User:Odoulorenzo/ENES100/My Work P1

Project Goal
Study the properties of corn starch through scientific experimatation

Week's Assignment
Search for corn starch experiments to get ideas of ways to test corn starch properties

Summary of Work Done
1. Looked at passed projects done with corn starch.

Howard Community College - Fall 2011 - Corn Starch Project

Corn Starch Monsters

Corn Starch and Water

Week's Report
From all the information I found, I concluded that using a speaker system method is the most inexpensive way to test the properties of the Non-Newtonian Fluid, corn starch, since it is requires a smaller amount of product. However, building a pool(tub) filled with corn starch would be a great way to visually experiment corn starch properties at a much greater scale.

Week's Assignment
Find a 50 Hz generator that can be installed to the computer to start testing the corn starch monsters

Build a system to connect the computer to an external speaker

Summary of Work Done
1. Found a test sound site that generates a 50 Hz frequency, which does not needs to be downloaded to the computer

2. Looked for information on how to connect an external speaker to a computer *to learn about the system needed

Week's Report
From the sound test website found multiple frequencies will be able to be tested with the corn starch. Also, from the info collected about how to connect a computer to an outside speaker, I know that will be need an audio cable, a cable stripper, a headphone connector and a speaker.

Week's Assignment
1. Gather all the material need to assemble the cable

2. Put together an audio cable that can be connect from the computer to the speaker

3. Contact engineering professors, engineering club advisers and STEM Program professors, with a proposition for a major scale engineering event to help with the testing of the impact of high and low speed to a corn starch and water mixture

4. If approved Submit an event proposal form to the SGA as part of Engineering Club event

Summary of Work Done
1. Took an audio cable from a  and use it to assemble a cable able to connect a computer to an external speaker. For this, I used a, and.

2. Emailed Professors regarding an engineering event 1

3. Submitted the event proposal form for SGA

4. Created a page for student to submit their projects for the "A Walk Through Engineering Event."

Week's Report
Using the cable assemble during the week, the speakers and corn starch properties are going to be able to be tested this week. I received approval to create and engineering event to test the corn starch at high and low speeds, therefore I submitted the club event proposal to the Student Government Association (SGA). I created a page were where as a group we can monitor the experiments to be tested during the event for security and safety issues.

Week's Assignment
1. Retest the properties of corn starch by analyzing the reaction of the mixture of corn starch and water as different frequencies of waves of sound pass through it

2. Test the efficacy of the cable assembled

3. Try different corn starch to water ratios when testing the properties of corn starch

Summary of Work Done
1. Prepared 3 different ratios of corn starch and water

a. 1:1 b. 4:3

2. Found a way to connect the computer to an amplifier and an amplifier to the speaker *

3. Tested the volume of the frequencies with the help of an amplifier

4. Tested the properties of corn starch at different frequencies: 30 Hz, 40 Hz, 50 Hz, 60 Hz, 100 Hz

Week's Report
In this experiment as I tested the ratios of corn starch the 1:1 ration was too liquefied, while the ratio of 4:3 seemed to be about right in the consistency and texture of the mixture. I notice that mixing this two components together was no easy task as the corn starch clumps at the edges of the containers used and while it appears that perhaps it is wet, in reality it is not the case. I also found out about the importance of keeping the plastic bag fairly close to the sub woofer rather than loose, which might be affecting the transmission of the waves frequency from the speakers to the corn starch. Perhaps I will be testing with more thicker plastic bag than that of a transparent-thinner type used for this experiment. The corn starch started moving in inconsistent patterns when the frequency transmitted was 50 Hz, however, there was more activity of this patterns when the frequency was 60 Hz. Nonetheless, there was not a major movement of the corn starch as a whole, except at the edge of the mixture where some the liquid began racing up ward when the frequency was 60 Hz.

Week's Assignment
1. Retest the corn starch at different ratios of composition and determine the best ratio from the information of this and the past week

2. Looked up information that might indicate a need for thicker plastic bags from the ones used in the firsts experiments

3. Test with a different kind of plastic bag to see if it might be affecting the frequency been pass through from the speaker to the corn starch

Summary of Work Done
1. Received a response the Director of Student Life about some issues concerning safety for the event

2. Plastic bags used in various experiments 1 2 3 4 5

3. Mixed ratio of corn starch to water: (2:1), (4:3)

Week's Report
From the information gathered in different sources of the internet from past experiments on corn starch that people have done, I concluded that the plastic bag has nothing to do the lack of formation of corn starch monsters. However, I learned that the best frequency to test the reaction of corn starch sound is a 20 Hz frequency 1 2  For the purpose of running over the corn starch I determined that the most suitable ration of corn starch to water would be of 4:3, since its thick enough while still liquid enough for easy displacement of the fluid. At last when preparing to test the cable one more time, no frequency was transmitted from the cable to the speaker. This could be due to a malfunction of the cables or miss assessment of the amplifier. I concluded that it couldn't have been the speaker, even so that it was a new one use, because when tried with the old speaker, it did not work either.

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