User:Caroline Norman24/enes-100/project 3

Project Preference
Water Beads

Problem Statement
''In one or two sentences, describe the project that your group will be working on. Identify what CDIO phase (Conceive, Design, Implement, or Operate) your group will complete in this project cycle.''

Project Plan
Briefly describe your group's plan for the next 4 weeks, including major tasks that will be completed each week.

Project Preference
''Your class was given a list of projects to choose from. Please list the three projects you want to work on, from highest to lowest.''

Problem Statement
''In one or two sentences, describe the project that your group will be working on. Identify what CDIO phase (Conceive, Design, Implement, or Operate) your group will complete in this project cycle.''

Project Plan
Briefly describe your group's plan for the next 4 weeks, including major tasks that will be completed each week.

Week1 Narrative
The first part was to show that the beads do expand in water. The next part was to see if they would expand in oil. The test was done with 1 tea spoon of canola oil and 6 beads in 1 cup. In another cup there was 1 tea spoon of olive oil and 6 beads. The canola oil did not get absorbed by the beads at all over the course of 3 days. The olive oil completely dissolved the beads over the course of 3 days.

The final part was to see if the beads would absorb water in an oil and water mixture. In one cup it was 1 tea spoon canola oil to 3 table spoons water with 6 beads and in another cup it was 1 tea spoon olive oil to 3 table spoons water with 6 beads. In both cases the beads absorbed the water but not the oil.

The next step is to prove that the olive oil actually dissolved the beads and that it is not a fluke. Also to test the beads in other liquids besides oil to see if they absorb any other liquid.

Week2 Narrative
The application of the water beads that is being pursued is a mop function. The goal was to see if the beads would absorb any other liquids besides water. Six beads were put in 1/4 cup of Ginger Ale, 1/4 cup of Pepsi, 1/4 a cup of Sprite, 1/4 cup of Milk.

The Ginger Ale beads expanded to 7mm, the Pepsi beads expanded to 9mm, the Sprite beads expanded to 8mm and the Milk beads expanded to 9mm.

The next step is to try other liquids and see if different ratios mixed will still have the beads absorb the liquid.

Week3 Narrative
The goal was to crush the beads to a powder because this increased the surface area of the beads. This was done by hitting them with a hammer. The powder is shown in the second picture. A teaspoon of each liquid was taken and the crushed beads were poured on top of it just like the pictures with the teaspoons show. Then the time was kept to see how long it took for the crushed beads to absorb all the liquid and turn into the pictures that have the cups with the crushed beads in them.

The milk took the longest because it has the least amount of water in it. The ingredient's list of milk does not have water on it. Where as the Pepsi, Sprite and Ginger Ale all have carbonated water as their first ingredient. The crushed beads in the Pepsi, Milk and Ginger Ale took in some of the color of the surrounding liquid. Since the crushed beads have more surface area then the original beads they were able to absorb more liquid faster. The next step would be to see if this concept holds true if the crushed beads are put in a larger amount of the liquid.