How can we test the Pythagorean theorem and the law of reflection?

Introduction:

This project taught me how complex and interesting light can be. Before this project I didn’t know anything about light and reflection. This caused me to be very nervous just before starting this project because I had no previous knowledge on light. However, with hard work and effort I gained a basic understanding on reflection and light. I hope we can do more projects similar to this one in the future.

Milestone One:

Milestone one we had to come with question concerning light and make a brainstorm in MindNode. Before this milestone we were pared into group of four and made question about light. I used the questions my group created and other group questions that wasn’t considered in my group. One detail I think I could of improved on was adding more questions and thoughts on my mind map. I should of added pictures, more questions and googled the answers to at least a few of my questions. However, I think I did amazing on the design of my brainstorm. I loved the main colours of the theme I decided upon and the ascetics of the font. In general, this milestone gave me a good idea on what the next milestone will look like.

Milestone Two:

I found the Pythagorean Theorem test to be extremely easy and simple. For this milestone we were tasked with doing a test on then academy about the Pythagorean theorem. The test was extremely simple and you only had to answer around five questions. However, one thing I could of done better was being more patient in this project. As soon as I got the minimum grade to pass the milestone I decided to hand it in the assignment. This caused me to only get a sun when I was fully capable of getting a rainbow if I only tried harder. I hope in the future even if I think I project is easy and simple I will put extra care into the final product.

Milestone Three:

Milestone three I found somewhat challenging and confusing. We worked in group of four and our task was to the law of reflection. The law of reflection is a set of rules light follows when reflection off a reflective surface. One thing I think we did fantastic is work together to create a complete milestone. Each group member contributed to the project in their own special way. However, one thing we could of improved was adding more detail to the data or results of the project. The data is bland and I only had one sentence for each triangle we measured. Next time I want to be more dedicated in my work.

Milestone Four:

I worked extremely hard for the fourth milestones and I am proud of my final grade. For this milestone we had to come up with a potential design for our final milestone in a format similar to milestone three. I wanted to create a right angled triangle since it was easy to confirm if the triangle was actually right angled with the Pythagorean Theorem. However, I had issues actually creating a right angled triangle thus I made four different triangles, only two of the triangle ending up being right angled triangles I had a great deal of trouble In the milestone I think I did an amazing job with doing the correct math for each of my triangles. However, one detail I need to improve on next time is writing a longer hypothesis for my next experiment. This milestone I found tricky but, enjoyable in the end.

Milestone Five

In milestone five we had to create our own laser display using a laser, mirrors, paper and cardboard Our group decided upon a star since it was different from all of the other opinion which were all just right angled triangles. At first we had difficult time using the mirrors in order to create a star however, once we changed the shape of the star in order for it to be easier to copy the shape of the star, everything turned out decent.

One thing we did amazing on is having the correct measurements. We measure each angled and side to make sure that it was mathematical correct. One thing I believe we needed to improve was to have a better plan for what meant to be done at the start of the project. At the start of the project we didn’t have a clear plan and weren’t fully prepared which caused us to change big details concerning the project. These changes made it harder to complete the project and caused us to be one of last groups done however, were complete necessary if we want our laser to actually work. The end result looked fantastic and I believed represent how much work went into this project

Blog Posts of Group Members:

http://www.blog44.ca/faiths/2021/01/27/laser-laws-project/

http://www.blog44.ca/patrickj/2021/01/26/laser-laws-reflection/

Core Competencies:

Demonstrate a sustained intellectual curiosity about a scientific topic or problem or personal interest?

I believe I somewhat achieve this competence. Even thought I didn’t talk to anyone during class, I sometime got distracted by other people conversations or just stare at the computer screen for a long time. Other than those moments I tried hard to take notes and answer the scientific questions to the best of my abilities. I showed this in my science worksheets by taking notes on most of the workbook page we work on. Overall, I think I did a decent job at this competence.

Represent mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms?

I believe I fully met the competence for representing mathematical ideas in concrete, pictorial, and symbolic forms. For milestone four I used math to either prove or disprove that the triangle is right angled. I additionally used this competence in the Pythagorean theorem experiment. I used this competence by showing the Pythagorean theorem in my data/analysis for three triangles. Overall, I think this competence I excelled at the most.

Co-operatively design projects?

I had few difficulties with this competence. On milestone three I worked really well with others and did most of the writing for the project. However, in milestone five I found it somewhat hard to contribute to the group. This is due to me not fully understanding how I was supposed to create a laser display. In the future, I will try to pay more attention when the teacher is giving instruction and ask other student for clarification on the assignment.

Conclusion:

The answer to the driving question is with our laser display. The laser display incorporated both the law of reflection and the Pythagorean Theorem. Our star had three right angled triangles with made us use the Pythagorean theorem in order to prove those were in fact right angled triangles. We used the law of reflection in how we used mirrors to make the shape of the star. Overall, this project taught me how to incorporate two important scientific concepts in one experiment.