Notice in the data table that there is no measurement for zero wire length; yet in the graph, a line is drawn from the 0,0 coordinate to the first real data point. This falsely accentuates the slope of that line. Notice also that there is a steep slope between the last two points. However, if the last point had been plotted at 7 or 8 inches instead of the incorrectly measured 6 inches (see last screen), the slope would be lower. Additionally, the last data point was measured twice (see the 0.8 and 1.0 ohms in the data table) but only the second measurement was plotted, not the average of the two valid measurements.

13. This was a very cleverly done test; these students were able to see what happens to two different lengths of Nichrome wire without cutting the wire itself (1-inch length in this screen, 6-inch length in the next screen). Your students may think that, since the wire is the same length in both tests, that it is really two tests of the same thing. However, the excess wire to the left of the left alligator clip is not in the circuit. Since the far left end of the wire isn't part of a complete circuit, the electricity can't go in that direction. The students also improvised by using the ignition technology (in the form of the adjustable height device) to test the two different wire lengths.

14. As incandescent (glowing from intense heat) objects get hotter, their color changes from a deep red to a bright red, to yellow and then to a bluish-white color. The color gives scientists clues about the temperature of the object that is glowing. Is the wire in this screen that is glowing dark red safe to touch because it is not as hot as the brighter red color from the previous screen? While it is not as hot, both wires are hot enough to give you s severe burn if you accidentally touched them. What other objects do scientists study that glow at different temperatures? Our Sun and other stars. They can also tell what kinds of elements the stars are made of by studying their colors with an instruments called a spectrograph.

15. Calvin, Victoria and Samantha couldn't use the adjustable height device because it wasn't long enough to go across the ash tray. They needed a longer metal plate but all of the galvanized steel had been cut into smaller pieces (see screen 7) in anticipation of using adjustable height device (originally designed for another purpose) in all four chambers. Their new design took into account the cigarette loading device and ash tray. With the metal plate horizontal, the cigarette ashes wouldn't fall into the ash tray (alligator clips up, metal plate in the way) or the smoke wouldn't be free to drift upward (alligator clips down, metal plate obstructing the smoke). Moving the metal plate to a vertical position solved all of these problems.

These are controls are for incremental viewing of text, listening to student reading the text (if available), navigating screen-to-screen and in multi-screen jumps, viewing additional details (if available).

Each page describing the students' research has their objective(s), or component tasks, prominently displayed in the banner for all screens as continual reminder about the purpose of their work.

Each page describing the students' research contains up to 28 screens. Visitors can go to any screen by selecting the screen's number or the screen's primary photo caption from this menu.

There are generally too many screens in a page for a single viewing in a classroom setting. This menu lets the teacher select any of the predefined screens to show an abridged but coherent story.

This button controls display of all the small help symbols. Click to show them, double-click to hide them. It's a way to minimize clutter and see what the screen looks like with an LCD projector.

As visitors view successive screens, the text explaining the students' work is initially hidden. Clicking this button shows all text for all screens; double-clicking hides all of the text again.

As visitors view successive screens, the text explaining the students' work is initially hidden. Clicking this button shows all text + vocabulary for all screens; double clicking hides it all again.

Clicking this button displays an enlarged version of all pictures in all screens. Then the visitor can move through the screens viewing only those pictures. Clicking on any one of them hides them all.

This is the email address of the SFES Research Center. Clicking on that link will open your computer's default email account allowing you to communicate with the Research Center Director.

Clicking the Welcome link will bring you to a welcoming message from the three Research Center Advisory Group members. SFES is proud to have them guide this study and help our students learn.

Clicking the Tutorial Link takes you to a copy of the Ignition (Activity), Prototype (Objective) page. The page's help symbols call up concise/detailed descriptions of nearby interactive features.

Clicking the Home Page link takes you back to the Home page which contains six slide shows that provide a sample of the students' S-T-E-M and Health research undertaken in this study.

Clicking on the Start Here link will bring you to a brief explanation of how the Activities and Objectives are organized and how to get to them in this Website.

The Activities Menu provides links to the Summary page for each of the 20 Activities undertaken by the students. Activities not yet documented have grayed Menu Items as placeholders.

The Objectives Menu normally contains the Objectives for each respective Activity (from the Activities menu above). They were disabled in this tutorial since its not the real Ignition Activity.

