Class 12 Projects

Issa Beck

Hi, my name is Issa. 

I struggled to think of a topic for my Year 12 Project and was unsure of what I wanted to do until the day we had to submit our topics. While daydreaming about potential subjects, I realised that this seemingly meaningless activity might hold the answer to my dilemma. Little did I know that this often negatively viewed behavior would turn out to be incredibly helpful throughout my Project year. Daydreaming is a significant part of our daily lives that doesn’t get much attention. Studies show that the average person spends 47% of their waking hours daydreaming . This made me wonder why we are wired this way and what purposes daydreaming might serve. Although many people see daydreaming as an unnecessary distraction, my research showed the benefits. This led me to the question: 

“How do our misconceptions about daydreaming affect our understanding of its potential benefits?”

Although daydreaming has traditionally been linked to sleep and rest, research shows that our brains are actually more active during mind-wandering (the scientific term for daydreaming) than when we are focusing on a task. This heightened brain activity involves different cognitive networks. So, while daydreaming might seem like a passive activity, it actually involves significant mental engagement. This can help creativity, planning, and personal insight, as it activates areas of the brain involved in creative thinking, problem-solving, and working memory.  

Working memory is the ability to retain information despite distractions. It can benefit from daydreaming because it acts like practice for the brain, similar to how working out strengthens a muscle. Daydreaming supports problem-solving by allowing the brain to address conflicts and issues without the pressure of active concentration. It helps by sorting through memories and experiences to connect them with current situations. Even if our minds wander from a task, we might be resolving more complex personal problems. 

Different types of daydreaming can also have varied effects on creativity. Positive, constructive daydreaming supports creativity, as both daydreaming and creative thinking involve unintentional brainstorming.

History shows that daydreaming can lead to significant innovations. For example, Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity while his mind wandered at a patent office job. Similarly, Isaac Newton came up with the theory of gravity while daydreaming about an apple falling from a tree.

For my practical component, I am combining pencil drawings and photography to represent various aspects of daydreaming. Understanding the science behind daydreaming has changed my personal perspective on it. In a culture that values constant busyness and focus, it’s important to recognise that there are genuine benefits to the wonderful state of daydreaming. 

Kaan Kombak

Over a year ago I was looking for a caravan with my parents in someone's back garden and amongst the heap of secondhand caravans two very old cars caught my eye. Two weeks later I bought the two cars, both 1964 Morris 1100s, one white, one green. I was determined to restore and register one of them in time for my Year 12 Project Practical. Not being the most diligent student sitting behind a desk, I knew the practical component of my Year 12 Project would keep me inspired and motivated for the last year of school. I knew I would learn a lot, do a lot and get a unique car at the end.

So began an almost full-time job! We just had space at home to store the ‘spare parts’ car and build the other one. After gutting the car, I cut out heaps of rust and then had to teach myself how to weld! I welded in solid metal and fixed all the panel work. Through trial and error, I managed to teach myself the basics of panel beating and bogging up dents. I then painted the whole car inside and out. In total, the bodywork took about six months.

I then restored the interior, refurbished the seats, soundproofed the inside, laid carpet and new headlining. The car started to look great!  The hydro elastic suspension proved challenging to fix and I had to go to a specialist Mini Racing club to use their equipment. Luckily there is very little electric wiring in the car so re-wiring it was not hard. The engine was taken out of the spare car, given a decent service and then put into its new engine bay.

I remember hearing the engine tick over for the first time, what a great sound! Now, the car is running quite nicely. Every time it is test driven, I have to work on it more – the brakes seized the other day, the clutch is a bit dodgy ... but I hope to have the car registered very soon!

During this memorable journey I was surprised at how robust and serviceable these old cars are. For example, after rebuilding the front suspension I had a little bit of play in the upper control arm ball joint. Instead of replacing it with a new one I was able to take it apart and remove some shims to account for the years of wear on the joint, making it as good as new again.  

Through the last year and a half of this project I have learnt countless things about myself: These cars have tested my patience to the limits (it took me 4 weeks of trying one option then another then yet another - to figure out why the fuel was not being taken up from the fuel tank). I have learned about resilience and problem-solving skills to the extreme. One of the biggest things I have learnt about myself is how much I have enjoyed this work. I could never have imagined that nearly 18 months in I would still be so energetic and motivated about this project. When things go drastically wrong, I am surprised at how I keep going, undo hours of work to change something, then put it back together. For someone who can’t sit still in a classroom for more than 20 minutes, I have surprised myself.

