PP Slides for Proposal – Mohabir

Technical Proposal

OnTime NYC MetroCard Application

Haresh M, Juan A, Juan S, Saad A

14 May 2018

CUNY City College of New York

ENGL 21007-Writing for Engineers

2018 Spring

Professor Alikhani

Table of Contents

Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………….2

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….……..3

Problem Statement………………………………………………………………………………….4

Objectives………………………………………………………………………………………….6

Description of the OnTime MetroCard Application………………………………………..……..6

Plan of Action……………………………………………………………..………………………..7

Management Plan………………………………………………………………………………….9

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….10

References…………………………………………………………………………………….….11

Executive Summary:

New Yorkers are always late. One of the reasons for this, is due to our outdated subways system. Fortunately, our group, Electrical Engineers, is developing a mobile app for our smartphones to combat this outdated system.

We are developing an app that will let us skip those pesky lines at the MetroCard machines in the subway stations all around NYC. These machines are usually always out of service, and if they are in service they will have conditions on them such as “cash only”, or “ATM card only” and sometimes they will be working just fine but getting to the front of the line will take about 10 minutes, and that’s 10 minutes that us New Yorkers just don’t have. The NYC OnTime app will allow us to never have to deal with these machines ever again.

 Introduction:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) provides bus, subway, and rail service in Greater New York, and operates toll bridges and tunnels in New York City since 1965 (Metropolitan Transportation Authority). According to MTA ridership figures in 2016, on an average weekday, there are 8,101,075 passengers (MTA, 2016). Therefore, New Yorkers heavily rely on MTA services as means of transportation. For example, New Yorkers ride with the MTA to travel to work, school, to catch exciting plays, musicals and revivals at Broadway shows, and several other events. In 1999, the MetroCard was introduced as a new payment method for MTA services. This was a huge technological advance from paying with tokens which ceased to be used in 2003 (Markowitz, 2003). MetroCards are vital to New Yorkers and we protect them like bank cards. However, it often occurs that we forget our balance, lose our cards, or have insufficient funds. These problems may cause us to miss the train or bus and be late for timely events. The OnTime NYC MetroCard application will help solve these issues and will be beneficial to our society. This application will have a variety of features that will make owning a MetroCard more convenient, save you money, and most importantly, save your time. This application will make the payment process easier, allow people to further enjoy the NYC experience, and will help New Yorkers be on time for important events.

Problem Statement:

New York City is well known for its public transportation system. It is one of the oldest and most extensive systems in the world. One component of this system is the subway. The subway trains span across four out of the five boroughs in New York City and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It gets 55% of the 8.5 million people living in New York City get to where they need to go (NYCEDC, 2012). Additionally, New York City has a system of MTA buses spanning the boroughs which particularly serve and benefit residents living in areas that are underserved by subway routes.

Despite all of the New York public transportation system’s great qualities, it has many flaws, and in recent years residents have become more vocal about their complaints. More than half of New York City’s 8.5 million residents rely on public transportation. Out of this number, 2 million people rely on the MTA bus system (Wang, 2017). A major complaint from New Yorkers is the inconsistent time estimated for travel from point A to point B. While Mayor DeBlasio and Governor Cuomo fight over who is responsible for making sure that the MTA runs smoothly, many New Yorkers are left to navigate the MTA’s public transportation system alone and figure out how much time they need to allocate for their commute (Sisson, 2017). Many of the complaints are related to the trains not running on time due to delays or construction.

One of the biggest hassles of navigating this public transportation is the purchase of a MetroCard. In addition to train delays, New Yorkers are often subjected to long lines at Metro Card vending machines. The long waits are often exacerbated and frustrated by constantly broken vending machines and slow repair times. Just recently, the MTA tried to shut down all vending machines in the city for an entire weekend so that they could do repair work (Nir, 2018). However, due to the large amount of complaints from New Yorkers, the MTA cut back on the time for the repairs and fixed the machines over a 6-hour period on a Friday night (Nir, 2018). While the MTA was able to cut back on the amount of time for repairs, 6 hours is still a long time for some people.

Another problem with the current process of purchasing a MetroCard is the limited or no access to vending machines in many subway stations and on bus routes. For example, most subway stations do not have a MetroCard vending machine at every entrance. This means that when someone walks into a subway station entrance and realizes that they have an insufficient balance on their card, they need to walk back up the stairs, out of the station, and down a block or two to the other entrance to refill or purchase a new card. It can be very frustrating to be in this circumstance and miss a train, especially when trains are often running with delays. Furthermore, this problem is worsened for people who solely rely on the bus for transportation in New York City. The majority of bus stops in New York City do not have a vending machine for Metro Cards. Bus Riders only have two options: stock up on quarters to pay the bus fare, or travel to a subway station to use a MetroCard vending machine prior to boarding the bus.

