Also, do you guys think I should do one of the four Khan Academy SAT tests before I start prep just to see where I am with no prep?
@Ak2018 yea, we dont have pltw for enginwering at my school. I was taking engineering 2: drafting and design, which is a class that pretty much taught us Solidworks, a CAD software. I thought it was pretty useful, and i even got the oppertunity to take a test and earn a Certified Solidworks Associate credential (CSWA) so that was pretty cool. As far as a robotics class, I do robotics as a extracurricular, but I am going to try and fit in a college robotics class my senior year, it will be difficult because it has a prereq, but im interested in the class so that will be cool!
@ak2018 They have a PSAT route you can follow too. Just link you CB account and when you’re making a schedule tell them which test you want to study for. It actually shows you how you did on each topic and allows you to have a personalized study plan based on the q’s you missed. There’s only 4 tests, so you have to use them conservatively. Khan Academy actually schedules them for you.
This is completely off topic, but does anyone else get tons of earwigs during the summer? I hate them more than any insect on this planet and they’ve been invading my space lately. There’s one making a home of my shower right now and another was just in my bed. Their stupid shells and ugly *** pinchers will all meet the wrath of my vacuum.
@neptuna I so agree! But quality > quantity! At my school so many people say “Join! Looks good for college!” The adults also say that too…it’s not the most moral thing to do 
I have never seen a earwig until now…I regret hitting the magnifying glass
But good luck to you in the meantime 
@ak2018 this totally the reason why I’m not wanting to join the community service clubs, and I doubt I’ll continue with national honor society. I am considering joining the local red cross chapter (they do monthly volunteering ) out of the goodness of my heart. The time and commitment won’t be college app worthy, but it will be worthy in building and maintaining the goodness in my heart (volunteering for college app does not feel good - I tried…I needed to quit
@snowfairy137 Cool! I’m officially taking my first two Engineering classes next year, one a non-PLTW class, Engineering Explorations I/Robotics, and one PLTW class, Principles of Engineering. I was just looking through the Principles of Engineering curriculum and I like what I see. It’s so great that I’ll be learning about true engineering skills.
I found a syllabus about it online if anyone wants to look at it.
Course Outline:
Unit 1 Energy and Power
Time Days: 49 days
Lesson 1.1 Mechanisms (15 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Engineers and engineering technologists apply math, science, and discipline-specific skills to solve problems.
- Engineering and engineering technology careers offer creative job opportunities for individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds and goals.
- Technical communication can be accomplished in oral, written, and visual forms and must be organized in a clear and concise manner.
- Most mechanisms are composed of gears, sprockets, pulley systems, and simple machines.
- Mechanisms are used to redirect energy within a system by manipulating force, speed, and distance.
- Mechanical advantage ratios mathematically evaluate input work versus output work of mechanisms.
Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson:
It is expected that students will:
• Differentiate between engineering and engineering technology.
• Conduct a professional interview and reflect on it in writing.
• Identify and differentiate among different engineering disciplines.
• Measure forces and distances related to mechanisms.
• Distinguish between the six simple machines, their attributes, and components.
• Calculate mechanical advantage and drive ratios of mechanisms.
• Design, create, and test gear, pulley, and sprocket systems.
• Calculate work and power in mechanical systems.
• Determine efficiency in a mechanical system.
• Design, create, test, and evaluate a compound machine design.
Lesson 1.2 Energy Sources (11 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Energy source classifications include nonrenewable, renewable, and inexhaustible.
- Energy source processes include harnessing, storing, transporting, and converting.
- Energy often needs to be converted from one form to another to meet the needs of a given system.
- An understanding of work, energy, and power is required to determine system efficiency.
- An understanding of the basics of electricity requires the understanding of three fundamental concepts of voltage, current, and resistance.
- The atomic structure of a material determines whether it is a conductor, an insulator, or a semiconductor.
Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson:
It is expected that students will:
• Identify and categorize energy sources as nonrenewable, renewable, or inexhaustible.
• Create and deliver a presentation to explain a specific energy source.
• Summarize and reflect upon information collected during a visit to a local utility company.
• Define the possible types of power conversion.
• Calculate work and power.
• Demonstrate the correct use of a digital multimeter.
• Calculate power in a system that converts energy from electrical to mechanical.
• Determine efficiency of a system that converts an electrical input to a mechanical output.
• Calculate circuit resistance, current, and voltage using Ohm’s law.
• Understand the advantages and disadvantages of parallel and series circuit design in an application.
Lesson 1.3 Energy Applications (10 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Energy management is focused on efficient and accessible energy use.
- System energy requirements must be understood in order to select the proper energy source.
- Energy systems can include multiple energy sources that can be combined to convert energy into useful forms.
- Hydrogen fuel cells create electricity and heat through an electrochemical process that converts hydrogen and oxygen into water.
- Solar cells convert light energy into electricity by using photons to create electron flow.
- Thermodynamics is the study of the effects of work, thermo energy, and energy on a system.
- Thermo energy can transfer via convection, conduction, or radiation.
- Material conductivity, resistance, and energy transfer can be calculated.
Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson:
It is expected that students will:
• Test and apply the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance relating to a photovoltaic cell and a hydrogen fuel cell.
• Experiment with a solar hydrogen system to produce mechanical power.
• Design, construct, and test recyclable insulation materials.
• Test and apply the relationship between R-values and recyclable insulation.
• Complete calculations for conduction, R-values, and radiation.
Lesson 1.4 Design Problem – Energy and Power (13 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Design problems can be solved by individuals or in teams.
- Engineers use a design process to create solutions to existing problems.
- Design briefs are used to identify the problem specifications and to establish project constraints.
- Teamwork requires constant communication to achieve the desired goal.
- Design teams conduct research to develop their knowledge base, stimulate creative ideas, and make informed decisions. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Brainstorm and sketch possible solutions to an existing design problem. • Create a decision-making matrix for a design problem. • Select an approach that meets or satisfies the constraints provided in a design brief. • Create a detailed pictorial sketch or use 3D modeling software to document the best choice, based upon the design team’s decision matrix. • Present a workable solution to the design problem. .
Unit 2 Materials and Structures
Time Days: 40 days
Lesson 2.1 Statics (14 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Laws of motion describe the interaction of forces acting on a body.
- Structural member properties including centroid location, moment of inertia, and modulus of elasticity are important considerations for structure design.
- Static equilibrium occurs when the sum of all forces acting on a body are equal to zero.
- Applied forces are vector quantities with a defined magnitude, direction, and sense, and can be broken into vector components.
- Forces acting at a distance from an axis or point attempt or cause an object to rotate.
- In a statically determinate truss, translational and rotational equilibrium equations can be used to calculate external and internal forces.
- Free body diagrams are used to illustrate and calculate forces acting upon a given body. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Create free body diagrams of objects, identifying all forces acting on the object. • Mathematically locate the centroid of structural members. • Calculate moment of inertia of structural members. • Differentiate between scalar and vector quantities. • Identify magnitude, direction, and sense of a vector. • Calculate the X and Y components given a vector. • Calculate moment forces given a specified axis. • Use equations of equilibrium to calculate unknown forces. • Use the method of joints strategy to determine forces in the members of a statically determinate truss.
Lesson 2.2 Material Properties (11 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Materials are the substances with which all objects are made.
- Materials are composed of elements and area categorized by physical and chemical properties.
- Materials consist of pure elements. Compounds and mixtures and are typically classified as metallic, ceramic, organic, polymeric, and composite.
- Material properties including recyclability and cost are important considerations for engineers when choosing appropriate materials for a design.
- Material selection is based upon mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, and chemical properties.
