Transportation

During the first semester, Transportations students explore the foundations of the various systems required for transport. Topics include structural, mechanical, electrical, and fluid systems. The students incorporate these topics in the design of a small scale Rube Goldberg type machine. In the end of the project, the students will link the various contraptions so that one device will trigger the next on in line. Near the end of the semester, the students begin designing a robot capable of performing a simple task in their study of land transportation. During this section, students will be exposed to torque, velocity ratio, angular velocity, linear velocity, and mechanical advantage. Students will also learn about cams, pulleys, clutches, torque converters, braking systems, steering systems and many other essential topics under the category of land transportation.
During second semester, students will also begin the design and building of cardboard boats when they get to the section on water transportation.. They will be exposed to topics such as displacement, bouyancy, weight density, volume, and other major topics related to water transportation. Once students have done their calculations for buoyancy, they must test their design by rowing it across the school swimming pool. When students get to the air transportation section, they will design various transport devices such as magnetic levitating models, hover craft, propellor driven airplanes, and gliders. For the motorized flight of a balsa flyer, the students design and wire their own power source for the airplane using 1/8 mini stereo cables and a power adapter.Other topics in this course include aerodynamics, orbits, and rocketry. To view a promotional video of this course, click here.