The Water Cup Clock

  This is my 3rd Action Project in Light and Sound and I am creating a new version of a water clock. I researched on what the water clock was and got inspired to build my new design. During the 3rd unit I mainly learned about understanding how clocks work and how they have improved over the years. I created a clock to understand in depth of how clocks work. I sketched out how I would make my clock and asked April Leffridge what she thought about the idea and she was excited to see me put my ideas to work. I am very proud of the idea I created. 



     April is an average clock user and only knew about a few other clocks. Such as the hour glass, the pendulum clock and the everyday digital and analog clocks. When I began to tell her about the water clock she was amazed and didn't really know that they were used 100's of years ago. I then told her how my water cup clock functions below. 

  
  My device will look like a cup with two thick layers, and filled with water. It will be almost quiet, it will be the average cup size, and have no smell to it.
The units will be measured in hours. I chose this specific unit of time because it's the most common and easy to use. My device employs sound to tell time, by making a filling sound indicating that the 12:00 a.m. has started again. This new water clock device can be seen. It has no specific smell because it’s water, of course you can’t taste it, but obviously you can only see it. It’s not going be as large as the old water clocks back in the day but the size will be as big as a normal sized cup.
It's meaningful because without one of my many designs of telling time we will be lost without it. My design is significant because one of the most unique ways of telling time.
I applied core math and science to my time telling device by calculating how much water and or how dense the water will have to be drained out into the second layer of the cup over every 24 hours.
Within the design of this water clock cup I will need to find the circumference of how large the bottom and the top of my cup will have to be to fit a good amount of water into it.
The history of the water clock dates back to 600 B.C. The water clock was only used from 600 BC to 1500 AD The relationship between my clock and the originals are that they both tell time with water and large hour measurements.

"Everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein

The quote above is stating that if anything was much simpler it wouldn't be good. A prime example could be if you learned everything in school the most simplest way, by the time you experience real world experiences you wouldn't be able to handle it. Because when you're done with school your boss won't grade you and let you re-do what you did wrong. That's not how things work in life. In reality things need to be complex and make you think, everything cant be "simpler".


The short video below will show The Water Cup Clock

Insufficient Funds

It's my final action project for my Argument course and we're closing with bang. All throughout this course we learned and studied about different arguments from all around the world. Starting with how country's became about and which country's fought for their independence. Such as the Haitian Revolution, the bread riots in Paris and the Russian Revolution. For this action project we are arguing and coming up with a dialect to go against something that we feel should be changed. For example, I am creating a dialect on why Chicago transportation prices are a little too high. I am most proud of my project because I can get straight forward answers from a few people that I interviewed.

• CTA Bus Driver (Route 55th to Museum of Science and Industry)
• Fellow GCE Student Nicolle Cardona  

One out of the two interviewee's were available during the questioning below.

B.Y.O.F (ARG 2 Food Amendment)

INTRODUCTION
It's the second Argument Action Project and we're already making changes to the laws of our school.
We created our own amendments/rules by revising and changing the originals that were created for us by the teachers. We compared unjust  school rules to many different historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Haitian Declaration of Independence. From these comparisons, we studied examples of excellence to create our own. I am most proud of my amendment because it's something that I really want to see change in my school community. 

             Fotolia, (January 2014). 5 Healthy Snacks 

OLD RULE

“NO food is allowed during class or int he classrooms. Snacks are welcome and allowed between class and/or during lunchtime. In the hallways or in the kitchen ONLY."(GCE Code of Conduct)  

This rule is unjust because what if it’s cold outside? Some people want warm drinks all the time when it’s cold and when it’s warm.

Now, I will  convert this unjust rule to a formal argument with a 3-part syllogism;

• (Rule) Major Premise: If students bring food or drink into class, students will be asked to leave. 
• (Case) Minor Premise: Lester is a student who brought food into class.
• (Result) Conclusion: Therefore, Lester was asked to leave class. 

This type of syllogism is called a deduction. A deductive argument comes from an absolute rule. It is fact-based, and universally true. It has no exceptions. This is why it needs changing. 

