Game Changer

"Changing the game" is tough. Some of you will have the chance to attempt the equivalent at some point in your careers. Simulating this type of experience via Billy Beane's story is a chance to reflect on the blend of "art" and "science" required to solve the intractable challenge's you may come up against.

Use internet research and class discussion to answer the following questions.

1) What was the “Moneyball”approach that Billy Beane and Peter Brandt applied to the Oakland Athletics 2002 season? Was it an “art” or a “science”? What single statistic did they boil their value consideration down to? (In class research/discussion)
They wanted to get the best values for players. It was a combination of Billy Beane's art of negotiation and Peter Brandt' science of statistics. They boiled their value consideration down to On Base Percentage.

2) What is the equation used to calculate OBP? (In class research/discussion)
OBP=(Hits+Bases on Walks+Hit by Pitch)/(At Bats+Bases on Walks+Hit by Pitch+Sacrifice Flies)

3) What is design? (In class research/discussion)

A plan or drawing produced to show the look and functions or workings of an object before it is built or made.

4) Describe 3 situations where movie characters (intentionally or not) applied a step from the PLTW 12 Step Design Process. Explain both the (a) situation as well as (b) how the step is relevant:
1 - Beane asked his board of scouts what the problem was that they were trying to fix and they couldn't answer it correctly.

2 - Beane hired an assistant (Peter Brandt) that had a solution to his problem.

3 - Beane applied the Moneyball system to get his team. After he created it, he tested and evaluated his team and found that he could refine it by cutting Jeremy Giambi for his careless personality.

5) What is “Leadership”? List the three aspects of leadership that we come up with in class. (In class research/discussion)
1 - Leading by example

2 - Making decisions under pressure and without other input

3 - Coordinating a group
6) Describe 3 circumstances from the story where a character exercised effective leadership:
1 - David Justice provided leadership by being the oldest and most experienced player.
2 - Billy Beane shows leadership to Peter Brandt by showing him what it takes to be the manager of a team.
3 - Billy Beane showed leadership when he went into the locker room and disciplined his players after the loss when they were all partying.

7) According to the movie, what was the A’s record at the start of their winning streak? 68:51

8) What does this ratio simplify to (roughly)? 1.33: 1

9) How long was the A’s record setting winning streak? 20 games won.

10) Given the A’s win/loss ratio at the start of the streak (listed two questions above), what are the odds of winning 20 games in a row? Run the numbers. (In class research/discussion)

The odds of winning 20 games in a row are roughly 1 in 447 years by complete chance.

11) Based on your calculation, do you think the A’s got lucky or was there something to the Moneyball approach?
I think the A's got lucky with the amount of money they spent and the quality of players on the team.

12) Did Billy Beane strictly apply the “science” of Moneyball to his management approach? Was there an “art” to his efforts as well? Describe a circumstance where he broke from the Moneyball approach to make a positive change for the team.
Billy Beane also used an art to his efforts through his negotiations and team management. By cutting Jeremy Giambi (a very good moneyball pick), he made a positive change for the team by eliminating his careless attitude.

Bonus Question (look into this if you’ve finished ahead of the class):
Money Ball was originally a book. What author wrote the book? What other books has this author written? Is there a theme to his writing?
Michael Lewis wrote "Money Ball". He has also written "Liar's Poker", "The New New Thing", and "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game". The theme to his writing seems to be sports books about changes in games.

It's "Oscar Season", will Moneyball win the Oscar for any of the categories it's up for?

No.

Soccer Goal

This soccer goal will turn on the red lamp on top of the goal if a goal is scored. The photoresistors inside the goal will sense when the ball passes by the lights and turn on the lamp on top signifying a goal.

And here is the software that we used to get the goal to do what we wanted.



Activity 3.1.6 Open and Closed Loop Systems

1. We built the support system and track.
2. We added the motor and gearbox.
3. This is the program we made for the system.

4. N/A
5. This is an open loop because there is nothing to provide feedback to the system.
6. The gearbox would come to rest far to the right than it started.
7. The process does have an inefficiency because it travels more one way than the other everytime the process is repeated. Also, if something slows the motor down one way, the motor will not adjust to keep the constant speed.
8. Here is the flowchart.

9. This is a closed loop because it responds to feedback.

10. This would be very precise because it would never get passed the mini-switches so it will alway have the same range of motion.

11. Here is the flow chart for the third program.

 

CONCLUSION:

1. A cell phone is an open loop system. The program starts when it recieves an incoming call and it ends when the "END" button is pressed. The system could benefit from feedback because hitting the end button ends the process and the end button is a feedback.

2. An air conditioner is a closed loop system. The feedback it gets comes from a thermometer. If the temperature is higher than the set temperature, it will cool the house down until the set temperature is reached. If the temperature is lower than the set temperature, it will warm the house up until the set temperature is reached.

Activity 3.1.5 Variable Functions

This is the final flow chart after completing steps 1-13. A is a variable.

14. The light was on for 5 seconds.

15.

CONCLUSION:

16. You can have a Plus 1 command and then the next step could have a Minus 1 command. That will make the variable block equal zero.

17. They may need to keep track of how many products they place in a box. If the box can only hold 10 items, then the engineer will have to set the program so that it stops after it places 10 items in the box so that they can switch out the box.

Activity 3.1.4 Branch Functions

1. If the mini switch is not being pushed and it is wired normally open, the program will continue through the 0 node.
2.

3. The lamp will continuously be lit if I1 is wired normally open and the switch is never pushed.
4. Right click and manipulate properties
5. run program
6.

 7./8./9./10./11.
Input 1 (I1) is a potentiometer with an analog range from 42-5000

For these 5 questions, this flowchart was only manipulated slightly.
CONCLUSION:
1. It is important to include branches because the program can make decisions based on actions that you perform.
2. A normally open switch is a doorbell. It is off until the button is pressed and it makes a noise.
3. A normally closed switch is a house alarm. It is constantly on until someone types in the password and turns it off.

Activity 3.1.3 Basic Programming

1. The best way to make sure all the devices are in the correct ports of the interface and have been wired correctly is to hit the test button at the top of the RoboPro screen

2. Labeling block functions makes the flowchart much easier to read. If you have multiple motors in the flow chart turning on and off, the labels can help you understand which motor will turn on/off at each time

Activity 3.1.2 Flowcharts

a. Create a flowchart that portays the following:
- pick up an object from a bin
- test the object's weight
- does the object weigh 50 kg or more? If yes, drop the object in a bin called HEAVY
- If no, drop the object in a bin called LIGHT
- Repeat this process three times

b. Create a flowchart that portrays the following:
- pick up an object from a bin
- test the object's weight
- does the object weigh 50 kg or more? If yes, drop the object in a bin called HEAVY
- If no, drop the object in a bin called LIGHT
- Repeat this process ten times

c. Creat a flowchart that portrays the following:
- choose a number between 1 and 10
- is the number odd? if yes, add 1
- if no, add 0
- divide the number by 2
- is the number 1? if yes, stop
- if no, loop back to the second step

1. Flowcharting is similar to using a map to plan a route for a trip because on a map you need to follow certain roads and highways to reach your destination. In flowcharting, the START is your starting location, the pathway on the flowchart is the pathway on the map that you are taking, and the END is when you finally reach your destination.

2. Describe a process that you perform every day. Develop a flowchart that illustrates the process.