(Provided courtesy of Teachengineering.org, with additional material from National Geographic, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA.)

Summary

Hurricane season is here, reminding us that accurate weather forecasts can be a matter of life and death in vulnerable coastal areas of the country. Even inland, severe thunderstorms play havoc with late-summer travel, and tornadoes threaten lives and property. In this lesson for grades 6 to 8, students begin by considering how weather forecasting plays an important part in their daily lives. They learn about the history of weather forecasting — from old weather proverbs to modern forecasting equipment — and how improvements in weather technology have saved lives by providing advance warning of natural disasters.

Engineering Connection

People have forecast the weather since ancient times; however, thanks to the work of engineers over the past 100 years, we now have sophisticated weather forecasting equipment like weather balloons, satellites, Doppler radar and computer simulation programs. Today, people around the world rely on the information provided by these weather forecasting technologies, in the form of weather forecasts broadcast multiple times daily, to help choose what to wear, plant crops at the right time, and prevent natural disasters, such as hurricanes, floods and tornadoes.

Time Required: 20 minutes

Related Curriculum: subject areas Earth and Space, Science and Technology

Educational Standards

Colorado Science Standard 5: Students know and understand interrelationships among science, technology, and human activity and how they can affect the world. (Grades 0 – 12) [1995]; 4.2: Students know and understand the general characteristics of the atmosphere and fundamental processes of weather. (Grades 0 – 12) [1995]

Click here and scroll down to “Educational Standards” to see if this lesson meets standards in your state.

Learning Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

• Describe how weather forecasting has evolved from the observation of patterns to modern forecasting equipment.

• Explain how engineering advancements in weather forecasting improves the quality of people’s lives around the world.

• List several examples of technology behind modern forecasting equipment (weather balloons, satellites and weather radars).

Introduction/Motivation

What were you thinking about when you got dressed for school this morning? Specifically, how did you decide what to wear today? Did you glance out the window to see what the weather was doing? If you did look at the window this morning, what were your clues? (Possible answers: clouds, sunshine, wind blowing through the trees, birds in the sky, etc.) So, without even thinking about it this morning, you were forecasting the weather! Just as you did this morning, people around the world have been forecasting the weather for thousands of years. For a long time, people relied on weather patterns to predict the weather.

Who has heard the following expression? “Red skies in the morning, sailors take warning? Red skies at night, sailors’ delight.”

Well, although this rhyme is not entirely true, ancient sailors used it as a rule of thumb, due to the fact that a red morning sun did indeed often bring rain (because the red sky occurred when the air was full of dust and water vapor).

Besides sailors navigating on the open water and you wanting to dress right for the weather, why do we care about weather forecasting? (Note: Show students the weather section of the day’s newspaper.) Why is there a weather section in the newspaper? When you do see people consulting the weather forecast, either in the newspaper or on television? (Possible answers: before planning a trip, a sporting event, going on a picnic, etc.) What about people who grow food? Does anybody here have a garden at their house? It is certainly helpful to understand the weather when taking care of a garden.

For farmers, whose crops are their livelihood, the ability to predict the weather is crucial. Before the advent of modern weather forecasting technology, which we will discuss later, how do you think farmers predicted the weather? (Note: If possible, show the students a copy of the Farmer’s Almanac.) Some of you may have heard of The Farmer’s Almanac, a book — used since 1792 — that uses a complex series of natural cycles to devise a secret weather forecasting formula, traditionally said to be 80% accurate. Before modern weather technology, farmers relied heavily on the Almanac to plan their crop growing seasons. People around the country still read the Almanac to learn about farming, the weather and to understand astronomical events and ocean tides.

How do you think people forecast the weather today? (Possible answers: satellites, weather balloons, computers) Over the past100 years, engineers and scientists have worked to design modern forecasting equipment like weather balloons, satellites, Doppler radars, and more to help predict the weather. Fortunately, modern equipment has made it much easier to predict weather, climate and water-related hazards around the world, which account for nearly 90% of all natural disasters. Modern weather forecasting technology provides vital information for advance warnings of natural disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes and floods. Improved technology has saved many lives and reduced damage to property and the environment.

Lesson Background & Concepts for Teachers

History of Weather Forecasting

Humans have always attempted to predict the weather. In 650 B.C., people living in Babylonia, an ancient state in the southern part of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), predicted the weather from cloud patterns. The ancient Chinese predicted the weather by observing patterns of events. If the sunset was unusually red, it was often an indication of good weather for the following day.

Although these ancient methods of weather forecasting were used for centuries, they were not always reliable. Another limitation was that information about the current state of the weather could not be communicated to places far away. So, if a community of Babylonians were experiencing a terrible storm, they had no way to warn their neighbors downwind that trouble was coming!

The most basic weather forecasting is still based on the observation of weather patterns, which over the years has led to folklore about the weather. You are probably familiar with Groundhog Day, celebrated on February 2. This folklore originated from ancient Celtic people who believed that if the winter’s midpoint was sunny and clear, there would be a long, cold winter. In the Pennsylvania town of Punxsutawney, tradition holds that on the morning of February 2, a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil leaves his home under the ground. If it is sunny and clear enough for little Punxsutawney Phil to “see his shadow,” a long winter is predicted. Unfortunately, this weather folklore is only accurate about half the time!

Modern Forecasting Equipment

Today, we rely on modern forecasting technology and engineering to predict weather patterns. The modern age of weather forecasting began with the invention of the telegraph in 1837, which allowed forecasts to be made by knowing what the weather conditions were like in distant places.

Even more progress was achieved during the 20th century, when engineers and scientists designed computers to make numerical weather predictions (computer simulations) of the atmosphere (see Figure 2). These simulations take information about the present weather and use the computational tools of physics and fluid dynamics to predict future atmospheric states.

Basically, the complicated equations used by the computer project how the working fluids of the atmosphere (i.e., wind and water) will change with different atmospheric conditions (i.e., temperature, humidity and pressure).

It is important to note that before any fancy computer simulations can be made, “raw” weather data (actual weather measurements) must be collected.

Two U.S. government agencies, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) use computer models, satellites and aircraft to predict weather patterns.

Rear Admiral Philip M. Kenul, an engineer, is in charge of NOAA ships and aircraft, including the “hurricane hunters.”

NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) is responsible for monitoring and forecasting severe weather events. They issue watches and warnings for tornadoes, flash floods, non-precipitation events (such as high wind warnings), severe thunderstorms, and flooding, as well as daily weather forecasts. They reach the public with these warnings mainly through NOAA weather radio and the Internet.

NASA assists NOAA with data gathered from satellites, a lightning ground-tracking network and unmanned vehicles that fly into storms.

A NOAA image of Hurricane Allen, 1980.

