Tension and Cardboard
Thursday, October 19
My ears are still burning. I spent the entire forty-minute bus ride home staring down at my backpack, wishing I could disappear into the vinyl seat cushions.
Today was the showcase for Mr. Alvarez’s applied science unit. Our assignment sounded simple when we drew slips three weeks ago: design an automated sorting device using basic household recyclables, three feet of masking tape, rubber bands, and wooden craft sticks. The goal was to separate steel ball bearings from glass marbles into two different plastic bins without anyone touching the tracks after release.
My partner, Priya, and I had tested our chute four separate times during study hall yesterday. It worked. The marbles rolled straight down an inclined cardboard ramp, while a horseshoe magnet glued beneath a cutout gap was supposed to pull the heavier steel bearings off-center and dump them into a side trough. What I didn't account for was the heat from the hot glue gun I used at the last second to secure the ramp to our cardboard base.
- automated:
- Operating largely by itself with little to no direct human control.
- momentum:
- The force or speed an object has when it is moving.
- trajectory:
- The curved path that a moving object follows through space.
- tolerance:
- The allowable amount of variation from an exact standard or target.
- chassis:
- The supporting structural frame of a vehicle, machine, or device.
- recalibrate:
- To readjust or reset a mechanism to ensure accurate operation.
- modular:
- Constructed with standardized units or parts that can be easily adjusted or replaced.
- corrugated:
- Shaped into alternating parallel ridges and grooves for added strength.
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Main Idea
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Context Clues
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Summarize
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Point of View
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Purpose
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Structure
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Language & Tone
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Preview questions from this passageShowHide
- 1What specific task was the automated sorting device designed to accomplish in Mr. Alvarez's class?
- 2Why did the narrator decide to use hot glue right before third period instead of the masking tape?
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About this diary entry passage for 7th Grade
“Tension and Cardboard” is a diary entry reading passage about Learning from design failure, written for 7th Grade. It takes about 5 minutes to read (792 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.