Visual Basic 'Miniprojects'

Here are some ideas for additional projects.  These projects are listed in order of difficulty, with the easiest first. The easiest projects should be very feasible for you once you have completed the other projects in this course, though you will probably need some help from your teacher or from the VB Help system. The more miniprojects you complete, and the greater their level of difficulty, the more credit you will receive.

1. Quadratic Solver

A program to solve the quadratic equation.

2. Bar Charts/Pie Charts

Stage 1: Program gets numbers from user and turns them into a bar chart. Think about scaling.

Stage 2: Same, but makes pie chart (a lot harder).

3. Encryption.

Convert text to encrypted text and back (keep it simple!).

4.  Semester Grade Calculator

User (a teacher) enters several letter grades for homework, tests, projects and semester exam, as well as a weighting for each. The program calculates the quarter grade.

5. Triangle solver and plotter.

Stage 1: User enters 2 sides of right triangle. Program solves for 3rd side.

Stage 2: Same, but computer can accept and calculate angles as well as lengths.

Stage 3: Same, but computer plots triangle.

Stage 4: Same, but for triangles that are not necessarily right triangles.

5. Multiple choice tester with 10 questions.

Computer reports score and corresponding letter grade. Use a single form. Incorporate graphics into  a couple of the questions.

6. Morse code translator.

Convert text to printed Morse code (... --- ...) and back again. You will need to do research to find out what the Morse codes are.

7. Analog clock display.

With hour, minute and second hands.

8. Countdown to summer!

A display of days, hours, minutes and seconds until the summer vacation begins, as well as a display of seconds only.

9. Chemical Equation balancer.

10. Heat power calculator.

Program calculates heat power needed to maintain rectangular building at a given temperature. User inputs outside temp, desired inside temp, dimensions of building (w,l,h), material and thickness of walls and roof (assume no heat loss through floor).

Note: The heat energy flowing through a flat surface per second (in joules per second or watts, P,  is given by

               P = k A (T₂ - T₁)               

                              L

where k is the thermal conductivity, L is the thickness, A is the area, T₁ and T₂ are the external and internal temperatures, respectively. Some values for k:  insulating brick = 0.15,  red brick = 0.6,  concrete = 0.8,  felt = 0.04,  glass = 0.8,  ice = 1.6,  rock wool = 0.04,  Styrofoam = 0.01,  wood = 0.08 (typically)

11. Base Converter

Stage 1: Program converts decimal to binary numbers.

Stage 2: Decimal to binary and back.

Stage 3. Convert between decimal, binary and hexadecimal.

Stage 4: Convert between decimal, binary, hexadecimal and roman numerals.

12. Program to calculate and display the orbit of a comet.

13. Distance between 2 points on earth’s surface.

User enters coordinates of 2 points on the earth’s surface - program calculates distance between them and their relative orientations in degrees.

14. Blackjack simulation.

15. ‘3D’ representation of a spinning cube.

Based on calculations rather than a sequence of ready made images.

16. Graph plotter for simple equations such as y = sin (x).

17. 2 player ball and paddle game (like the very first video game, Pong).

18. Tetris