Weather Balloons

NOAA researchers prepare to release a weather balloon as part of an experiment.

Weather balloons are launched simultaneously twice a day from 900 locations around the world to obtain various types of weather data from the atmosphere. Weather balloons are made out of latex or neoprene (synthetic rubber) and have been engineered to withstand ice, rain, thunderstorms, very high winds, temperatures as cold as -95°C and air pressure 1,000 times less than what it is on Earth. These sturdy balloons carry an instrument called a radiosonde that measures pressure, temperature and relative humidity. Every two seconds, a transmitter on the radiosonde sends the data back to tracking equipment on Earth. Weather balloon technology had made it possible for us to retrieve important weather information in seconds, literally.

Satellite Technology

What about the big picture? Weather satellites are another engineering marvel that enable us to see what the Earth and clouds look like from space and give us a more comprehensive view of Earth’s interrelated systems and climate.

Weather Radars

What if we wanted to see inside a large cloud or storm to analyze its structure and gauge its potential to cause severe weather? Is this possible? Military radar operators asked this same question during World War II, when they noticed noise in returned radar echoes due to weather elements like rain, snow and sleet. When the war was over, many of these military radar operators became engineers to develop a use for the noisy echoes. Now, we have weather radar, a special type of radar that uses radio waves to “see” how precipitation is behaving in a cloud and how it might change.

RADAR stands for Radio Detection and Ranging. Basically, a radar is an electronic instrument used to determine the direction and distance of objects that reflect radio energy back to the radar site. Weather radars use radio waves to locate precipitation and determine its type (rain, snow, sleet or hail). They also calculate the motion of precipitation and forecast its future position and intensity.

All weather radars work by the process of scattering, where radiation energy is reflected by small particles, as shown in Figure 5. So, when weather radar sends a radar beam out into space, the precipitation particles in the atmosphere cause the radiation energy to scatter. The motion and behavior of the scattered radiation is read by the radar site and translated into important weather information.

The Doppler Radar

Most weather radars are Doppler radars, which can also detect the motion of rain droplets. Doppler radar gets its name from the Doppler Effect. Have you ever listened to an ambulance siren or a train whistle as it was coming toward you? You probably noticed that the pitch of the whistle changed as the train passed you and moved away. This change in the frequency of sound is called the Doppler Effect.

A Doppler radar measures the changes in the frequency of the signal it receives to detect the intensity of precipitation, estimate wind direction and speed, and predict hail size and rainfall amounts. Doppler radar gives forecasters the capability of providing early detection of severe thunderstorms that may bring strong damaging winds, large hail, heavy rain and possibly tornadoes.

Who Uses the Information?

We can certainly appreciate the staggering advances in weather forecasting equipment since the telegraph was used 100 years ago. What about the people who use the equipment? Who looks at all this weather data? Who checks to see if it makes sense?

One international organization is the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an agency of the United Nations. WMO works to verify and standardize weather data and make it available to national meteorologists, local forecasters and other people interested in weather science and forecasting. This weather data is then put into maps by computers, which can make forecasts based on certain conditions and mark them on weather maps. Then, it is the meteorologist’s job to read and interpret these maps to make forecasts about the weather. You can obtain daily weather information for your city from the World Meteorological Organization by visiting http://worldweather.wmo.int/.

It is interesting to note that, according to NASA, the United States statistically has the world’s most violent weather. In a typical year, the U.S. will endure about 10,000 violent thunderstorms, 5,000 floods, 1,000 tornadoes, and several hurricanes. For this reason, improving weather prediction has been a high priority of meteorologists here for a very long time. Engineers and scientists will continue to work to improve weather forecasting technology to provide more accurate weather forecasts for the benefit of society, the economy and the environment.

Vocabulary/Definitions

Doppler Effect: The change in frequency of a wave (i.e., a sound wave) perceived by an observer moving relative to the source of waves.
Meteorologist: A person who uses scientific principles to explain, understand, observe or forecast the Earth’s atmospheric phenomena and/or how the atmosphere effects the Earth and life on the planet.
Radar: An electronic instrument used to determine the direction and distance of objects that reflect radio energy back to the radar site.
Satellite: Any object that has been put into orbit by human endeavor.
Scattering: The process by which radiation energy is reflected by small particles.
Weather Balloon: A durable helium — or hydrogen — filled balloon which carries instruments to obtain information about atmospheric conditions.
Weather Satellite: A type of satellite used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth.

Associated Activities

Backyard Weather Station – In this activity, students use their senses to describe what the weather is doing and to predict what it might do next.

Lesson Closure

Now that we have learned how weather forecasting has come a long way from the basic observation of weather patterns, we can appreciate the work of engineers who have worked so hard to develop modern forecasting equipment. Advanced technology like weather balloons, satellites and Doppler radars have improved the quality of people’s lives around the world by helping us plan our days, plant our crops, and prepare for natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes and floods.

Attachments

Cool Weather Forecasting Facts Worksheet (doc)
Cool Weather Forecasting Facts Worksheet (pdf)
Cool Weather Forecasting Facts – Answer Key (doc)
Cool Weather Forecasting Facts – Answer Key (pdf)

Assessment

Pre-Lesson Assessment

Weather Proverbs: Read the following list of weather proverbs to the students. In small groups or as a class, try to guess what each weather proverb means and what it might tell us about the weather.

If crows fly low, winds going to blow; if crows fly high, winds going to die.
No weather is ill if the wind is still.
News and weather….they travel together.
A sunshiny shower won’t last half an hour.
Clear moon, frost soon.
From twelve ’til two tells what the day will do.
It rains as long as it takes rain to come.
When sea birds fly to land there truly is a storm at hand.

Post-Introduction Assessment

Cool Weather Forecasting Facts: Before the lesson introduction, give each student a copy of the attached Cool Weather Forecasting Facts Worksheet. Have the students take notes while listening to the introduction and lesson (using the information from the lesson background section). At the end of lesson, have students share their cool weather forecasting facts with the class. This worksheet can also be used as a lesson organizer.

Lesson Summary Assessment

Explaining Weather Proverbs: Return to the list of weather proverbs listed in the Pre-Lesson Assessment. Now have the students explain how they could test these proverbs. What forecasting equipment could the students use to determine if the proverbs are true?

Lesson Extension Activities

Understanding the Doppler Effect: This activity can be used as a demonstration to teach students how the Doppler Effect works and how Doppler radar helps meteorologists predict the weather.

You will need:

Battery powered razor or horn (something with a steady tone)
Cassette recorder with a microphone

Procedure:

• Record the sound of the razor or horn.

• Play the recording to make sure it sounds exactly like the original sound.

• Record the razor or horn again. This time, move the razor or horn towards and past the microphone several times.

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• Play the recording back and listen to the pitch of the razor or horn go up as it gets closer to the microphone and go down as it moves further away.

