Defining your Essential Question

1) What is the most important aspect that contributes to a successful pyrotechnic display?

2)  Most important aspect: The aspect that is of the greatest significance in terms of contributing to success.

Successful: Obtaining a desired or positive outcome.
 
Pyrotechnic display: Mainly fireworks put together in a sequence to go along with music or another guide.

3) Safety, occasion and choreography.

4) So far my most important source is my second interview with licensed pyrotechnician Robert Bronner of Pyro Spectacular.

Interview 2 Questions

1. What was it about pyrotechnics that made you want to have a career in it?
2. How long have you worked in the pyrotechnic industry and who do you work for?
3. What kind of work do you do when it comes to creating displays?
4. What college did you go to, and what did you major in?
5. What classes or subjects should I study to get a better understanding of pyrotechnics?
6. Is this your ideal job, or would you want to do something else?
7. Has any of your work been accredited or awarded somehow?

Essential Question

What is most important to consider in creating a successful pyrotechnical display?

a) This question is open ended as many answers such as safety, aesthetics, and multiple others could be brought up and defended.
b) This question allows you to take a stance because the phrase most important allows for a broad range of answers, many of which could be argued to be the most important aspect.
c) The framework for studies includes chemistry involved in making the pyrotechnic devices, engineering required in creating precise equipment, and physics/math in timing of the display.

5 Minute Presentation Reflection

What would you say stood out about your presentation performance and what was most challenging to do and why?

I would say that my opening question was what stood out and got more people interested, since I used specific examples and didn't ask too broad of a question like, "Who knows what nanotechnology is?". The most challenging part of my presentation was trying to condense what I had to say to fit into 5 minutes, since I had to cut out some of the less interesting (but still critical) parts.

Interview 1 Reflection

What is the most important thing I learned from this interview and why?

This interview was on of the main reasons i decided to change my topic from AI to nanotechnology and materials engineering. While I was talking to my interviewee, I realized that my previous topic wasn't as interesting as I thought it was. It was very confining, not as closely integrated with computer science as I thought, and I did not want to have to study it for a whole year. This was important because it made me realize what I really wanted to study.

5 Minute Presentation

Objective:
Students will learn the basics of nanotechnology and how it is used. They will also learn basic engineering terms.

Procedure:
1) Introduce myself and my topic.
2) Define nanotechnology and give some of its general uses.
3) Explain some applications of nano with regards to commercial uses and explain some simple engineering terms.
4) Conclude and ask questions.

Check for Understanding:
I will ask questions at the end to see if students understand. I will also ask questions during my explanations to see if anyone is lost.

Resources/Materials:
I will use a poster maybe the size of a normal 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper with drawings of nanomaterials and its commercial/industry uses.

Interview Check

Who are you interviewing and why?

I am planning on interviewing Dr. Daisy Tang, a professor in Cal Poly Pomona's Computer Science field. Seeing as she is teaching a class on Artificial intelligence, and is teaching in computer sciences, I believe she will be a valuable source and will know a lot about my topic.

What other questions do you want to ask at your interview?

Aside from the assigned questions, I want to ask Dr. Tang about expert systems, how they function, and why the topic seems to be growing at such a rapid rate.

Service Learning

Science Fair

Research Semester 2

Research Semester 1

1.What is your topic?
My  topic is artificial intelligence, the science and engineering of making intelligent machines and computer    programs.

2.Why did you choose this topic?
I chose this topic because I have always read science fiction novels about robots that can think, and I have found the idea very interesting. I have also been interested in how the brain works, and in computers, two aspects the topic seems to incorporate.

3.What do you hope to accomplish after studying this topic all year?
I hope to be able to turn this into a career, and I also hope to be able to write basic computer programs by the end of the school year.

Product

Presentations