Define the Problem
Generate Concepts
In this project, we soldered and assembled a Random Number Generator, which randomly generates any number from 1-6, from a kit supplied by PLTW. Our main goals were to learn how to solder and become proficient, follow directions to successfully complete the project with a prototype that functions properly, and finally, to conclude whether or not our number generator is actually fair enough to play a game with.
Construct and Test the Prototype
Testing table
Evaluate the Solution
Conclusion Questions:
1. My Random Number Generator was not perfectly even, that is, most of the time, the dice landed on a 1 or 4 (see above). Also, the dice rarely landed on a 2 or 3, with only an 11% distribution for each. It's hard to tell whether or not my RNG is fair, because it was only rolled 100 times. To get a better idea, more trials would need to be done, or a statistical analysis could be performed.
2. The term "debug" is most famously known for its use by Admiral Grace Hopper (haha), who discovered a moth stuck inside a computer that she was working on at Harvard University. She then proceeded to try to remove the moth and when asked what she was doing, she replied that she was "debugging" the system. Hopper, however, supposedly said that she was not coining the term, as it had been used before in aeronautics, and it fit with the moth situation.
1. My Random Number Generator was not perfectly even, that is, most of the time, the dice landed on a 1 or 4 (see above). Also, the dice rarely landed on a 2 or 3, with only an 11% distribution for each. It's hard to tell whether or not my RNG is fair, because it was only rolled 100 times. To get a better idea, more trials would need to be done, or a statistical analysis could be performed.
2. The term "debug" is most famously known for its use by Admiral Grace Hopper (haha), who discovered a moth stuck inside a computer that she was working on at Harvard University. She then proceeded to try to remove the moth and when asked what she was doing, she replied that she was "debugging" the system. Hopper, however, supposedly said that she was not coining the term, as it had been used before in aeronautics, and it fit with the moth situation.
I’m glad that we did this project because I feel like I have learned a new skill. I’ve never soldered before, although I have welded, and that made it easier to learn. I like soldering, and I think that the skill will be important for me in the future, both in attempting to obtain internship opportunities and to use later throughout Digital Electronics and next year in Engineering Design. Soldering is a pretty basic skill to have, but as the project went on, I felt that I understood how to make better “Hershey kisses” and how to be more efficient and fix my little mistakes, for instance if I didn't add enough solder or if I had a big glob of metal on the board. It’s always nice to learn through a hands-on project, although nowadays, circuits are much smaller in scale. The components that we used were easy to deal with, and I didn’t cut myself with the little legs of the IC’s or burn myself with the solder so that’s good news. Somehow, I finished before some other people and I only had two days. I still feel like I don’t know exactly how the Random Number Generator randomly generates numbers, or randomly turns on the lights.