Explanation: The change in the frequency of sound is called the Doppler Effect. Doppler radar measures the changes in the frequency of the signal it receives to detect the intensity of precipitation, estimate wind direction and speed, and predict hail size and rainfall amounts.

Video: Launch of a weather satellite.

Related Lesson: Hurricanes (Teachengineering.org)

Hard drive (freefoto.com)

In this two-hour activity for grades 7-9, students learn about the practical uses, structure, mathematics and terminology of the binary number system. They learn how to convert a given number from the binary to the decimal number system and vice versa, and perform binary addition and subtraction as part of a class game. They use this understanding to build their own simple, mechanical “hard drive” — a box that uses binary numbers to represent words for later retrieval.

The binary number system is key to the creation of all the digital electronics in our everyday lives. Copyright © 2008 Denise W. Carlson, ITL Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder.

The activity helps students build an appreciation for the way that computers and electronics store and retrieve information.

Engineering Connection

Computers, computer software programs, calculators, cell phones and all other digital electronic devices are built upon the foundation of the binary number system. In addition to the electronic devices themselves, the transmission, compression algorithms, storage and computation of electronic information all use binary numbers. Therefore, the engineers who design these products must understand how the binary system works.

From Wikimedia

Grade Level: 8 (7-9) Group Size: 3
Time Required: 120 minutes

Keywords: alphabet, base 2, binary, binary addition, binary number, binary number system, binary subtraction, bit, byte, conversion, convert, data, storage, hard drive, memory device, number, retrieval system

Related Curriculum : Number and Operations; Computer Science

Educational Standards :

* Pennsylvania Math
o 2.1. Numbers, Number Systems and Number Relationships (Grades 0 – 11) [1999]
Click here and scroll down to Standards to find out how this activity conforms with standards in your state.

Pre-Req Knowledge :Some knowledge of base numbering systems, including binary numbers.

Learning Objectives: After this activity, students should be able to:

• Describe a bit and byte and be able to use the terminology in context.

• Perform conversions from the binary to the decimal number system.

• Perform calculations involving the addition and subtraction of binary numbers.

• Design and use a simple binary storage and retrieval system.

Materials List

Each group needs:

• Sheet of paper

• Pencil or pen

• Calculator

• A shoebox, or any cardboard box about the same size as a shoe box

• A variety of materials to create a binary “switch” for the inside of a mechanical hard drive (box), such as construction paper, paperboard (from cereal or cracker boxes), coins, paperclips, markers. See the Procedure section for more details.

• Communications Code Worksheet, one per student

Introduction/Motivation

Digital electronics are a part of almost everyone’s daily life, but not many people give a second thought to the engineering that goes into designing their cell phones, iPods, appliances or computers. Generally, the intricacy and power of these devices are taken for granted without a true understanding of the basic building blocks of the devices. The everyday act of dialing a number on a cell phone and calling another person involves highly complex programs and algorithms to keep a network running smoothly without interference, downtime and the dreaded lost call. If people knew more about the structure and intricacy of their electronics they might better appreciate the existence of these devices. Electrical engineers use a counting system called binary numbers to design the electronics that you rely upon every day.

As part of today’s activity, you will use this number system to design your own simple mechanical computer hard drive. It will be a “mechanical” hard drive, since we will build it using a cardboard box instead of using wires and electricity. Suppose you want to store the word “dog” in some memory device (such as a hard drive) so that you could later retrieve it, or pass it along for someone else to retrieve. What would be the simplest way to store that word? (Possible answers: Write it down using the letters of the alphabet. Type it using the letters of the alphabet.) Now suppose you wanted to store the word “cat.” If you used our alphabet, you would need three new letters. To be able to store any word, how many total letters would you need? (Answer: 26) Computers are able to store those same words using only two digits, instead of 26. This saves both space and time. To do this, they convert letters to numbers (1 through 26), and then convert those numbers into binary. We’re going to learn now how to use binary numbers so that you can design your own hard drives to store words. By the end of the activity, you will understand the basic method that engineers use to store massive amounts of information on electronic hardware.

Vocabulary/Definitions

binary: A number system based on the power of two.
bit: A binary digit, either a 1 or 0.
byte: A unit of measure of data storage, most often a group of eight bits.
mechanical: A system relying on motion and force rather than electricity.

Procedure

Background

Digital circuits in digital electronic devices (such as calculators) use voltage levels to represent bits. A bit is either a 1 or 0, and two different voltage configurations can be used to distinguish between bits with values of 0 and 1. The first configuration represents 1 as a non-zero voltage and 0 as a zero voltage. The second configuration represents 1 as a high voltage value and 0 as a low voltage value. Both configurations easily distinguish between the two different voltage levels to assign the proper binary representation. This same idea is applied to CD-ROMs, in which pits or non-pits exist to represent 1s and 0s. A pit is just a position on the CD that was burned when the CD was created.

All of these forms of representing a bit can be used to store information or data on a hard drive, flash drive, CD-ROM or any other type of digital storage equipment. Therefore, each type of system has limited amount of space available to store the bits representing the data. The fact that memory for storing data is built on a structure of powers of 2 and not powers of 10 is important to note because memory size is often estimated to a power of 10 since this is more familiar to most people. In reality, however, the actual size of the memory is a power of 2, as shown in Table 1. The prefixes presented in Table 1 are often used to describe the number of bytes of information that can be stored on a device. For example, 12 KB (12 kilobytes) might be the size of a text document and 160 GB (160 gigabytes) might be the size of a hard drive.

Prefixes for various unit sizes of bytes. Copyright © 2008 Travis M. Doll, Drexel University.

A table with columns for prefix, symbol, estimated size and actual size. Prefixes are kilo, mega, giga and tera. Symbols are K, M, T, G. Estimated sizes begin with 1000^1=10^3. Actual sizes begin with 1024^1=2^10.

To convert between binary and decimal numbers, it is helpful to remember the meaning for each digit. For example, the decimal number 2,806 means “2×10³ + 8×10² + 0×10¹ + 6×10⁰.” Similarly, the binary number 1,101 means “1×2³ + 1×2² + 0×2¹ + 1×2⁰.” To convert this binary number to the decimal system, evaluate the previous expression. We find that it is equivalent to “8 + 4 + 0 + 1,” or the decimal number “13.”

In this activity, students first practice using binary numbers by doing many binary/decimal conversions as part of a class game. Then each team designs and builds its own hard drive using basic classroom supplies (box, paper, cardboard, paperclips, etc.). If you conduct the activity over two days, a good breaking point is after the game, before students start the design portion.

Before the Activity

• Prepare questions and answers to use for the game. See the attached Sample Questions & Answers Sheet for suggestions.