New York residents often find themselves in these situations because they don’t realize their current Metro Card holds an insufficient balance. There is currently no way for someone to check the balance on their MetroCard outside of a subway station. The current modes of checking your balance consist of using the MetroCard reading machine that is located in every subway station or visiting an MTA employee at one of the booths in the subway. This can be a very difficult ordeal, especially for those residents who live in areas that are underserved by the subway trains and have to mostly rely on the bus.

Objectives:

            Our team researched the problem and came up with two main objectives that can be implemented to address the greatest difficulties New York City residents face with public transportation:

• Offer New Yorkers online access to:

a.) Check MetroCard Balance: We want to offer New Yorkers a way to easily check their Metro Card balance from any location that has internet access.

b.) Refill existing MetroCards: We want New Yorkers to be able to add money and combine balances on existing Metro Cards without having to visit a subway station.

c.) Cancel lost or stolen MetroCards: We want to offer New Yorkers a way to easily receive a refund or cancel an existing Metro Card.

2.) Decrease the number of New Yorkers who report being late due to issues regarding

MetroCard purchase by 40%

 Description of the OnTime MetroCard Application:

As aforementioned, the  OnTime MetroCard application will have a variety of features that will make owning a MetroCard more convenient, save you money, and most importantly, save your time. In order for the app to pair with your MetroCard, a quick response code must be implemented on the card which can be scanned via a smartphone through the app. According to a technical term dictionary, “A QR code (short for “quick response” code) is a type of barcode that contains a matrix of dots. It can be scanned using a QR scanner or a smartphone with built-in camera” (QR Code). The code will be placed at the back of the MetroCard and will allow the user to access the card’s information. It is often that an individual may have more than one MetroCard. Therefore, every unique code scanned will create one account on the app. For safety precautions, the QR code can only be scanned once.

The app will allow the user to check the balance on the card. This brings awareness to the user of how much available funds is on the card. Also, money can be securely added to each MetroCard by linking a bank account to the app. This easily solves the problem of having insufficient funds on a MetroCard and running late. Furthermore, the user may freeze the card if it is lost or stolen. Therefore, people cannot use the funds on your MetroCard and the balance can be transferred to a new card account. Of course, expert programmers will be hired to ensure that the application is secure and allows the user to easily navigate transactions (Osakwe, 2017). Thus, these features of the OnTime NYC app will give New Yorkers the opportunity to ride with the MTA with confidence and arrive on time for their activities.

 Plan of Action:

The development of this MetroCard application, OnTime NYC, will take place in three phases. These three phases will take place over the course of one year, and they will all have about 4 months each. The three phases are: Software Development, Integration, and Troubleshooting.

The development stage is the most important part of the application. Software engineers will work along with computer scientists and computer engineers on the code for the application.  This will be broken up into writing code for the QR code that each MetroCard will have, making the user interface that will let the consumers log into the app, and probably the most delicate and important code- syncing the consumers bank application with the OnTime NYC app.

Once the app has been created, it will go into a beta version that will be provided to some of the developers themselves for them to use. In this phase, the bank will be in full coordination with the application, as well as the whole MTA and all the card machines from all of the subways.  The banks will be integrated fully integrated into the system and will have a customer support line for all the people that will inevitable have questions and problems once the app is released.

This last phase is the second most important phase after the development phase. This is when the app that was released to a couple of people will be fully tested for any bugs.  It is imperative that the banks will be fully synced with the card to be able to refill at any time of day.  The turnstiles must be compatible with the new cards that have the QR code on them. Even though this shouldn’t change the metallic strip, anything can go wrong. Cards will be cancelled and swiped to see if they work, to check the functionality of the card cancellation feature that the app will bring.  Once the app is tested and debugged, it will be good to share with consumers all around NYC, reducing lateness all around the city.

Management Plan:

Execution of OnTime New York MetroCard plan requires 30 engineers. The experts have sufficient knowledge and skills on how to develop software, integrate it and carry out troubleshooting. The software engineers will design and develop the application or software needed to execute this project. They will integrate and check for any bugs together with computer scientists and engineers. The IT experts will also be involved in carrying out data management for the project. This project will take one year to be completed. It takes place in four project cycles namely planning, designing, developing and testing and launching. Planning involves determining all things that need to be done in order to execute the project. It involves deciding what to be done, who to do when to do and what is required. This project will take about a year.

Budget

Full time employees work at 40 hours a week for 52 weeks that is 2080 hours a year.

Customer service

Over the last few years everything has been digitized. It is necessary for us to maintain a strong online presence. Online content is essential to every marketing plan. So, we have to considered the immense importance of online customer service. To resolve problems experienced by customers while using this project, 2000 customer care agents will be put on board. The final activity in executing this project is conducting a survey to find out the relevance of the project. The project will make public transportation in New York City more efficient. For the sake of survey there will be frequently asked question (FAQ) page. Customers will be asked questions. For example, do you like this application? We will ask for customers reviews, what are the improvements do we need to make in this particular application? That is how we can bring some improvements and keeps this application up to date.