- Raw materials undergo various manufacturing processes in the production of consumer goods. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Investigate specific material properties related to a common household product. • Conduct investigative non-destructive material property tests on selected common household products. Property testing conducted to identify continuity, ferrous metal, hardness, and flexure. • Calculate weight, volume, mass, density, and surface area of selected common household product • Identify the manufacturing processes used to create the selected common household product. • Identify the recycling codes. • Promote recycling using current media trends.
Lesson 2.3 Material Testing (10 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Engineers utilize a design process and mathematical formulas to solve and document design problems.
- Material testing aids in determining a product’s reliability, safety, and predictability in function.
- Engineers perform destructive and non-destructive tests on material specimens for the purpose of identifying and verifying the properties of various materials.
- Material testing provides a reproducible evaluation of material properties.
- Tensile testing data is used to create a test sample stress strain curve.
- Stress strain data points are used to identify and calculate sample material properties including elastic range, proportional limit, modulus of elasticity, elastic limit, resilience, yield point, plastic deformation, ultimate strength, failure, and ductility. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Utilize a five-step technique to solve word problems. • Obtain measurements of material samples. • Tensile test a material test sample. • Identify and calculate test sample material properties using a stress strain curve.
Lesson 2.4 Design Problem – Materials and Structures (5 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Design problems can be solved by individuals or in teams.
- Engineers use a design process to create solutions to existing problems.
- Design briefs are used to identify the problem specifications and establish project constraints.
- Teamwork requires constant communication to achieve the desired goal.
- Design teams conduct research to develop their knowledge base, stimulate creative ideas, and make informed decisions. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Brainstorm and sketch possible solutions to an existing design problem. • Create a decision making matrix for the design problem. • Select an approach that meets or satisfies the constraints given in a design brief. • Create a detailed pictorial sketch or use 3D modeling software to document the best choice, based upon your team’s decision matrix. • Present a workable design solution.
Unit 3 Control Systems
Time Days: 46 days
Lesson 3.1 Machine Control (16 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Flowcharts provide a step by step schematic representation of an algorithm or process.
- Control systems are designed to provide consentient process control and reliability.
- Control system protocols are an established set of commands or functions typically created in a computer programming language.
- Closed loop systems use digital and analog sensor feedback to make operational and process decisions.
- Open loop systems use programming constants such as time to make operational and process decisions. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Create detailed flow charts utilizing a computer software application. • Create control system operating programs utilizing computer software. • Create system control programs that utilize flowchart logic. • Choose appropriate inputs and output devices based on the need of a technological system. • Differentiate between the characteristics of digital and analog devices. • Judge between open and closed loop systems in order to choose the most appropriate system for a given technological problem. • Design and create a control system based on given needs and constraints.
Lesson 3.2 Fluid Power (15 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Fluid power systems are categorized as either pneumatic, which utilizes gas, or hydraulic, which utilizes liquid.
- Fluid power is possible because in a system of confined fluid, pressure acts equally in all directions.
- The most basic components of all fluid power systems include a reservoir or receiver, a pump or compressor, a valve, and a cylinder.
- Fluid power systems are designed to transmit force over great distances, multiply an input force, and increase the distance that an output will move.
- Laws about the behavior of fluid systems and standard conventions for calculating values within fluid systems aid in the design and understanding of such systems.
- Standard schematic symbols and conventions are used to communicate fluid power designs. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Identify devices that utilize fluid power. • Identify and explain basic components and functions of fluid power devices. • Differentiate between the characteristics of pneumatic and hydraulic systems. • Distinguish between hydrodynamic and hydrostatic systems. • Design, create, and test a hydraulic device. • Design, create, and test a pneumatic device. • Calculate values in a fluid power system utilizing Pascal’s Law. • Distinguish between pressure and absolute pressure. • Distinguish between temperature and absolute temperature. • Calculate values in a pneumatic system, utilizing the perfect gas laws. • Calculate flow rate, flow velocity, and mechanical advantage in a hydraulic system.