• Research the hard drive sizes of current electronic devices, such as computers and iPods, to use as examples when informing students about the number of bits and bytes that everyday devices can hold.

• Gather boxes and possible supplies for students to use to create their mechanical hard drives. Make copies of the Communications Code Worksheet, one per student.

With the Students: Practice Using Binary Numbers

1. Begin by asking students if they can define the terms, bit and byte.
2. Define a bit and a byte. Explain to students how each is applied, for example, in memory storage devices such as computer hard drives. Ask students to think of other examples.
3. Explain how many bits and bytes are in kilobyte, megabyte and gigabyte units. Provide examples of the large quantity of bits and bytes stored on hard drives (for example, a 160 GB iPod).
4. Explain why a number in the decimal system would need more than one bit in binary to represent the decimal number.
5. Go through at least two examples of converting a four bit or larger binary number into a decimal number. See the Background section for more explanation. Examples: binary number 110 = 1×2² + 1×2¹ + 0×2⁰ = 4 + 2 + 0 = 6 binary number 1101 = 1×2³ + 1×2² + 0×2¹ + 1×2⁰ = 8 + 4 + 0 + 1 = 13
6. Have students complete a similar conversion problem on their own.
7. Make sure that all students understand how to do the conversions.
8. Divide the class into groups of three or four students each.
9. Conduct a classroom game in which each team competes to solve binary number problems. See the attached Sample Questions & Answers Sheet. Go through 5-10 rounds of conversions with each round consisting of one binary to decimal conversion.
10. In each round, the first group to correctly answer the conversion receives a point, with each team only being allowed to answer once per question.
11. Without explaining, try several rounds of addition and subtraction of binary numbers.
12. Walk students through both an addition and subtraction problem.
13. Go through several more rounds of addition and subtraction problems.
14. End with a “final jeopardy”-type round, in which more points are awarded than for the previous problems.
15. If the activity is conducted over two days, this is a good stopping point. If stopping, assign students the worksheet as homework, helping them do the first few code items together.

With the Students: Design Project

1. Converting Letters to Binary: In this part of the activity, you will use your understanding of binary numbers to create a device that is like a computer hard drive. Your device, or box, will store a single word. When another person picks up your box, they will be able to retrieve that word from it. As we discussed earlier, computers use binary numbers (0 or 1) to communicate words, rather than the 26 letters of the alphabet.

• If students did not complete the worksheet as homework, have them complete it now. Review the answers when everyone is done.

• Ask students to write down a three-letter word of their choice. Next, have them convert the word into binary code using the code worksheet. Set this aside for now.

2. Representing Binary Digits (Bits) with Physical Objects: Any of the binary numbers in the problems we solved earlier can be represented using a physical object. As long as the object is like a switch that can be placed in only one of two possible configurations, that object can represent a “0″ or a “1.” For example, a coin has two sides: heads and tails. I could say the heads side represents “0″ and the tails side represents “1.” If I want to represent the number 4, which is “100″ in binary, I could put three coins next to each other, with the first one tails side up, and the second and third coins heads up.

• Ask students to brainstorm ideas for physical objects that could be used to represent a binary code. Objects should have two “switch” positions, such as on or off, up or down, left or right. (Possible ideas: Light switches, playing cards, light bulbs, coins, opened sandwich cookies, etc.) Remind students that in brainstorming, no idea or suggestion is “silly.” All ideas should be respectfully heard. Take an uncritical position, encourage wild ideas and discourage criticism of ideas. Write their ideas on the board.

• Within each group, have students evaluate the various ideas and determine which they think is best, based on the materials available in the classroom, the ease of implementation, and how well someone else would be able to understand and use the switch.

3. Building a Mechanical Hard Drive

• Based on the solutions that the groups select, direct the students to design and build their “switches” that enable them to write their words in binary. Each letter requires five switches, since Z, the 26th letter of the alphabet is written as 11010 in binary code (and therefore has five binary digits, or bits).

• Arrange the switches in the cardboard box so that they spell out the word. See Figure 1 for an example completed mechanical hard drive.

4. Conclude with Team Product Testing, as described in the Assessment section. Have each group exchange boxes with another group. In a class discussion, share experiences on how the hard drives worked, including suggested improvements.

In this example, switches are made from small disks that are white on one side (to represent “0″) and black on the other (to represent “1″). Notice that the first row displays the binary number 00100, which is equivalent to the decimal number 4, or the letter D. After studying the second and third line, notice that this mechanical hard drive stores the word “dog.” Copyright © 2008 Karen Emily Lunn King, ITL Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder.

A box containing three rows of five disks. In the first row, all of the disks are white except the middle one, which is black. In the second row, the first disk is white and the rest are black. In the third row, the first two are white and the last three are black.

Attachments

* Sample Questions & Answers Sheet (pdf)
* Sample Questions & Answers Sheet (doc)
* Communications Code Worksheet (pdf)
* Communications Code Worksheet (doc)
* Communications Code Worksheet Answers (pdf)
* Communications Code Worksheet Answers (doc)

Investigating Questions

What other base number systems could be used?

What are the formats that keyboards use for input to a computer (such as ASCII)? What are the formats that keyboards use for input to a computer (such as ASCII)?

Assessment

Pre-Activity Assessment

Class Discussion: Lead the class in an open discussion. Ask the students:

• What are examples of devices that store data digitally?

• What are different ways digital electronics represent a bit as a 1 or a 0, such as a CD-ROM and flash drive?

Activity Embedded Assessment

Game Participation: Take a mental note of who is participating and/or document each group’s participation in attempting to answer the game questions.

Worksheet: Assign students the Communications Code Worksheet to be collected at the end of class or the next day, depending on the availability of class time. Review their answers to gauge their mastery of the subject.

Post-Activity Assessment

Product Testing: Have each group give their hard drive box to another team to see if that group can retrieve their word without any assistance. Get the class back together to share how well the products worked, and suggested improvements. If time permits, have students send messages back and forth to each other using their products.

Activity Extensions

Have students add punctuation to their code and expand their hard drives to include full sentences.

Have students explore binary multiplication and division.

Have students investigate other number systems, such as hexadecimal and octal.

Have students learn to convert binary to hexadecimal and octal number systems.

Activity Scaling

• For lower grades, scale back the activity to include only the structure of binary numbers and the conversion of binary to decimal, and vice versa.

• For upper grades, briefly introduce the conversion of the numbers and focus more on the mathematical operations of binary numbers and the conversion of binary to hexadecimal and octal.

Owner: Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, Drexel University GK-12 Program

Contributors
Travis M. Doll, Karen King

Copyright © 2008 by Drexel University GK-12 Program. Drexel University GK-12 program, Engineering as a Contextual Vehicle for Science and Mathematics Education, supported in part by National Science Foundation Award No. DGE-0538476.