 Conclusion:

Many of the New York City residents who rely on public transportation report significant delays and other difficulties with their daily commutes. OnTime NYC will drastically improve access to MTA public transportation system for many New Yorkers. Putting a QR code on MetroCards will solve some of the long-standing problems that New York City residents report. With the QR code system and app, MetroCard holders can access information about their MetroCards from any internet capable device. The system allows a MetroCard holder to check their balance, to easily refill their card from any location, combine multiple cards, and cancel lost or stolen cards. New Yorkers will no longer need to access a subway station entrance with a vending machine to refill their cards. They will no longer have to wait on long lines while missing trains. Nor will they have to battle regularly broken vending machines. Time is money, and New Yorkers will save on both.

References

 Markowitz, Michael. “NYC Subway Token, 1953-2003.” 28 April 2003. Gotham Gazette.

www.gothamgazette.com/transportation/1799-nyc-subway-token-1953-2003.

Metropolitan Transit Authority, MTA, 1965. (2016). Retrieved from

http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/.

“Metropolitan Transportation Authority.” Literary Merit, Retrieved from

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/

Metropolitan_Transportation_Authority.html

Nir, S. M. (Feb. 6, 2018). “MetroCard Machines Won’t Accept Credit Cards This Weekend”

(Briefly). The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/

2018/02/06/nyregion/metrocard-mta-nyc.html.

NYCEDC. (2012). The New York Commute. NYCEDC, Transportation. Retrieved from

https://www.nycedc.com/blog-entry/new-york-commute.

Osakwe, Michael. “Is It Safe to Link Your Bank Account to Third-Party Finance Apps?” What Is

Phishing and How Does It Affect You? – NextAdvisor Blog, 9 June 2017,    www.nextadvisor.com/blog/link-your-bank-account-to-third-party-finance-apps/.

“QR Code.” Plagiarism Definition, techterms.com/definition/qr_code. Retrieved from

https://techterms.com/definition/qr_code.

Sisson, P. (Sep. 19, 2017). “What New York City’s Subway System Can Learn From Ones

Around The World”. Curbed New York. Retrieved from https://ny.curbed.com/2017/

9/19/16335068/nyc-subway-mta-state-of-emergency-solution.

Wang, V. (Nov. 27, 2017). “Bus Service Is in Crisis, City Comptroller’s Report Says”. The New

York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/27/nyregion/

Bus-service-new-york.html.

Hung from a Headstock

I was born in AD 400

That very year I wanted to die

They have hurt me

Knocked me back and forth

Struck me with all of their might

Gave me an everlasting headache

I have gone deaf

But I can still hear the divine calling of me

I stay strong

Yet, I am cracking

Stop!

I cannot take it anymore

The sounds I make are not unheard!

Help me!

They rattle my uvula

I vomit my sounds to all

Save me!

Evolve who I am

End my pain and suffering

-Haresh Mohabir

Technical Description of a Church Bell

Technical Description + Technical Poem

Writing for Engineers [ENGL 210.07 – E [25074]]

Spring 2018

Professor Maryam Alikhani

The City College of the City University of New York

Due: 16 April 2018

Word Count: 1,643

Haresh Mohabir

Table of Contents

1. Poem ……………………………………………………………………………………………3
2. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………..4
3. Technical Description of a Church Bell………………..…………………………………………5

3.1 Yoke/Headstock…………………………………………………………….……….….5

3.2 Canons……………………………………………………………………………….…6

3.3 Crown ……………………………………………………………………………….…6

3.4 Shoulder………………………………………………………………………….……7

3.5 Waist……………………………………………………………………………………7

3.6 Sound Bow………………………………………………………………………………7

3.7 Lip………………………………………………………………………………………8

3.8 Mouth…………………………………………………………………………………..8

3.9 Clapper………………………………………………………………………………….8

3.10 Exercise…………………………………………………………………….…………8

3.11 Bead Line………………………………………………………………………………9

4. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………..….9
5. References………………………………………………………………………………………10

Hung from a Headstock

I was born in AD 400

That very year I wanted to die

They have hurt me

Knocked me back and forth

Struck me with all of their might

Gave me an everlasting headache

I have gone deaf

But I can still hear the divine calling of me

I stay strong

Yet, I am cracking

Stop!

I cannot take it anymore

The sounds I make are not unheard!

Help me!

They rattle my uvula

I vomit my sounds to all

Save me!