Lesson 3.3 Design Problem – Control Systems (15 days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Design problems can be solved by individuals or in teams.
- Engineers use a design process to create solutions to existing problems.
- Design briefs are used to identify the problem specifications and to establish project constraints.
- Teamwork requires constant communication to achieve the desired goal.
- Design teams conduct research to develop their knowledge base, stimulate creative ideas, and make informed decisions. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Brainstorm and sketch possible solutions to an existing design problem. • Create a decision-making matrix for a design problem. • Select an approach that meets or satisfies the constraints provided in a design brief. • Create a detailed pictorial sketch or use 3D modeling software to document the best choice, based upon the design team’s decision matrix. • Present a workable solution to the design problem.
Unit 4 Statistics and Kinematics
Time: 30 Days
Lesson 4.1 Statistics (5 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Engineers use statistics to make informed decisions based upon established principles.
- Visual representations of data analyses allow for easy distribution and understanding of data.
- Statistics is based upon both theoretical and experimental data analysis. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Calculate the theoretical probability that an event will occur. • Calculate the experimental frequency distribution of an event occurring. • Apply the Bernoulli process to events that only have two distinct possible outcomes. • Apply AND, OR, and NOT logic to probability. • Apply Bayes’ theorem to calculate the probability of multiple events occurring. • Create a histogram to illustrate frequency distribution. • Calculate the central tendency of a data array, including mean, median, and mode. • Calculate data variation, including range, standard deviation, and variance.
Lesson 4.2 Kinematics (10 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- When working with bodies in motion, engineers must be able to differentiate and calculate distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration.
- When air resistance is not taken into account, released objects will experience acceleration due to gravity, also known as freefall.
- Projectile motion can be predicted and controlled using kinematics equations.
- When a projectile is launched, velocity in the x direction remains constant; whereas, with time, the velocity in the Y direction in magnitude and direction changes due to gravity. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Calculate distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration from data. • Design, build, and test a vehicle that stores and releases potential energy for propulsion. • Calculate acceleration due to gravity given data from a free fall device. • Calculate the X and Y components of a projectile motion. • Determine the angle needed to launch a projectile a specific range given the projectile’s initial velocity.
Lesson 4.3 Design Problem – Statistics and Kinematics (15 Days):
Concepts Addressed in Lesson:
- Design problems can be solved by individuals or in teams.
- Engineers use a design process to create solutions to existing problems.
- Design briefs are used to identify the problem specifications and establish project constraints.
- Teamwork requires constant communication to achieve the desired goal.
- Design teams conduct research to develop their knowledge base, stimulate creative ideas, and make informed decisions. Performance Objectives Addressed in Lesson: It is expected that students will: • Brainstorm and sketch possible solutions to an existing design problem. • Create a decision-making matrix for their design problem. • Select an approach that meets or satisfies the constraints provided in a design brief. • Create a detailed pictorial sketch or use 3D modeling software to document the best choice, based upon the design team’s decision matrix. • Present a workable solution to the design problem
@neptuna Which part of the country, if you live in the country at all, do you guys have “earwigs”? So I’m not grossed out, I’m going to try and not look it up on Google. We have to deal with really big dragonflies here in the summer, that and seemingly large mutant bees and wasps! :))
Summer at last!!!
@Hamlon I didn’t know that. Thanks!
My actual question was about whether or not I should study for the PSAT or SAT. Since I’ll be taking the PSAT in October and both the SAT and ACT in May/June, would it be better to study for the SAT, PSAT, or both? I likely won’t have any time to study for the SAT, other than once a month, during the school year, so would it just be better to study for the SAT and that would also help with the PSAT? I also plan to study for the ACT as well. I’ll probably just do some practice tests. Also, is one hour a week good enough to study for both the SAT and ACT? I would be alternating between one hour of the SAT practice one week and one hour of ACT practice another week. Should I spend more time practicing? Strangely enough, with my summer schedule I still have a lot of time on my hands.