In this lesson for Grades K-2, youngsters come to understand that there are limits to what the eye can see and that a magnifying glass can help extend those limits.

Context

Children come equipped with natural curiosity and creativity and have had many experiences with technology by the time they enter school. In particular, students may have been exposed to optical technology such as glasses, magnifying lenses, or even periscopes, microscopes, and telescopes. For this age group, classroom activities should begin to channel students’ inventive energy to increase their awareness and purposeful use of tools.

Standards

AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy state: By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• Tools are used to do things better or more easily and to do some things that could not otherwise be done at all. In technology, tools are used to observe, measure, and make things. 3A/P1

• When trying to build something or to get something to work better, it usually helps to follow directions if there are any or to ask someone who has done it before for suggestions.

  Ideas in this lesson are also related to concepts found in the following AAAS benchmarks: By the end of the 2nd grade, students should know that

• People can often learn about things around them by just observing those things carefully, but sometimes they can learn more by doing something to the things and noting what happens. 1B/P1
• Tools such as thermometers, magnifiers, rulers, or balances often give more information about things than can be obtained by just observing things unaided. 1B/P2
• Describing things as accurately as possible is important in science because it enables people to compare their observations with those of others. 1B/P3
• When people give different descriptions of the same thing, it is usually a good idea to make some fresh observations instead of just arguing about who is right.

In this lesson, students will view objects of various sizes from several viewing distances to discover that their visual field is limited. Students will record what they see and will compare their observations with classmates in an open, nonjudgmental forum. They will have the opportunity to speculate about and experiment freely with magnifying glasses and will also conduct more structured experiments.

Planning Ahead

Materials:

Common objects of various sizes and shapes, such as blocks, coins, pencils, books, and erasers
Yardstick
Masking tape
Magnifying glasses
Draw What You See student sheet
Draw What You See with a Magnifying Glass student sheet
Set up several viewing stations in the classroom. Each station should include an object placed on a surface, such as a desk or a chair. Measure distances one, five, and ten feet from each station to serve as observation points. Clearly mark these with masking tape labeled with the correct distance, noted as “near,” “middle,” or “far.” (See the Motivation section for further explanation.)

Motivation

To begin this lesson, assign students to viewing stations. Explain that they will look at an object from three different distances—near, middle, and far—and will draw what they see. Then distribute the Draw What You See student sheet. Make sure that students locate the spaces on the student sheet where they should draw the object as they observe it from each observation point.

Have students stand at the closest observation point and draw what they see in the space provided. Have them then repeat the procedure at the other two observation points. Emphasize that they are to reproduce the size of the object as closely as they can.

Allow students to discuss how the size and distance of an object from their eyes affects how easy it is to see. Encourage students to look at other objects at various distances from them in the classroom to reinforce their formal observations.

Have them consider the following questions:

• Which object is easiest to see? Why?

• Are objects easier to see up close or far away?

Facilitate the discussion to make sure students understand that the larger and closer an object is to their eyes, the easier it is to see.

Development

Continue the discussion by asking the following questions:

• How small would the object you observed have to be before you couldn’t see it any more? How far away?

• What are some things you have trouble seeing?

• What can you do if an object is too small or too far away for you to see?

• Do you know of any tool that might help you see objects more easily?

Accept any answers to the first question, but make sure students understand that their vision is limited. As they discuss the second and third questions, point out that if they can’t move closer to an object, they can use tools such as the ones they mentioned—which might include glasses, magnifiers, binoculars, microscopes, and telescopes—to make the object appear larger and easier to see.

Then hand out magnifying glasses—one per viewing station or one per student, as available. Tell students what they are and ask if anyone has used one or knows anything about it. Have students look through the magnifying glass at each other and at objects around the classroom to get a feel for what it does.

Encourage students to experiment with the magnifying glass—looking through it with both eyes open and one eye closed and holding it at various distances from their eyes—to find the best way to use it. They will probably see best with the non-viewing eye closed and with the magnifying glass held five or six inches away from their face. Stress that there isn’t one “right” way to use the glass, but that they should find the way that works best for them.

Note: It’s important, however, that students do understand that the closer they hold the glass to an object, the larger the object appears. The Extensions section includes a website for an interactive tutorial students can do to reinforce this concept.

Once students have determined the way the magnifying glass works best for them, hand out the Draw What You See with a Magnifying Glass student sheet. Have students return to their viewing station and instruct them to view the object through the magnifying glass at each observation point and again draw the size and shape of what they see as accurately as they can.

Assessment

Have students hold the Draw What You See and Draw What You See with a Magnifying Glass student sheets side by side and compare their drawings of what they saw with and without the magnifying glass.

Have them discuss the following questions:

• Are your two sets of drawings the same or different? If they are different, in what way?

• How did the magnifying glass affect your vision?

• How might people use magnifying glasses in real life?

• What other tools do you know that help people use their senses and bodies better?

Students should be able to conclude from their drawings that the magnifying glass makes objects look bigger. You might want to point out that the word magnify actually means “to make bigger in size,” and mention other related words they might know, such as magnificent and magnitude to reinforce the meaning of “bigness.”

If students are curious about how the magnifying glass works, you could give a simple explanation about how it focuses light rays. A good explanation and drawing for your reference can be found at ThinkQuest: The Optics.

In discussing real-life applications of magnifying glasses, students might mention seeing grandparents or other adults using them to read. If someone brings up using a magnifying glass to start a fire, explain that students should not use the tool in this way, since it is very dangerous.

A discussion of other tools that help people experience and get around in the world might include hearing aids, canes, crutches, and wheel chairs—as well as roller skates, skateboards, bicycles, automobiles, airplanes, and rockets. By the end of the lesson, students should have developed an appreciation of the importance of tools and technology in their lives.

Extensions

This lesson may be supplemented by the related Science NetLinks lesson Scientific Inquiry, which is designed to introduce students to the skills of gathering, recording, and communicating observations.

In this series of lessons for grades 6-8, students first experiment with a virtual solar cooker to discover the mathematical relationship among reflection, transmission and absorption. Then they apply their knowledge to building and testing a solar cooker of their own invention. In an extension, students investigate how these principles can be used as sustainable energy sources for homes through passive solar heating.

Content Objectives

Students will know that

• Incident sunlight is reflected, transmitted, and absorbed when it falls upon a surface.
• A solar cooker is a solar collector; it “collects” and traps the sun’s energy, creating heat.
• Solar cookers require three (3) components: glazing, insulation and reflectors.
• There are limitations to how we can maximize solar energy depending upon our geographic location. (For standards, see below*)

Process Objectives

Students will be able to

• Describe how passive solar energy can be used in our everyday lives and homes.
• Discuss the mathematical relationship among reflection, transmission, and absorption: incident solar radiation (I) must equal reflected (R) plus transmitted (T) plus absorbed (A) radiation (I = R + T + A)Predict the relative transmission, reflection, and absorption properties for various materials.
• Construct a solar cooker that fully cooks a food of the students’ choice.