Because I began with my practical component I had to come up with a question after I had already begun building a car. I found this whole aspect of the project, the research and writing frustrating and difficult. Eventually, I settled on the question;

“What influences motivation and can motivation levels be changed?”

To summarise 4,000 words of report, and supported by my very personal but unscientific experience, sometimes motivation levels are very low and just cannot be improved. For example, I loathed writing my report and loved working on the cars, meaning my motivation levels of the practical and the report could not have been wider apart. When writing my report I was able to understand why this was the case, which I found interesting.

Etienne Dawson

Hi there. My name’s Etienne. I’m not French, but I’m sure that’s not why you’re here. Throughout the last year, I have been exploring the environmental effects of modern rocket launches. Specifically, I’m looking at the negative environmental effects of the modern launch industry as well as current and developing measures for pollution mitigation. Now, I know that’s a bit of a mouthful, but just stick with me for a little bit.

I was compelled to rocketry due to a particular fascination with the topic. I’m not sure when exactly I became interested in rockets and space exploration, but it’s been an ongoing hobby for a good few years at least. A special interest, if you will. Within the vast panorama of potential questions and areas of research, the environmental aspect of this world-wide industry stood out to me especially.

Reusability has been a major focus within the industry in recent years. Companies in the U.S. like SpaceX and Blue Origin have been pouring billions into the development of rapidly reusable spaceships that require little to no refurbishment, cutting down on the cost of space infrastructure. SpaceX’s latest vehicle, Starship, is paving the way for a new era of spaceflight. These plans describe a reusable launch system that could lift-off, land, and launch again within the hour.

This aspect of reusability has really interested me. Apart from the sheer spectacle of seeing 20-story-high rockets land themselves from space, it brings up the important issue of environmental impact. Of course, SpaceX’s primary motive for rapid reuse will likely be tremendous profits, but can reducing the amount of resources that go into orbital spaceflight help our planet? Or is the increasing number of rocket launches doing more harm than good?

Over the last six months or so, I’ve considered a number of aspects within the environmental effects of space flight. I’ve explored the chemical emissions of rockets throughout their lifetimes, and what they do to the atmosphere and our precious ozone layer. In order to reduce the scale of my research, though, I had to look at only select portions of the rocket lifecycle.

Specifically, I’ve ignored aspects such as vehicle manufacturing and resource consumption, areas with great environmental significance. Surprisingly, though, in stripping back the domain of my study, I have come across findings that I wouldn't have expected. One case, for example, is the proportionally significant impact of re-entering spacecraft on our environment — parts of a vehicle or spaceship that fall back into the atmosphere at tremendous speeds. These re-entering components return with such high velocities that they are disintegrated by the air, forming a glowing trail across the sky and releasing numerous unwanted gases.

While it pains me to cut back on the many important areas of potential research, each ‘small’ section, as it turns out, is an entire project on its own. And to make the sub-year deadline, one must find a balance between thorough and concise.

Another unmistakably important aspect of environmental rocketry is the politics and ethical considerations of the matter. One must acknowledge the far reaching and deeply ingrained questions of ethics and environmental concern, and the political and humanitarian implications of controlled rocket flight. Space is a topic with vastly varied and polarising views — and it's one that I want to represent fully and with unbiased sensitivity. Initially, I had wanted to present “Environmental and Ethical Spaceflight,” however, upon diving into the topic, it’s become dramatically clear to me that this is far beyond my scope of capability. 

For my practical component, I’m expanding on the prospect of ‘cleaner’ rocket fuels. Along with my fellow classmate Ignacio, I’ve constructed a simple ionic thruster. Using only electricity to generate propulsion, and even creating a little ozone gas in the process, I’m using this thruster to demonstrate the reluctant reality about spaceflight. Because the truth is, it’s hard. In order to lift the heavy machinery that enables crucial technologies like global communication and GPS, rockets need a heck-of-a-lot of thrust. And that thrust is incredibly difficult to get without the unwanted side effect of environmental and atmospheric pollution. It’s just not easy to find a ‘clean propulsion.’

If you’d like to see our ionic thruster in action, pop past the Physics demonstrations in on Open Day.

Of course, I’m in no way trying to deny or diminish the need for further improvement and environmental action. I’m only trying to spread a little of what I’ve learned. Even though the field raises substantial and unavoidable dilemmas and concerns, it’s still a field that truly fascinates me. And I hope it can fascinate you too — at least a little.