Evolve who I am

End my pain and suffering

-Haresh Mohabir

Introduction:

Mounted high in a tower at the peak of a religious structure is where its sound can be heard by the surrounding community. It is a familiar sound that draws attention to all and is used for a plethora of purposes in the Church. Church bells were introduced into the Christian Church in AD 400 by Saint Paulinus of Nola. They became common in Europe by the early Middle Ages (1400-1500 AD) (“Church Bell”, n.d.). This large, hollow object is made of metal and has the shape of a reversed cup widening at the lip, that sounds a musical note when struck by the clapper (“The World’s Favorite Online Dictionary!”, n.d.). The main purpose of ringing Church bells were to call worshippers to gather for Church services. There are a variety of religions that ring the bell three times a day, on a timely schedule. However, the messages behind ringing the bell may differ. For example, Catholics believe that the bell drives out evil spirits and symbolizes the presences of God (The Church and the Middle Ages, n.d.). This spiritual value of the bell provides great significance for the Church bell to be an integral part of the Church. It is important to understand the different parts of a Church bell to analyze how the bell actually works and how the description of its parts relate to ourselves.

Figure 1: An image of a Christian Church with two Church bells.

(“History of Church Bells”, n.d.).

Technical Description of a Church Bell:

To create a functioning and authentic Church bell, there are ten parts that must be put together. These parts include the yoke, or headstock, canons, crown, shoulder, waist, sound bow, lip, mouth, clapper, and bead line (Audet, M., n.d.). Some of these parts may seem oddly familiar. Perhaps some of them are on your body right now! When designing “something,” humans tend to give the object human body part names. It is unlikely that people ever care to think that everyday tools were personified by their creators (“Library: Church Bells.”, n.d.). Humans describe objects using the names of things that are already familiar to the common people. That is the only way that a person can truly understand the use for a part or what it is. With this knowledge and new way of thinking, naming something may not be so difficult because the name is already in our environment.

Figure 2: A diagram of the different parts of the bell labeled 1 through 10. (“Bell”, n.d.)

1. Yoke/Headstock:

The title of my poem was the very first clue to help you find out what I was naming in my dark poem. As aforementioned, a Church bell is hung from a headstock. According to a bell manufacturer, “Hollow box section cast iron headstocks give excellent rigidity to weight ratios and have proved to be very durable. In special cases, if customers request it, we do supply headstocks made from galvanised steel or hardwood.” (“Change Ringing Bells”, n.d.). Therefore, the headstock must be strong enough not to bend or snap in accordance with the overall weight of the bell. The headstock keeps the bell in place and provides a strong structure. The compound word, “headstock,” breaks down to two words, “head” and “stock.” For the purpose of describing the function of the headstock, lets analyze the “head” in “headstock.” According to an online dictionary, a head is the upper part of the body in humans.” (“The World’s Favorite Online Dictionary!”, n.d.). Therefore, the headstock contains this key word because it the upper part of the bell system.

2. Canons:

The canons are the part of the bell by which it is suspended. The canons connect the headstock to the bell and is often called the “ear” (“Change Ringing Bells”, n.d.). Once again, we see a connection between bells and the human body. By describing the canons as the ear of the bell, I can visualize a small child getting pulled by his ear by his mother. In this scenario, the headstock is the mother while the bell is the child.

3. Crown:

            The crown is located between the canons and the shoulder of the bell. The crown is the beginning of its inverted cup shape and allows the bell to be hung. During the high Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church gained strong power and influence with the pope as the head in Western Europe (The Church and the Middle Ages, n.d.). The supreme power of the pope is equivalent to him wearing the crown, being King (“What Is the Origin and Purpose of Church Bells?”. (2018). Thus, there is a connection between the very start of the bell and the head of the Church.

4. Shoulder:

            The shoulder gives the bell a smooth curve shape. The shoulder on the human body is smooth as well and leads to the trunk of the body where the next part of the bell is located. The trunk of the bell includes the waist and sound bow.

5. Waist:

            The waist of the bell increases in radius from the shoulder. This increase in radius gives the bell its large shape. According to an online dictionary, it is “The part of the body in humans between the ribs and the hips.” (“The World’s Favorite Online Dictionary!”, n.d.). The waist is the expanding part of our body. Similarly, the waist of the bell flares out to create the traditional Church bell shape. 

6. Sound Bow:

            When this part of the bell is struck, the bell produces its sounds. The sound bow is thick because it is made to be struck often and it must be strong to withstand the force of the clapper of hammer (Audet, M., n.d.). There are a variety of instruments played using a bow. In fact, the bell is an instrument, however, the bow is a metal face, not thread or thin steel wire.

7. Lip:

            The lip is the edge around the mouth of the hollow bell. As described before, the shape of the bell is an inverted cup. On the lip of the cup is where we place our lips to drink from the cup. As the two lips touch, I am surprised that there are no romantic feelings evoked. Unfortunately, the lip of the bell never gets intimate with that of another bell. 

8. Mouth:

            The mouth is the circular shape created by the lip and deepened by the hollowness of the bell on the bottom. It is the opening of the bell and is where the sounds of the bell are emitted. This can obviously be compared to our human bodies because we use our mouth to emit speech and other sounds.

9. Clapper:

            The clapper is a very crucial part of the bell system. It is a free-swinging piece of metal that strikes the sound bow to produce a sound which is amplified by the shape and mouth of the bell (“Church Bell”, n.d.). Without the clapper and a force to set it in motion, the bell will produce no sound. The clapper is also known as the tongue of a bell.