Assessment Strategies

• Observation of students’ interaction with the virtual solar cooker as a pre-instructional tool.
• Evaluation of the completed student handouts, and of the students’ participation in class discussions.

Suggested Time: Two to three (2-3) 50-minute class periods are required for this lesson.

Materials
Part 1:

• Student computers with Internet access
• Virtual Solar Cooker interactive simulation
• Solar Cooking Student Handout PDF Document
• Solar incidence equation lecture notes

Part 2:

Model solar cookers
Cardboard cutting tools
Thermometers or electronic temperature sensor data loggers
Various household/classroom materials for demonstration and cooker components
Mirror
Window glass
Frosted glass
Aluminum foil
Unpainted copper sheeting
Wood
Waxed paper
Clear plastic wrap, sheet protectors or transparencies
Cellophane: clear, yellow, red, blue, green
Construction paper: black, yellow, red, blue, green
Cardboard boxes or foam board
Black paint
Torn-up paper
Scissors
Tape (clear and masking tape)
Rulers/meter sticks
Compass
Thin wooden skewers
Hot dogs or S’mores ingredients
Sunglasses

Multimedia Resources

• Background movie on solar cooking
• Box cooker design plans and FAQ
• Panel cooker design and rationale
• Parabolic cooker examples
• A sun path chart can be made for your town or school at the University of Oregon’s Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory using “Sun Chart.”
• Passive design elements

solar box cooker

Figure 1. Diagram of Azimuth Source
Figure 2. Reflection of Light Source

The Lesson

Part I:

Experimenting with a Virtual Solar Cooker (30 minutes)

1. Begin the lesson with a lively discussion that investigates students’ conceptions about radiant energy. Describe what a solar cooker is and spend several minutes eliciting students’

predictions about what types of materials will be best for use in constructing a solar cooker.

2. Allow students to investigate the virtual solar cooker (Virtual Solar Cooker interactive simulation) and prompt them to try to figure out which combination of materials performs the best as a solar cooker. Remind students to make notes about their virtual solar cooker’s performance in Part 1 (Virtual Solar Cooker Wrap-up) of the Solar Cooking Student Handout PDF Document (See above).
3. Discuss the results of investigating the virtual solar cooker with the students. Define transmission, reflection and absorption for the students and introduce the expression, I= T + R + A. Depending upon the level of your students, this may be more of a lecturing activity rather than discussion. Having sample materials to cite examples from the list for Part 2 is suggested.

A suggested demonstration is to throw crumpled pieces of paper at students to illustrate how this is an example of what happens when light strikes a surface (the pieces of paper caught are absorbed, those falling to the floor are transmitted and those bouncing off are reflected.)

4. Have students work in small groups to rank the materials included in Data Table 1 on page 2 of the Cooking Student Handout.

Part II:

5. Share physical models of each of the three types of solar cookers (box, panel, parabolic.) If presenting physical examples is not possible, digital images will work well and the Solarcooking.org website referenced in the Multimedia Resources section of this lesson is a great source. Give a short lecture describing the function of each component of a solar cooker (cover or glazing, insulation, reflector).

Instructions for constructing each type are included in the Additional References section of the Solar Cooking Teacher’s Notes PDF Document.

A short movie link available from The Solar Cooking Archive may also be of interest.

6. Divide the class or allow students to sort themselves into teams of 2 to 3 and set them to work on Part 2 (Select a Solar Cooker and Test Your Predictions) of the Student Handout.

While working through Part 2 each student team needs to decide what type of solar energy collector will best cook the food that they choose. Students may not realize that the cooker cannot reach temperatures much higher than about 300º F, so they may need some coaching away from cooking things like raw meat. They will also need to generate their list of materials based upon their relative properties of transmittance, reflectance and absorbance. An extensive sample materials list is provided in the materials section and the Frequently Asked Questions document from The Solar Cooking Archive. (This may be a useful document to share with students.)

7. Assist students in making connections to the mathematical expression, I = T + R + A in question #3 (Part 2) on page 4 of the Solar Cooking Student Handout.

8. Students will then sketch their solar cooker (question #4 of Part 2 of the Student Handout).

Question #5 prompts them to figure out how to measure the temperatures reached by the solar cooker. If necessary, interject a short lecture on how to collect temperature data, otherwise, allow students to devise their plan and make a data table.

9. Allow students to proceed with construction and testing of their cookers.

10. Once all teams have had an opportunity to test the cookers, allow students to investigate others’ designs and debrief the experience by sharing the data collected for each cooker and analyzing the success of each type of cooker. Students may do questions 6-10 (Solar Cooking Thought Questions) in the Student Handout as part of the in-class wrap-up or for homework.

11. 11. Allow students to explore some of their ideas from question 10 in the Handout.

*Standards: American Association for the Advancement of Science

In this activity for grades 6-12, students design a seawall to protect a major coastal highway from erosion by ocean waves and address these questions: Erosion–can you fight it? How much energy is involved with waves and erosion? Can humans stop erosion of the shoreline? Should we? Is it cost effective?

Procedure

Problem Statement
Your engineering team has been charged to submit a bid for a design for a 600 meter seawall to protect a major coastal highway. Your team must design the wall right at the edge of the water. The structure must be able to withstand the impact of the ocean waves. You cannot spend any more money on the project than is necessary, so it is crucial that the team know what materials can be used in construction and how much each material will cost. It is also important to know that there will be no funding available for beach nourishment (replenishment) in the future. Your team will have to give a 10 minute presentation on the seawall design and submit the bid to the Project Manager (teacher).

1. To determine the amount of wave energy, use an equation to calculate the amount of energy based on the height of a wave. First, determine the amount of energy for every square meter of wave, the energy (joules) is equal to 1260.6 times the square of the wave height.
Wave Energy = 1260.6 (Wave Height)2

2. To determine the Total Energy in a wave, calculate the total surface area of the wave and multiply that by the wave energy.

Total Energy = Wave Energy (surface area of wave)

For example, calculate the energy for an average open water wave that is 2 meters high, 7 meters wide and 500 meters long:

Wave Energy = 1260.6 (Wave Height)2
Wave Energy = 1260.6 (2)m2
Wave Energy = 1260.6 (4)m2
Wave Energy = 5042.4 Joules/m2

Total Energy = Wave Energy (surface area of wave)
Total Energy = Wave Energy (7 meters x 500 meters)
Total Energy = 5042.4 Joules/m2 (3,500m2)
Total Energy = 17,648,400 Joules or 1.76484 x 107 Joules

3. For this activity, the waves will be 8 meters wide, and the section of the seawall that the waves will hit is 300 meters long. Determine the highest water height for this month for this location.