LOGICAL REASONS TO REVISE
Humans are not computers. Computers do not run off of food and drinks obviously, but they're always focused on what is being researched, typed, or even used for fun always.  Humans are built for...

• Thirst
• Hunger
• Focus
• Energy

LIFE AT SCHOOL 
The changes to the NO Food Policy in my school community will help everybody and benefit them to work more effectively throughout the day if the food/drinks are needed. Students and teachers need some form of food or beverage to get them through the day sometimes, so this will help them greatly.

EVIDENCE
Everyone should eat a balanced diet, but it’s especially important for children and adolescents, whose bodies and brains are still growing. For example, when the brain tell you you're hungry, you have that want and need to eat something right away. Snacking is important for children, and teens because they have smaller stomachs than adults and cannot necessarily eat enough to stay full in one meal or sitting. Children need to be able to refuel throughout the day to maintain energy and focus on academics, and that's where snacking comes in. It's crucial these snacks be health-conscious, as studies show that in states where laws require schools to sell only snacks that meet certain nutrition requirements children gain less weight as they get older. 

NEW RULE 
Food will be allowed in class if needed. For example, a kid is constantly dehydrated and needs water everywhere they go, even when their school does not allow food and drinks in class.

• (Rule) Major Premise: Food and drinks are allowed in class, and you will not be kicked out.
• (Case) Minor Premise: Lester had snacks during class.
• (Result) Conclusion: Therefore, Lester can finish his snacks and not get kicked out of class.

METAPHOR FOR NEW RULE 

A flower cannot blossom without sunlight and minerals.

Teens, and kids cannot progress without their food and nutrients. 

     Rip Van Winkle, (December 2013). Rose 

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
I studied the 10th Amendment of the Constitution of the USA, and the tenth amendment compares to the changes that I want to my school rule about food and drink policy by giving people individual rights to eat or drink something while they’re in class.
The connection between my historical text and my amendment is that they’re both supporting individuals who needs to be supported at the moment. They differ because the 10th Amendment is for every state across the U.S. and this new rule I am creating is only for my high school in the state of Illinois. 

SUPPORT FOR NEW RULE 
This is a sample of the things students are saying about my amendment. Food "helps me concentrate in class by occupying my attention and helping me focus. It will be amazing!" says sophomore BKJ. 

Cosign

ABK
NC
BS
EVH
JL
MD

CITATIONS

• GCE Code of Conduct
• Alissa Fleck, Healthy Eating 2012

The Axe Box Guitar

*It's already the second action project for my Light and Sound class, and we're already creating musical instruments! We learned and studied about how sound waves can travel through the human ear and how we interpret them when the sound waves enter our brain. Some sounds we call noise, if it's annoying and some sounds we call music if it has a melody or tune to it. What I liked most about creating a guitar is the fact that the designing could've been in any way or shape. Without being creative the guitar would've been basic and normal.

     The way my Axe Box Guitar produces sound is when I strum my string, the sound wave vibrations travels through the sound hole and the sound bounces around and pushes out the wavelengths for people to hear it. My guitar is made out of cardboard, metal, tape, wire, and two pencils. The boxed cardboard is the body of the guitar. The neck is made of a long metal pole that runs through the top of the body and holds the wire (guitar string) that you can pluck to make a sound. The two pencils are the bridges for the guitar. I used two bridges because my neck needed to be leveled with the body of my whole guitar. 

     One thing somebody told me about guitars was that --

"Guitars can come in many different shapes and sizes, it still makes music if it can produce a sound" 

 Adam Cohen told me that before I even started building my own guitar. 

   DS (February 5, 2014) Axe Box Guitar (Model) 

DS (February 5, 2014) Axe Box Guitar (Sketch/Calculation) 

~Measurements 

*Neck - 6 1/2" 

*Height - 10 3/4" 

*Width - 9 1/3" 

*Sound Hole (|__|) - 3 1/4" 

*String - 44" 

*Frequency - C#(sharp) 267.54 

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