Exercise:

1. Open your mouth
2. Emit a sound through your mouth
3. Hold up your tongue so that it is suspended between your cheeks.
4. Now, emit the same sound through your mouth while simultaneously swaying your tongue from cheek to cheek.
5. Notice the difference in the sound you hear in step 2 from that in step 4.
6. Did your tongue perform as a clapper in a bell?

10. Bead Line:

            This is a raised line around the bell that is both decorative and functional. (Audet, M., n.d.). It is not clear as to what the functional aspect of the bead line is to the bell. However, as aforementioned, this part will be useful to create an authentic Church bell whose decorative features are related to that of the Middle Ages.

 Conclusion:

            Overall, the several parts of the Church bell work together to create a functioning and authentic device that is still used today by means of religious callings. The Church bell is a useful tool to call upon worshippers of many faiths. However, the bell itself has many applications in other aspects of society. For example, the bell can be used to warn villagers of an invasion. Therefore, the bell has emergency uses and the functionality of it is important at these times of danger of distress. There are multiple ways to alter the bell system to produce different sounds. For example, the material used to create the bell, the size of the clapper, and its shape of the waist can all influence how the bell sounds. The future of the Church bell, which is present today, is an electromagnetic hammer to initiate the movement of the bell and clapper (“Bells”, n.d.). As long as there is religion, a strong aspect of our culture, I believe that the Church bell will never become obsolete. Let the Church bells keep ringing.

References

Audet, Marye. “Antique Farm Bells.” LoveToKnow, LoveToKnow Corp, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved

from antiques.lovetoknow.com/antique-farm-bells.

“Bell.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell.

“Bells”– Smith of Derby, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from www.smithofderby.com/products/bells/.

“Change Ringing Bells.” Change Ringing Bells | John Taylor & Co, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from

www.taylorbells.co.uk/web/?q=node%2F34.

“Church Bell.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_bell.

GotQuestions.org. “What Is the Origin and Purpose of Church Bells?” GotQuestions.org, 21 Feb.

2018, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from www.gotquestions.org/church-bells.html.

“History of Church Bells.” History of Church Bells – Ancient Church Bells, 1 Apr. 2018,

Retrieved from www.historyofbells.com/bells-history/history-of-Church-bells/.

“Library: Church Bells.” Library: Church Bells | Catholic Culture,1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from

www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=3665.

The Church and the Middle Ages, 1 Apr. 2018, Retrieved from

www.csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs2c/middle.html.

“The World’s Favorite Online Dictionary!” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 1 Apr. 2018,

Retrieved from www.dictionary.com/browse.

While writing our lab report, we applied a variety of course goals to create a cohesive writing piece that conveyed our experimental process and research. Throughout our writing process, we used sources found on the Internet to make our report more credible. While attempting to understand the results of our experiment, I relied on the Internet to explain our outcomes and determine if they are accurate. Practicing using multiple sources increased my knowledge on our topic of electrical conductivity and enabled us create a report that acknowledged the related findings of others. Furthermore, my group worked collaboratively to both complete the experiment and write the lab report. This report was a team effort and it made me aware of the different perspectives and insights that people have. For example, while enhancing our strategies for revising and editing, we gave each other advice about how a certain section of the report should be developed and what it should communicate to the reader.

Overall, my writing process was well thought out and took effort to complete. The different sections of the report were divided amongst my group to ensure a fair workload for each member.  I was responsible for writing the results and discussion portion of the lab report. Some of the challenges I faced while writing included understanding the results and determining whether or not our results were reliable. This led me to further research the components of our experiment and how they impact our results. I found that there were several sources of error in our experiment that caused our results to be slightly inaccurate. From my own writing, I learned that I am capable of both working independently and as a team member with my peers to successfully create a bigger product. In addition, I learned that working collaboratively in a group has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, clear advantages include useful feedback, criticism, and assistance throughout the writing process to make my writing better. On the other hand, group members not putting in their full effort into the report or cooperating with all members of the group present the disadvantages of group collaboration.

Water Quality: A Simple Comparative Analysis Using Electrical Conductivity

Haresh M, Juan S, Juan A, Saad A

12 March 2018

CUNY City College of New York

ENGL 21007-Writing for Engineers

2018 Spring

Professor Alikhani

Table of Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………….2

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………3

Methods and Materials…………………………………………………………………………….4

Procedure………………………………………………………………………………………….4

Results……………………………………………………………………………………………..6

Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………….6

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………7

References………………………………………………………………………………………….8

Abstract

Because we drink the water at CCNY almost everyday, if not everyday, it is imperative that we understand the quality of the water that we drink while we are here. This study explored the electrical conductivity of water using different common solutes, which is a way of testing water quality used by the EPA. We tested tap water, distilled water,and a baking soda water solution. We used a simple circuit, setting up two wires connecting from the battery, voltmeter, and the different solutions. The results suggested that the baking soda water solution was the only one that conducted electricity effectively, out of our test choices. We can conclude that distilled and tap water are less conductive than baking soda, however due to errors in our experiment we can not conclude a precise estimate of how different the tap water is from the distilled water.

