For the semester, I have worked every Monday and on weekends to try to make a clean and easy water filter. I originally chose this idea because during Winter break last year, I traveled to India. In India, tap water is not considered clean, so people buy gallons of plastic water bottles, or if they are rich enough, they have an in home filter. Millions more get their water from polluted lakes and streams. This project was originally a struggle for me. I am not that good a building really intricate things, so a big part of my design was to make something simple that I could assemble.
My project was divided into 3 parts. One part was researching a designing an acceptable, easy filter that fit my requirements. After many weeks of looking at filters that were too complex or too expensive to make, I eventually came up with the idea of a sand and charcoal filter. Sand filters out big pollutants, and the carbon of charcoal helps trap smaller pollutants. I still needed to come up with an idea to boil the water to kill bacteria in it. I came up with an idea of a solar heater.
I would say my project was kind of successful. I was able to finish part 1 and 2 with relative success. Building the filter took more time than expected. The first time, the charcoal was not ground up enough, so the water passed right through it. The second time, water leaked out of the sides into the bucket without being filtered. The third time, it actually worked. There was a little sand and some small pieces of charcoal, though. Part 3 has not been completely finished yet, and I plan on finishing and testing it this weekend.
I hope to continue this project in the future. This is something that I am really passionate about. I hope in the future to use more tech savvy parts to filter the water better. I will also try to modify the design to purify the water completely without parts of the filter being mixed in with it.
I learned a lot during my project. Some practical skills that I learned included basic engineering and use of drills. I also learned the process of trial and error along with perseverance. My project failed many times, but I picked myself up and continued modifying it until it worked. If I can get my project to fully work, I hope I can bring it to my parents' native village, where there is no running water, to help those in need. Overall, even though I have not been totally successful, I have learned a lot and have had a lot of fun.
Basic Outline for Presentation
I. Begin story about India trip
II. Tell process of researching, designing and building
III. Mention successes and failures
IV. Future plans
V. Applications
My project was divided into 3 parts. One part was researching a designing an acceptable, easy filter that fit my requirements. After many weeks of looking at filters that were too complex or too expensive to make, I eventually came up with the idea of a sand and charcoal filter. Sand filters out big pollutants, and the carbon of charcoal helps trap smaller pollutants. I still needed to come up with an idea to boil the water to kill bacteria in it. I came up with an idea of a solar heater.
I would say my project was kind of successful. I was able to finish part 1 and 2 with relative success. Building the filter took more time than expected. The first time, the charcoal was not ground up enough, so the water passed right through it. The second time, water leaked out of the sides into the bucket without being filtered. The third time, it actually worked. There was a little sand and some small pieces of charcoal, though. Part 3 has not been completely finished yet, and I plan on finishing and testing it this weekend.
I hope to continue this project in the future. This is something that I am really passionate about. I hope in the future to use more tech savvy parts to filter the water better. I will also try to modify the design to purify the water completely without parts of the filter being mixed in with it.
I learned a lot during my project. Some practical skills that I learned included basic engineering and use of drills. I also learned the process of trial and error along with perseverance. My project failed many times, but I picked myself up and continued modifying it until it worked. If I can get my project to fully work, I hope I can bring it to my parents' native village, where there is no running water, to help those in need. Overall, even though I have not been totally successful, I have learned a lot and have had a lot of fun.
Basic Outline for Presentation
I. Begin story about India trip
II. Tell process of researching, designing and building
III. Mention successes and failures
IV. Future plans
V. Applications
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