SW Ohio, Brian Lien, High School Technology Education Teacher

Recently students from Brian Lien's Engineering Your Future class at Princeton High School in Cincinnati participated in a unique physics lesson. They wrote their names on Styrofoam cups and Sheli Smith, from the PAST Foundation in Columbus, took them on a scientific study in the Gulf of Mexico. She attached the cups from Princeton and other schools in Ohio to an ROV. The ROV was going to study a ship wreck that was in 7,400 feet of water. These cups were subjected to great pressures: 3322.2 psi (see below)

Pressure at 7,400 feet deep:

For every 10m or about 33 feet the pressure increases 1atm (atmosphere)-- At sea level there is 1 atm of pressure

So 7,400’ deep = 2255m/10m = 225.5 atm increase from sea level this means that total pressure is 226 atm.

For psi multiply atm*14.7
So the pressure at 2255m in psi is 226*14.7 = 3322.2 psi

When the cups came back they were a little over 1 inch tall. I took these cups to the Physics teacher and advanced math teacher. They both want to use them as demonstrations in their class. We started talking about the effects of physics on the cups. Students asked questions like why weren’t the cups just flattened? What would happen to me if I went down at that depth? It got them thinking. They wanted to know how the cups went down. We emailed Sheli and she told us she put them into a mesh bag and wire tied the bag to the ROV. The cups were just stacked in randomly. The physics teacher, math teacher, and I began discussing with the students what might happen to different cups. We want to try different size cups and cups with paint or screen printing on the outside that might not let the air to be pushed out. We are going to propose this to Sheli for next year. We want to make a full lesson out of this.

Now, this may not seem like much but because of this connection I made with the PAST Foundation on my ROV project that led to this fun activity. This activity is leading to another venture with them. They would like our school plus others in Ohio to help prototype better end effectors (ROV hands if you will) for Jason 2. They found they needed better dexterity at depths. My point is making connections outside of the classroom can and is very important. It will lead to real world problems your students can work on. Get out and make a connection and let us know what you did. Businesses in your community are willing to work with you; you just need to find the right person. As my school board member says, “Do something, do something now”. Get it started and you will find all sorts of good PR for your class, your students, and your school. You be the next one to send information out about the connection you made and how it has improved your classroom.

Take a look at the article below for more information.

http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/C2/20091014/NEWS/910140387

Brian Lien
Princeton High School
Technology Education Teacher
Delivering the "T&E" in STEM
October 16, 2009