4. Calculate the Total Energy of the wave.

5. Using the table of materials below, your team must design a wall to withstand the wave energy calculated above.

Material Strength Cost/cubic meter Amount needed Total Cost
Natural Rock 30 million joules $50/cubic meter 900 cubic meters
Masonry 40 million joules $150/cubic meter 300 cubic meters
Wood 4 million joules $25/cubic meter 2000 cubic meters
Steel 90 million joules $225/cubic meter 300 cubic meters
Concrete 50 million joules $180/cubic meter 800 cubic meters

Note: The Strength represents how much energy the material can absorb PER WAVE before it structurally fails. The Amount Needed column represents how much material needed to supply the stated strength. For example, a wall of 2,000 cubic meters of wood can absorb a maximum of 4 million joules from each wave that hits it.

6. One of the highest waves in recorded history for this site was 5 meters high. This wave occurred during an exceptionally large storm. Would this information change your design? If so, explain.

7. The following links may be of assistance for research: NOAA pictures of shoreline types; NOAA Beach Nourishment.

8. Using all of this information, create a bid for a design for the seawall project described in the Problem Statement.

Your team must create a 10 minute presentation on the seawall design and submit the bid to the Project Manager (teacher).

When preparing your project, your group might also want to consider if the project will be cost effective, possible alternatives, tourism dollars, etc.

Any mix of materials is allowable, but remember that your bid and presentation will be judged according to:

calculations
structural integrity
projected longevity
aesthetics
environmental concerns
cost

Additional Activity

(Thanks to Christopher Young, a Robert Noyce Teacher Scholar at the University of Rochester)

Erosion Comic Strips: Choose one agent of erosion, and allow students to create a comic strip (handout) that shows the cause of the erosion, the results of the erosion, and the effect this has on humans. (combining art with science, using alternate literacy practices, valuing
creativity)

This 50-minute lesson for grades 3-5 introduces the ways that engineers study and harness the wind. Students will learn about the different kinds of winds and how to measure wind direction; how air pressure creates winds, and how engineers build and test wind turbines to harness energy from wind. A separate activity, Bubble-ology, introduces students to aerodynamics by challenging them to devise the best ways to keep a bubble aloft.

USS Trenton

Engineering Connection

Engineers monitor, use and design technology around wind. To make weather predictions, they design devices such as anemometers and weather vanes to measure wind velocity, force and direction, and predict wind patterns. To tap wind as a renewable energy source, engineers design wind turbines, windmills and wind farms. Engineers also consider wind and aerodynamics (minimize friction due to wind) in their design of cars, bridges, airplanes, structures and recreational equipment (hang gliders, sailboats).

Educational Standards: Click here to find out how this lesson fits your state’s requirements.

After this lesson, students should be able to:

• Understand the properties of wind.
• Describe basic Greek mythology around wind.
• Understand how wind affects humans.
• Understand that wind is a renewable energy source.
• Understand how engineers work to monitor wind and design technology to capitalize on wind energy.

erbium doped fiber amplifier

Introduction/Motivation

Wind is so important that the Greeks had eight Gods and a king of the four winds. The four original and most famous are: Aeolus, the Greek King of the Winds who had four sons; Zephyrus, the God of the West Wind; Boreas, the God of the North Wind; Notus, the God of the Southern Wind; and Eurus, the God of the East Wind. The Greeks knew that wind had many different characteristics and believed in a God for each one. Can you think of the different characteristics of wind? One characteristic is strong winds (Boreas), one is rainy winds (Eurus), one is fog and misty rains (Notus) and the last is gentle winds (Zephyrus). The “Tower of the Winds,” built 2000 years ago in Athens,

Tower of the Winds

Greece, is an octagonal tower with a God of the Wind on each side. There are actually thirty-two recognized directions in which winds blow, and there are thirty-two divisions on a compass.

What exactly is wind? Basically, it is just the movement of air. Air generally moves from areas of high to low pressure, creating winds. It can be the movement of air on a local scale such as your neighborhood (local winds) or the movement of air across the whole globe (global winds). Wind can be strong and heavy or light little breezes. Have you ever been outside when it is really windy? Have you ever seen garbage cans or leaves blown around by the wind? Sometimes we think that wind is scary when it howls really loudly at night. The wind can sometimes be our enemy — when it is so strong that it blows down buildings and causes billions of dollars worth of damage. On the other hand, the wind can also be our friend. It can produce energy and transport goods and humans. We can do fun things with wind, such as fly a kite, parasail and hang glide.

Do you think we could ever run out of wind? Well, wind is a renewable energy source. This means that wind can generate energy — like the energy we use to heat our homes — via windmills and wind farms. Being a renewable resource also means that wind is a resource that we will not use up.

Engineers work with all aspects of the wind. They develop wind turbines to harness energy from the wind and design better planes to fly through the wind. Engineers also build devices to monitor and measure wind, such as anemometers and wind vanes, to help predict wind patterns. Using this information, engineers can design better structures to resist the force of heavy winds and advanced warning systems for tornados and hurricanes.

Lesson Background and Concepts for Teachers

Winds are caused by differences in air pressure and temperature. Meteorologists have made enough observations to define areas of high and low pressure across the Earth. For example, along the equator we normally find low air pressure. In addition, the sun heats the equator more than any other place on earth. These factors combined — with rotation of the Earth (or Coriolis Effect) — create global winds. Air tends to move towards the equator because air generally moves from areas of high to low pressure, thus creating winds. The winds from the north and south converge at the equator because hot air rises and then cools. The Coriolis Effect diverts the air to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. Without this diversion, air would just sink and return to the equator; but the Coriolis Effect moves the air back to the middle latitudes to start the process over again, creating a rotating effect. Similarly, some of the air from the middle latitudes moves to a low pressure area at the poles.

The global winds described above are named according to where they originate and to where they move. The prevailing westerlies move west to east from the middle latitudes toward the poles between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude. The polar easterlies move east to west from the poles to the middle latitudes as the air cools and sinks. The trade winds are winds that move from the middle latitudes toward the equator. They are called trade winds because they created an easy route for early explorers’ sailboats — and, they helped Christopher Columbus find the New World! The area where the trade winds converge near the equator is called the doldrums. This is where the air rises and is characteristic of calm, warm winds.

Winds are also created by local differences in air pressure and temperature, as well as surface disruptions, such as mountains, cliffs and trees. These are measured only on a local scale and last for a few hours or days. Wind blows against the surface of the Earth, and a force called friction slows the wind down. Other obstacles can also affect the wind, including buildings and vehicles. Can you think of any factors?