The General Information Menu provides access to information about the Research Center, the Website, Help Information and our Contributors. Some of these pages are still under construction.

The References Menu provides access to a Dictionary (just started) and the Health, S-T-E-M Encyclopedias (not started); which will contain information from, or in support of, the students' research.

The Copyright notice reminds visitors that this material is copyrighted and the Copyright link encourages widespread (but not-for-fee) use of the material for educational purposes.

Above each photograph is caption summarizing what is shown in the photo. The caption for each screen is listed in both menus in the banner and takes visitors directly to any screen in the page.

Most screens are initially displayed with one photograph. Cursor over the photo in screen 1 displays a close-up of the students. Clicking displays an enlarged version and clicking again hides it.

Cursor over each of these six photographs displays the relevant background information in the banner and an enlarged photograph or an alternative photograph from a different perspective or time.

Most of the screens have a pair of photographs illustrating the main point of the screen. Cursor back and forth across the center line switches them and their title; click either for an enlarged view.

These six photographs are specific illustrations for the general conclusions on this screen. Cursor over displays each photograph's respective text in the banner and enlarged view of the photograph.

Alongside each photograph are two short paragraphs that explain what the students did. The buttons at the bottom of the screen (numbered 1 & 2) bring in that text.

Putting the cursor over a photograph number (in the conclusions) displays the banner text for that specific numbered example but does not obscure the conclusions with an enlarged photograph.

Putting the cursor-over these terms displays a short definition in the Banner. Clicking the term takes you to the Dictionary for a more complete definition. The V button activates the terms.

Cursor over a photograph displays text in the banner explaining the activity pictured and highlights the date. The highlighted date helps to visually identify the photograph for which the text applies.

Moving the cursor back and forth across the centerline of the photograph not only switches the photos but also changes the title if warranted and sometimes displays annotation.

These photographs contain numbers (1-6) that are highlighted when the cursor is over the photograph. This makes it easy to visually connect the banner text with its respective photograph.

Moving the cursor over some photographs brings up blue graphics outlining sections of the photograph. Enlarged views of those sections are displayed depending upon the cursor location.

Put the cursor-over the question under the photograph (previously displayed by the Q button) to display a suggested answer in the banner. This should be the start of a classroom dialog.

This button displays the first paragraph of text describing what the students did. Click and the text appears, double-click and the text is hidden. Note, terms to be defined initially appear in italic font.

This button displays (click) and hides (double-click) the second paragraph of text. Buttons 1 & 2, together, are intended to allow the teacher to meter out the information at a good learning rate.

Click the V button to activate the vocabulary terms and turn them blue/bold/italic (double-click deactivates them). Mouse-over brings up a short definition and click takes you to the dictionary.

Click the Q button to display a question under the photograph in red font. This question is usually a S-T-E-M or health related topic that may not necessarily have a straightforward answer.

When the screen is refreshed (e.g., returning from another screen), the text (displayed by the 1, 2, V, Q buttons) returns in its original hidden state. The All button displays all of the text at once.

Screens that contain the sound control have audio of the students reading the screen's text. The right-pointing triangle is the play button which turns to a pause button when clicked.

The sound control's down-pointing arrow is access to the system parameters. The "Plug-in Settings..." can be used to turn off the "Play Movies Automatically" if all voices play simultaneously.

Cursor over the T provides teacher guidance on a screen-by-screen basis. It contains background, cautions, experience and questions; information indespensible for effective teaching from this material.

Unlike the small help symbols in this tutorial, this larger help symbol is on all screens. It takes visitors to the section of the Helpful Hints that explains all of the page controls.

This menu will contain the results of additional S-T-E-M and Health research done by students at SFES and other schools, if any want to participate. The menus will be unhidden when there is content.

Notice that the menu for Additional Details is missing on this screen (but it was in view on screen 1). This is the more normal state; appearing only if additional details have been documented.

This Website has been designed for classroom viewing using an LCD projector. While scrolling can be used, it is more effective to view it screen-by-screen using these Down and Up arrows.

There are up to 28 screens in each Activity/Objective; far more than can be used in one classroom sitting. The double down arrows take the students through the most important 9 screens.

This is the screen number. It is used in both menus in the banner (along with the photo caption) to take visitors to any specific screen. Also shown here are the total number of screens.