Group 4 project

Harveen Anand

The IB requires us to do group four wherein we are introduced to the idea that the sciences require teamwork. The project allows us to apply the various skills learnt in the classroom, to the real life.

For this year’s group four project, we were required to research and design a greenhouse. Even

though divided into various subject groups, the entire grade 11 was to work on creating one

greenhouse. This, in many ways, allowed us to work in teams and be considerate of another’s

perspective. This, I believe, was a major skill that we acquired through this process.

Being a part of the physics group, we brainstormed and researched the various aspects of physics

that go into designing a greenhouse. While researching we came across various aspects which may

be included in a greenhouse. After many group discussions, we decided that we would like to

research about the materials that may be used to create the greenhouse, and the ways in which light

rays penetrate each of the materials. We also research about sensors and how they may be used in a

greenohuse.

We began by researching and brainstorming about the material that we may use to build the

greenhouse. Our research led us to two materials, polythylene and polycarbonate, which could be

used to build the green house. After a lot of discussions, and after weighing out the pro and cons, we

decided that polycarbonate would be a better option out of the two. The DT group, however, had

conflicts with this decision. They believed that costs would increase majorly if we were to use

polycarbonate instead of polythylene. After a lot of discussion, they were convinced that

polycarbonate was the better of the two option because even though it may have been slightly more

expensive, polythylene would have required changing of sheets very often which would have made

it cost more in the long run. Herein, we also kept in mind that polycarbonate was a better conductor

of UV rays as compared to polythylene. We kept this in mind after a discussion with the biology group which allowed us to understand the condition that would be required by the plants for better

growth.

Next, we researched about the sensors and how these can be used to make the greenhouse more

efficient. For this, we worked closely with the computer science group. We identified the following

sensors which could be used in a greenhouse: temperature sensors, pH testers, and humidifiers. We

came to the conclusion that along with the pH tester we can also add a water sensor. We identified

that a temperature sensor woulb be extremely costly and would not do much benefit to the

greenhouse as it would only identify the temperature and the rest would have to be manual work.

While doing the group four project I feel that we became better communicators. The group

discussions enabled us to discuss ourr thoughts, ideas, and research in a much more effective

manner. It also somewhere made us more considerate of another’s ideas and perspectives and

allows us to understand those better making us more open minded. This understanding also allowed

us to connect our research, across disciplines, to obtain our final goal.  Apart from this, I believe that

we were also inquirers throughout this project as we always tried to find a new more efficient aspect

to be added to the project.