The behaviour of matter can be explained by the kinetic molecular theory

Molecular Simulator

Introduction:

This project taught me how complex science can be when concerning atoms and scientific theories. For this project we were tasked with using scratch to make either a game or simulator. The game or simulator must have elements of kinetic molecular theory and the person trying out the game or simulator must be able to interact with the code by touching or pressing button on their keyboard. Overall, I found this project tough due to my lack of skill in coding however, I’m very happy with my end result.

Milestone one:

For milestone one we had to make a mind map of all the knowledge we have on the subject of matter. Before starting the milestone we went into groups of four and wrote question that related to the subject of matter. Next time I would like to improve the information I placed in my final mind map. I should of used website or textbooks pages in basecamp in order to add more branches on my mind map and expand on the main idea of matter. However, I think I did a good job of showing visually appealing graphics that show key elements of kinetic molecular theory. In general, this was a good beginning to the project

Milestone four:

For Milestone 4 we had to create the basic plan for how we were going to create our simulator or game. I chose to create a simulator due to how I thought it would be easier and simpler to make compared to a game. One of the best aspect of my milestone four is the designers included in the manual. I think I made colourful distinct design that even though I only used around half in my final product, I’m proud of the work I put into each molecule/atom.However, I think I cold of improved getter accurate and easier to understand temperatures for each of the atoms/molecules. Overall, if I had to do this project again I would of tried to add more detail.

Milestone five:

Milestone five was the part of this project I found the most challenging and fun to work on. At the start of the project I had a very tough with the control for my molecules. I couldn’t figure out how to code the temperature in my project that would allow the player to control the temperature and allow the molecules to be affected by the temperature. Eventually, due to a glitch in my code my game broke and I had to start over from scratch. Fortunately, I received help from Teva and Alicia, I don’t think I could of done it without them. During the revision of my simulator I redrew a lot of my original design due to how most of them were either inaccurate, wouldn’t work in my game or just not visually appealing. If I were to start this milestone over again I would ask for help sooner so I wouldn’t have to restart. However, I think I made very colourful and visually appealing sprite and background designs. Overall, even though creating the final product was tough, I was able to create decent simulator in the end.

Core Competencies:

Questioning and predicting: Demonstrate a sustained curiosity about a scientific topic or problem of personal interest?

I somewhat shown or completed this competence in my work. I showed this when studying and taking note from the textbook. I also showed my interest in my coding project when showing different types of atoms. However, I think I didn’t give my full effort into this competence and many of the examples given I didn’t try as well as I know I could

Reasoning and analyzing: Use logic patterns to solve puzzles and play games? 

I think I kind of met this competence. My simulator is quite simple and doesn’t include and puzzles or patterns you need to see in order to complete the simulator. It only used temperature to change the state of matter and the space bar and multiples letter to continue or change the setting of my simulator. In the future, I can achieve this competence by adding more cool and interesting features that require brain power and flexibility in my next final product.

Scientific communication: communicate ideas, findings, and solution to problems, using scientific language, representation, and digital technologies?

I think I fully met this competence in all of my work. This can been seen in the worksheets that I filled in where I used scientific ideas to answer challenging questions. This can also be seen in my molecular simulator where a represent movement of different types atoms/molecules and changes of states. Overall, I’m proud of the work I did in order to complete this competence in the project.

Conclusion:

Overall, I found this project very difficult however, I’m glad I had the chance to try it out and I really want to do something similar in the future. I really loved the freedom given in this project and how much class time we had to finish our final product. I also loved how much interest and cool fact I learned about atoms and molecules that I never even knew before. I hope that in the future I’m able be both challenged and have a fun and enjoyable time.