Introduction

Electrical energy exists all around us. We utilize electrical energy to power things in our everyday lives such as computers, televisions, home appliances, lighting, and even cars. For all of these devices to operate, they need to be designed in a way that includes some sort of material, which allows for the conductivity of electrical energy. Electrical conductivity can be defined as “the measure of the amount of electrical current a material can carry or it’s ability to carry a current” (Helmenstine, 2017b). While conductivity is often thought of as significant in terms of its ability to power electronic devices, it also plays an important purpose related to its measurement in liquids.

Scientists and researchers are particularly interested in the measurement of electrical conductivity in water. This measurement is significant because it is used as an indicator for determining water quality, or a general measurement pertaining to levels of salinity or pollution (Whetzel, 2017). For a liquid to be considered a strong conductor of electricity, it must consist of inorganic chemicals that break down when mixed with a liquid and produce small electrically charged particles called ions (Environmental Monitor, 2010). Four of the most common ions found in water are sodium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium (Environmental Monitor, 2010). Baking soda, for example, is a salt that produces a bicarbonate ion called carbon-dioxide. In contrast, pure water, or distilled water, has no ions and is therefore considered an insulator (Perlman, 2016). An insulator, is a material that does not allow an electrical current to flow freely, such as wood, glass, clay, or plastic (Helmenstine, 2017a). Insulators are very poor electrical conductors. Furthermore, a material that is a poor electrical conductor, possesses greater resistance. Resistance can be measured by the voltage drop, or the loss of volts (Hoffman, 2006). Therefore, the less number of volts lost, the more conductive a material will be.

We have designed an experiment to test the quality of the tap water at CUNY City College of New York by measuring its electrical conductivity and comparing it to that of distilled water, and distilled water with baking soda. A review of the academic literature related to electrical energy and the conductivity of liquid solutions shows that solutions with a greater number of ions are more electrically conductive than others, and are therefore considered to be poorer quality. Based on our research, we predict that the school’s tap water will be conductive and it’s quality will be significantly more similar to that of distilled water compared to the distilled water with baking soda. Additionally, we predict that the distilled water will show the greatest amount of resistance, and the distilled water with baking soda will show the least amount of resistance.

Methods and Materials

Materials :

1. 1 (9 volt) battery
2. 1 gallon of distilled water
3. 2 (12 inch) wires
4. 1 tablespoon of baking soda
5. 1 measuring cup
6. 1 roll of electrical tape
7. 1 Voltmeter

8.1 gallon of  Tap water

9. 2 (16 oz) container

Procedure:

1. First of all attached the wires to the battery ,one with the positive  and other with the negative terminal of the battery. Use electrical tape to hold wires with the battery.
2. In order to calculate voltage(V) and current(I) across each mixtures  attach red wire with the positive and black wire with the negative terminal of voltmeter . Now connect the black wire from voltmeter with the wire attached to the negative terminal  of battery. Set up voltmeter at 20 volts. We can see this in figure 1 below.

Equipment  Setup

                                              Figure 1( Saad Arshad-2018)

3.  Rinse out beaker with distilled water to get rid of any contaminants and fill the container with 100 mL of distilled water.
4.  Dip the wire from positive terminal of the battery and the red wire into the container with distilled water . Read the voltage and current across distilled water on  voltmeter .
5. Now test regular tap water filled with in 100 mL in container determine the difference. Repeat step 4.
6. Now  rinse out your container with  distilled water. Pour more 100 mL of distilled water into your container and add  tablespoon of baking soda. Stir it and put the wires again into container. Repeat step 4.      

Results

Battery 7.95 Volts, 1.48 Amps

Voltage and Current Measurements of Solutions

Table 1: Data of voltage and current measurements of the three solutions in our experiment.

Discussion

The voltage across distilled water was measured to be 7.37 volts with a current of 0 amps. On the other hand, the voltage across baking soda with distilled water measured to be 7.56 volts with a current of  0.10 amps. Therefore, the addition of baking soda to the distilled water resulted in an increase in voltage and current. Based on our results, baking soda conducts electricity better than the two other solutions. Baking soda is an ionic compound that does not conduct electricity when it is a solid. However, when dissolved in water and becomes liquid, baking soda becomes conductive. This was an interesting part of our experiment because we observed bubbles when measuring the voltage and current through this mixture with the voltmeter. The bubbles, which did not appear when testing the other solutions, indicated that the ionic compounds of the baking soda broke down into separate ions when dissolved in the distilled water. As a result, the solution became conductive. As shown in Table 1, tap water and distilled water conducted 0 amps of current. The distilled water, the control solution in our experiment, is considered an insulator. There are no impurities or ions in distilled water, only neutral water molecules (Perlman, 2016). However, tap water does have impurities and ions. Therefore, the resistance of distilled water should be greater than the resistance measured for the tap water. Since both measurements read 0 amps and the tap water measured a greater voltage drop than the distilled water, it is clear that there must have been an error in our measurements.

