Kelwin Li

4/14/2016
1.

Describe what you did for your physical project in at least 25 words. Include the total

number of hours you spent on the project. Please BOLD the number of hours.
For the physical project, I attempted to use parts from my dads shop to make something. The
first thing I attempted to make was a mini tesla coil. That didnt work out. I decided to make a
hand-powered phone charger instead. I spent 1260 minutes or 21 hours on the physical senior
project.
2.

Explain how your physical product (project) relates to, supports and/or builds upon the

content of your research paper. Be specific and give examples.

My research paper was about the e-waste problem that the world faces. One of the solutions to
reduce the chance that e-waste will be irresponsibly recycled is to reuse old electronics. By
reusing old electronics from my dads repair shop, I am effectively reducing amount of e-waste
being produced.
3.

What is the most important skill you have acquired during the project phase?

I learned soldering and how to operate most of the dials on a multimeter. Im still not quite good
at soldering, so I think that operating a multimeter was the skill that I learned best.
4.

On an emotional, intellectual, and/or physical level, what did you learn about yourself

during the process of the entire Senior Project here at Sierra Vista High School?
I learned that I have shaky hands when Im soldering.
5.

Describe problems you encountered during the completion of your project hours and

explain how you handled/solved these problems.

My first problem was the tesla coil not working. The first problem I encountered was the
secondary coil unwinding. I handled this by ignoring it and kept winding the coil. The next few
problems were with the wiring. My dad helped me resolve a few of them, but neither I nor my

Kelwin Li
4/14/2016
dad could figure out why it still would not work. I abandoned the tesla coil and went on to just
make a hand-powered generator. I have encountered no problems except an inconsistent charging
rate. It seems that I need a capacitor or something to smooth out the voltage.

6.

If given the opportunity to redo the physical product/project, what would you do

differently? I would probably plan out the circuit for the generator better. Right now it seems
there is some kind of instability when charging.

7.

Did your project turn out the way you envisioned it in the beginning or did you have to

modify your plans/vision? How did you adjust it?

Initially, I envisioned a tesla coil being able to light up objects wirelessly. Due to unknown
problems, it did not work. I changed it to a hand crank generator because it seemed like nothing
could go wrong.

8.

How does the entire Senior Project relate to your future goals? How will this area of

interest continue to be a part of your life? If not at all, why? In my future goals, I aim to design
circuits and work with electronics. This area will continue to be part of my life because of how
important electronics have become in the lives of man. When one of my devices break down, I
can use the skills I learned in my senior project in attempt to fix it.

9. What grade would you give yourself for your project? Justify the evaluation of your grade in
at least 25 words, giving specific support. I believe that the grade I should receive for the senior

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4/14/2016
project is an A or high B. I feel that my hour logs clearly reflected my thought process and work
process in researching, making, and failing to produce a physical senior project and then
researching, making, and succeeding to produce another physical project. The one aspect of the
project which may have been lacking could be the evidence. Most of the time, I was only able to
take photos by myself and was not able to include both my face and the physical project in the
same frame.