As if they are engineers, students are tasked to design solar-powered model vehicles that are speedy and compact in order to make recommendations to a local car sales company. Teams familiarize themselves with the materials by building solar-panel model car prototypes, following kit instructions, which they test for speed. After making design improvements, they test again. Then they take measurements and calculate the volume of each team’s vehicle. They rank all teams’ vehicles by speed and by size. After data analyses, reflection and team discussion, students write recommendations to the car company about the vehicle they think is best for consumers. Youngsters experience key portions of the engineering design process and learn the importance of testing and collaborating in order to make better products. Pre/post-quizzes and numerous worksheets and handouts are provided.
- Subject:
- Applied Science
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Measurement and Data
- Statistics and Probability
- Material Type:
- Activity/Lab
- Provider:
- TeachEngineering
- Provider Set:
- Activities
- Author:
- Ameer Hicks
- Jack Sparrow
- Lisa VanOrder
- Date Added:
- 02/20/2018