BP Technology Challenge Attempt 2

Team One's effective parachute drop

Following the failure of our first attempt at this challenge we needed to reflect on what went wrong and how we could improve our method of delivering the egg intact to the trapped miner.

These were some of the teams thoughts:

Team One.



Team Two successfully delivering the goods



Problems: "The bag didn't catch air", "the egg was placed on an angle in the basket", "the egg wasn't cushioned enough".



Improvements to be made: "cushion the egg more and make sure it is held vertical in the cardboard basket", "make a bigger parachute to catch more air."



Team Two

Problems: "The drop was too big and the egg wasn't cushioned properly."



Improvements to be made: "lessen or totally eliminate the drop by using the paper as rope held together with masking tape."



 A couple of days later we had another go with much more success. Both eggs survived completely intact. Both teams agreed that Team Two's method allowed greater accuracy and control in delivering the goods.

BP Technology Challenge Attempt One



Team One ready to release their parachute



Earlier this week we worked together to complete this challenge.



Our team has found a person who is trapped in a mine shaft and is badly in need of some pain killers until further help can arrive. Our team had to design a container which could be dropped 4m but would not allow the medicine bottle (a raw egg) in the container to break when it lands on rocks at the bottom.





Team Two ready to release their egg



We were able to use 4 sheets of A4 photocopy paper, 1m string, 1 A5 sheet of thin card, 1m masking tape, a plastic shopping bag and scissors (for constuction only).



Success was judged on whther the egg was totally intact, cracked or smashed when it is taken from the container at the bottom of the cliff.



The two teams devised different methods for delivering the medicine. Team One used the plastic bag to create a parachute to carry the carefully packaged egg and Team Two used the string and the masking tape to lower the carefully packaged egg as close to the ground as possible before releasing it.


Unfortunately both eggs were smashed on the rocks at the bottom of the mine shaft. Now what?





Old Age

How do you view old age? Two different views are explored by different poets. Describe the view of old age as portrayed in "Old Man Old Man" by UA Fanthorpe and "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, and show how the poets convey their different viewpoints. Use examples from the texts to support your statements.


Show clearly which poem you identify with more and why.

World Rowing Champs 2010

Currently the World Rowing Champs are underway at Lake Karapiro. The spotlight is on New Zealand as viewers around the world follow the progress of their rowing crews. This is a fantastic opportunity to show case New Zealand on the international stage. Unfortunately the event attracted some unwanted publicity even before it had begun. Read this linked article to find out about this negative exposure.
Two thefts mar build up to World Rowing Champs
How do events like this impact on New Zealand? How do such experiences affect the athletes involved?

Write a comment from the viewpoint of either;

• a potential tourist to New Zealand
• a rower from the Austrian rowing team
• a rower  from another competing team