There are some errors that may have impacted our results. For example, The 9V battery actually measured to be 7.95V. The loss of 1.05V may have affected how the voltages of the water mixtures were measured. Furthermore, we might have not been perfect when measuring one tablespoon of baking soda for baking soda and distilled water experimental test. Also, cross contamination between liquid solutions may have been possible while conducting our experiment. These errors and the ones we overlooked all contribute to our results being slightly inaccurate.

Conclusion

We believe that our results may be slightly inaccurate. For instance, based on the measurements for current of the distilled water, tap water, and distilled water with baking soda, we can not draw an accurate conclusion for our first hypothesis. The results show that the tap water at CCNY is most similar to  distilled water which would make sense due to the large quantities of ions present in the distilled water with baking soda. However, the results also show that the tap water is just as pure as the distilled water. This would make sense if the bathroom sinks at CCNY have water filters built in to them. However, there are no filters placed on the faucets in the bathroom sinks. Like other sources of tap water throughout New York City, the tap water at CCNY is not filtered to the same extent as distilled water because it has to travel through multiple systems of pipes that may potentially leave traces of inorganic chemicals.  In turn, these inorganic chemicals would break down when mixed with the water and produce ions that would increase the conductivity of the water. While we expected the distilled and tap waters to be most similar, we also expected some level of current for the tap water. This variation would have helped us determine a more accurate conclusion on how closely similar the two solutions are.

Our second hypothesis regarding the measurement of resistance with respect to each liquid solution is also inconclusive. Because distilled water is considered to be an insulator, it’s level of resistance should have measured the highest. However, our results show that the tap water had a higher level of resistance. We believe this result may be inaccurate because tap water is expected to consist of traces of ions which would mean that there is less resistance, and therefore more conductive.

Errors in our experiment such as the loss of voltage in the battery and cross-contamination between liquid solutions, should be addressed and corrected for future experiments. For example, future experiments should consist of brand new batteries for each test and the experimenters must rinse the containers thoroughly as well as clean the wires that are dipped into the different liquid solutions. Additionally, in order to get a better sense of how similar tap water at CCNY is to distilled water, future experiments should test the conductivity of multiple liquid solutions that consist of different types of inorganic chemicals. This would allow us to create a better spectrum for our results, and therefore a better understanding of the quality of tap water at CCNY.

References

Fondriest Staff. (2010, August 12).What is Conductivity? Environmental Monitor. Retrieved

from http://www.fondriest.com/news/what-is-conductivity.htm

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2017a, October 3). 10 Examples of Electrical Conductors and

Insulators. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/examples-of-electrical-conductors

-and-insulators-608315

Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2017b, February 15). Electrical Conductivity Definition.

Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-electrical-conductivity-605064

Hoffman, Pete. (2006) Understanding & Calculating Series Circuits Basic Rules. Retrieved from

https://www.swtc.edu/ag_power/electrical/lecture/series_circuits.htm

Perlman, Howard. (2016, December 02). Electrical Conductivity and Water. The USGS Water

Science School. Retrieved from https://water.usgs.gov/edu/electrical-conductivity.html

Whetzel, Joan. (2017, April 25). Why Is Conductivity Important? Sciencing. Retrieved from

http://sciencing.com/conductivity-important-6524603.html

Deep in the heart of the forest there lived Moma, a mouse. Moma was new to this forest, but she made friends very fast. Moma was pretty and kind but very gullible. Her new friends told Moma all she needed to know about life in the forest. They told her where to get the tastiest berries, where to find the best rock furniture, and certain animals to avoid. While talking about the animals to avoid, the name Slither came up. “Slither is very wicked. Not one good scale on his back!” shouted one of Moma’s mice friends. Moma was concerned, but she had more important things to worry about, one of which was her pregnancy. She was going to be a mother very soon. When all her friends left, Moma quickly built a nest at the bottom of a tree. Every day from then on, Moma would sweep through the forest floor searching for leaves and food to bring home for her babies.

One day, while Moma was collecting food, she bumped into a snake. “Oh my, I’m so sorry, please don’t hurt me” said Moma.”Mh, I wouldn’t dare hurt such a pretty mouse like you.” said the snake. “I’d better get going. Sorry once again” said Moma. As Moma tried to escape, the snake grabbed her by the arm and told her to stay a while. Moma remembered her friend’s story about Slither, but she thought this snake was too nice to be him, so she stayed. Slither’s tricks and kind behavior led Moma to believe he was a good friend. Slither noticed Moma’s large belly and asked her if she was alright. Moma said “Yes, I’m dandy fine. I’m just gathering food in advance for my babies” as she rubbed her furry belly. Slither then asked Moma when her babies would be born. Moma hesitantly said “soon”. Slither looked up at the sky, grinned, and offered to take Moma back to her house and stay with her for the night. Moma wasn’t so sure, but the night sky fell and she was scared to go home all alone, besides, she thought of Slither as a new friend.

