Bloomington High School North, Nikean, 2018, Page 40

Description:	<IENd=OBJECTIVE BE INQUISITIVEXPERIMENTALAccording to JuniorClaire Hellwig, the HonorsPhysics boat race sank moreboats than the world wars.Just how many?Most of them! A lot ofthem! Id say nearly all ofthem got some waterdamage. Mine was soggy atthe end of it. But, there wereplenty that made it. Minemade it through the first tworaces, but at the third racemine started to sink, Hellwigsaid.The key, it seems, is inthe first semesterspreparation and research.We had to do equationsto figure out how much waterwould be displaced. Wefigured out how big our boatneeded to be, how muchsurface area it need to be,she said. Using our weightwe figured out where thewater level would reach.Each student built theirown boat out of just three,permissible materials:cardboard, plastic sheathingand duct tape. This was theculminating project for the fallsemesters subject matter,and more than just thestudents got toenjoy the event asI Hellwig noticed howquite a crowd gathered in thebleachers to witness thisexciting spectacle.Hellwig was also amazedthat her boat made it through allthree rounds.The most surprising thingwas that my boat worked! I justmade it out of a box from mydresser, she said. Even thoughher craft took on some water,she reasoned her plasticsheathing job allowed water topenetrate, here and there. Plus,the physical actions of theboaters likely allowed water toreach the cardboard, too.Youre also paddling, andthose splashes can get in theboat, Hellwig said.Looking back on the entireprocess, Hellwig can offer somereliable guidelines fornext years studentboaters.Dont make ittoo big, but also nottoo small. Dontmake it toocomplicated, shesaid. One studentsboat was a lovelycanoe design,however it tippedover sending thatracer into the pool.Just anotherday at the raceabove: Claire Hellwig, 11, keeps her eye on thecompetition while finishing in third place!below some boats just cant even.
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomnorth/id/8639
Collection:	Bloomington High School North

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