@ak2018 They’re here in the midwest, but I know when I lived in California they were there too. I guess it just depends on how unlucky you are! Summer is great, but I can’t stand all of the bugs. I woke up in the middle of the night a couple of weeks ago irrationally and inexplicably afraid that there was a spider in my bed.
I would study for the SAT. If you do that, you’ll also get some practice for the PSAT. Although the PSAT isn’t something you should be all willy-nilly about, it’s definitely not as important as the SAT itself.
@bubblylaugh I wish more people followed the quality over quantity rule. I feel like the amount of people volunteering just because it looks good waters down the efforts of people that are actually passionate about it. I might organize an event where I volunteer to spice things up.
@DaEmmJay23 Technically, today was my last day of school too. I honestly don’t need to come to school tomorrow and I’m only coming because of last of school photo and Instagram oops. First period exams are tomorrow, but I already took my exam two weeks ago, so I’m already final-exam exempt and I have an excused absence not to come. Even my teacher told me not come, but when I said I was still coming, he was disappointed. I’m literally going to be the only one there, just using the Internet, texting, and using Instagram.
@bubblylaugh I’m may not join NHS, but I will be joining The Key Club. I hate how there’s a $20 fee though. It’s good that you are going to be volunteering with your local Red chapter once a month. You actually could, if you wanted to, put that on your application, but maybe even write an essay about your experience to show colleges that it wasn’t just another volunteer gig, at least to you. If you feel bad about it, you don’t have to put it on your application. It’s okay to use it for your application, but we have to remember that when we are volunteering, that people we help see that we are doing it out of the kindness and goodness of our hearts. We affect the people we volunteer for and with. You have to ask yourself, if volunteering had no effect on our college applications, would you still spend your free time volunteering if given the chance? Do you care more about the people you’re helping or your own application? If you said yes to both, then you are ready to volunteer with honesty, as in you honestly want to volunteer to make the world a better, and from the bottom of your heart. If said no to both, then volunteering is something you should do. To instill this need to help others from the bottom of your heart is the whole point of volunteering; to help others. I’m doing my volunteering at the library as kind of a little “pay it forward” thing to the library and my community. The same community that instilled in me a love of reading and literature that will hopefully last a lifetime and I guess this is my way of say thank you. By keeping the summer reading program alive so other kids like me can also have and be instilled with a lifelong love of reading.
OK, so I was literally just taking with my supervisor for the summer reading at the library and he saw that I was writing a large message, which was my last post, and I let him read it. He was definitely blown away at how well-written it was and how much the program has helped me become such an avid reader and a good example of “active youth in our community and in our country”. It blew him away so much, he said he would’ve literally offered me a job working here at the library over the summer, not just as a volunteer, but as a paid intern. I told him that, unfortunately, I would’ve had to have turned down the offer, as I’m already volunteering here once a week and I plan to be quite busy this summer. So he said that if I ever need a college or job recommendation to send an e-mail. And I was like, 
! He told me that any employer would be definitely lucky to have me as a hard-working employee and that had honestly made my day!
I also just figured out that I could actually write an essay about my whole entire library volunteering experience for at least Virginia Tech. They have an essay where you have to write about ways you exhibit their school motto, “Ut Prosim”, which is Latin for “That I May Serve”, in your community and I think I could definitely write a unique essay. My supervisor thinks so too.
Speaking of my day, I woke up late to school this morning and missed my Spanish exam. When I came in today, my Spanish teacher look pissed, but then she got over it and sent me to another teacher’s class to take the exam. I do finished it in an hour and then went to my Chemistry class where only 7 people showed up. We played Uno until the bell rang and we were out!
I forgot my college email password and my security questions. looks into the camera like I’m on The Office
honestly if you study for the PSAT, you should be fine for the SAT. The PSAT and the SAT are identical preety much but the SAT includes the essay.
How are you guys studying for the PSAT coming up?