Moma and Slither went back to her house and began talking. “What’s the most precious item you hold?” asked Slither. “My babies are most precious to me, what’s precious to you?” said Moma. “My younger brother is most important to me” said Slither, “I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s the only brother I have left.” Slither got Moma to exchange secrets with him. He wanted to build a bond of trust. After having a decent conversation, Moma and Slither grew tired and fell asleep.

When the morning sun rose, Moma was in serious pain. She was about to give birth! Moma’s friends came rushing, grabbing leaves and other cushions for the babies. Slither stepped back and watched as 3 little mice popped out of Moma. Moma was very excited as she held her little mice but was a little offended by her own smell. “Eh, I should wash up. I smell really bad” said Moma. “I’ll watch the babies while you go bathe” said Slither as he felt his stomach grumble. Moma thanked Slither and ran off to clean herself. Slither had a grin on his face as he watched the babies. One by one, Slither slowly picked up Moma’s babies and swallowed them whole. Slither laughed and slipped away before Moma returned. When Moma came back to an empty nest, she was devastated. She cried and wished she had never met Slither. She realized he was the horrible snake her friends warned her about, but there wasn’t anything she could do now. Moma was left with nothing but the empty nest, rock furniture, and tears in her eyes.

A few days later, on the other side of the forest, Slither was happy and enjoying a game of catch with his younger brother. He forgot all about Moma; she was just another victim. During the game of catch, Slither dropped the fur ball and it rolled into a bush. While Slither went to retrieve the fur ball, a huge hawk swooped down and grabbed a hold of his brother. Slither heard his brother scream and instantly looked up. Slither was so shocked and hurt because he could do nothing about it. He watched the hawk as it flew into the blue with his brother trapped in the cage like talons. Slither cried and stumbled on a rock to lean on. As he wept, he asked himself “Why me…Why me?”

The technical proposal that my group and I presented is the OnTime NYC MetroCard Application. I suggested this application to my group members and they enjoyed the concept because of how useful it is to New York City residents. While writing the proposal, I was responsible for writing the introduction and describing the features of the application. These writing processes were not challenging for me because I enjoyed writing about it. The technical proposal made me feel like an application designer and helped me explore different career fields such as computer engineering and computer science. It was necessary to do extensive research on this technical innovation to investigate statistics of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and applications on smartphones. Using APA style while citing my sources came naturally which portrayed my understanding of this format. Before this course, I was only familiar with MLA format. Therefore, I successfully acquired a new method of citing my sources and I hope that I can explore other styles in my future engineering courses.

Creating the PowerPoint slides for our technical proposal was exciting. My team divided the work between each other based on our interest, similar to the technical proposal assignment. I was responsible for the introduction and describing the features of the OnTime NYC MetroCard application. There was a huge issue of a team member not doing his part for the assignment. I modestly, yet foolishly, helped my team member gain the courage to complete his assignment for our presentation. Working in groups is always an issue for me because of people who like to take advantage over others. Furthermore, the presentation itself was a great way for me to boost my confidence and increase my public speaking skills. One major error in my presentation was not introducing myself. I was so focused on delivering the information to the audience that I forgot to mention my own name. This was embarrassing and I definitely will not do this again while presenting. Therefore, this presentation involved making mistakes that I am able and willing to learn from. I am delighted that I have the opportunity to express my feelings and thoughts in the reflection of my technical proposal and PowerPoint slides.

I wrote a technical description of a Church Bell. Although I am a future electrical engineer, I chose a device that is not powered by electricity. This was because I thought of something simple that can be described in an effective way. However, I did mention that the Church Bell can be evolved using electricity by implementing clappers that move by means of electric current. Writing the technical description was enjoyable because I like to break apart things and think about their purpose. It was fairly simple to break apart a church bell and research the different parts of it. Therefore, I strengthened my source use practices by quoting and paraphrasing online sources.

Additionally, I wrote a technical poem of a Church Bell. Before this course, I was not comfortable writing poems because I could ever fully understand them. However, after writing the technical poem of a Church Bell, I realized that several devices used in poetry, such as metaphors, come naturally in my descriptions. Now, I enjoy writing poems and hope to create technical poems of future innovations involving electricity. Writing the poem itself took time and thinking, like any other poem. I imagined that I was a Church Bell and I wanted to express how I felt about being that object. Therefore, I personalized the bell and gave it a voice that hints the reader toward determining what object I am. Thus, I have explored poems as an effective writing strategy. I am disappointed that I might not use this strategy in my future engineering courses.