The Group 4 Project

Our Y12 International Baccalaureate students were off timetable for two days in order to complete their Group 4 project. Group 4, ‘The Sciences’, encompasses Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Design Technology and Computer Science. The Group 4 project is a requirement for all students to work across disciplines, learning to work with specialists from other fields and value the expertise developed in other subject areas. This year, students considered some of the problems associated with building floating cities and proposed some solutions.

The first group focused on the issues associated with keeping the city stable and the possibility of moving location. Some interesting solutions were considered, modelled and proposed related to keeping the city stable in high seas and winds or if everyone goes to a football match on one side of the island! The students looked at propulsion systems, gyroscopic stabilisation and considered the calculations required to ensure the city would remain buoyant. They even considered the networks and control systems required to drive these solutions.

Group 2 focused on waste management, calculating the amount of waste materials expected to be generated and then homing in on biological waste. Students considered creative ways of moving waste around the island and weighed up advantages and disadvantages of various disposal systems, eventually settling on composting and generating biofuels. An experiment was carried out to see if composting could generate methane for use in heating and power generation and the success of this led the students to recommend this as the preferred method of disposing of biological waste.

Our final group looked at power generation. They quickly realised that relying on the mainland for sources of power could cause a range of problems so they focused on trying to generate the power on the island itself. Calculating the amount of energy that an average person was expected to consume led to a target figure for power generation and they came up with a range of calculated solutions that included a combination of wind, tide, solar and biogas systems.

The teachers supporting the activity and assessing the presentations were impressed at the levels of engagement from the students and the young people certainly fulfilled the requirement to be able to work as a team. Presentations were outstanding, demonstrating a range of skills and a deepening of subject expertise over the course of the two days. Certainly, seeing the students work together in this way affirms that subjects in Group 4 have a lot in common and that the ability to draw on each other’s expertise is vital to solving technical problems. Good work, year 12!