Hurricane Isabel, 2003

On hot summer days, many people like to go to the beach because of a local wind called a sea breeze. Sea breezes form because the land heats up faster then the ocean during the day and causes hot air to rise over the land. This in turn creates a low pressure that draws cool air in from the sea and feels great as you walk along the shore. During the night, the opposite happens and land breezes are formed. These breezes are not very strong because the temperature and pressure difference are less. Monsoons are similar to land and sea breezes, but they occur over a large scale and change from season to season, rather than day to night like land and sea breezes. One place monsoons transpire is in Southern Asia. During the summer months, the monsoon wind blows from the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea to the land. These monsoons are often accompanied with tremendous rains. During the winter, the wind direction switches and blows from the land to the sea. These winds are dry, resulting in clear weather for Southern Asia.

Finally, mountains, like oceans, often create an imbalance in air pressure and temperature. Mountains have many different types of wind: two examples are mountain and valley breezes. Valley breezes occur when valleys are heated; the air is warmed causing wind to blow up the slope of the mountain. Mountain breezes occur at night when the air cools and blows back down the mountain. Another example of winds caused by mountains is the Chinook winds in the Rocky Mountains.

Vocabulary/Definitions

Air Masses: Large areas of air defined by common air pressure and temperature.
Air Pressure: Pressure caused by the weight of the air.
Anemometers: A mechanical device that measures wind velocity and force.
Chinook Winds: An example of winds caused by mountains found in the Rocky Mountains.
Climate: Local conditions of a region including wind conditions and temperatures.
Coriolis Effect: A global force that causes air to move in a circular motion because of the Earth’s rotation.
Doldrums: The region near the equator that has very little wind.
Equator: The imaginary great circle around the Earth’s surface that divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.
Land Breeze: A breeze that blows from the land toward open water.
Monsoon: Wind from the southwest that is accompanied by heavy rain.
Prevailing Westerlies: Wind that moves west to east from the middle latitudes toward the poles between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude.
Polar Easterlies: Wind that flows from the north and south poles to the middle latitudes.
Sea Breeze: A cool breeze blowing from the sea toward the land that generally occurs in the early morning.
Trade Winds: Air currents that move back to the equator.
Troposphere: The lowest region of the atmosphere between the Earth’s surface and the tropopause, characterized by decreasing temperature with increasing altitude.

Lesson Closure

Review global and local winds and how air pressure can cause wind as air moves from areas of high to low pressure. Remind students how engineers use the wind for energy and to predict weather. Discuss how engineers make devices such as wind vanes to measure winds and wind turbines to harness energy from the wind. Explain that engineers can use the information gathered from a wind vane to decide where to locate and better build a wind turbine or shelter a building.

Assessment

Pre-Lesson Assessment

Discussion Questions: Solicit, integrate, and summarize student responses.

• What is wind?
• Do you have an interesting story about a windy day?

Post-Introduction Assessment

Question/Answer: Ask students questions and have them raise their hands to respond.

• How many Greek Gods of the Wind are there? (Answer: There are four Gods of the wind and one king of those Gods.)
• What is wind? (Answer: It is the movement of air.)
• How can wind be our friend? (Answer: It can produce energy and transport goods and humans. We can do fun things with it, such as fly a kite, parasail and hang glide.)
• What type of energy source is wind? (Answer: Wind is a renewable energy source. This means that wind can generate energy — like the energy we use to heat our homes — via windmills and wind farms.)
• What does renewable resource mean? (Answer: Renewable resource means that it is resource that we will not use up.)
• What do engineers have to do with wind? (Answer: They develop wind turbines to harness energy from the wind and design better planes to fly through the wind. Engineers also build devices to monitor and measure wind, such as anemometers and wind vanes, to help predict wind patterns. Using this information, they can design better structures to resist the force of heavy winds and advanced warning systems for tornados and hurricanes.)

Lesson Summary Assessment

Sounds of the Wind: Ask the students to come up with a sound for each of the four wind Gods (North, South, East, and West). Then take turns practicing the sounds with the whole class. As you continue your activities and the study of winds, use the sounds to help students remember that wind has many different characteristics.

Toss-a-Fact: Students work in teams and toss a ball or wad of paper back and forth. The student with the ball says a fact about wind and then tosses the ball to someone else. Each time a student catches the ball, they can list off a fact about wind or engineers (i.e., the doldrums are located near the equator, engineers get energy from the wind, wind is a renewable resource, and so on.) Continue to toss the ball until you run out of facts. Make it a contest to see how long the group can list facts about the wind.

Lesson Extension Activities

Go on a field trip to a weather station.

Invite an engineer who specializes in airplanes (an aeronautical engineer) to talk about airplanes and how they are built with wind as a consideration.

References:

http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/units/energy/blustery.html

http://www.windpower.org/composite-85.htm

http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/nino/global.html

Dorros, Arthur. Feel the Wind. New York: HarperCollins Publishing Co., 2002.

Fowler, Allan. Can You See the Wind? Chicago: Children’s Book Press, 1999.

Graham, Ian S. Wind Power: Energy Forever. Chicago: Heinemann-Raintree Publishers, 1999.

Kennedy, Dorothy. Make Things Fly: Poems About Wind. New York: Margaret McElderry Books, 1998.

Owen, Andy, Ashwell Owen and Miranda Ashwell. Wind: What is Weather? Chicago: Heinemann-Raintree Publishers, 1999.

Owner: Integrated Teaching and Learning Program, College of Engineering, University of Colorado at Boulder Contributors: Jessica Todd, Melissa Straten, Malinda Schaefer Zarske, Janet Yowell

Copyright © 2004 by Regents of the University of Colorado.

Aerodynamics Class Activity: Bubble-ology and Bernoulli

(Provided courtesy of Columbia Education Center’s Summer Workshop and the National Science Digital Library)

This activity for grades 4-9 introduces aerodynamics by challenging students to devise the best ways to keep a bubble aloft. In this fun context, you’ll teach Bernoulli’s principle and help explain how
airplanes fly.

Overview

Bubbles are not only captivating, colorful, and fun to make, they are also excellent demonstrations of scientific phenomena. Bubble-ology is a motivating and powerful introduction to the process and substance of science.

Objectives

As a result of this activity, the students will:
Devise ways to keep a bubble from hitting the ground, without touching it with their hands or with any other object.
Make 2 lists: methods that worked, and those that didn’t work.
As a group, students will use their demonstrations to decide whether increasing the pressure under the bubble or decreasing the pressure over it keeps an object aloft.

Resources/Materials

1 gallon container, 8 oz. dishwashing liquid, 1 measuring cup, 1 eyedropper, glycerin (optional), pint-sized
containers, straws or other hollow tubes, index cards.

Reference: Bubble-ology, Teacher’s Guide, LHS-GEMS: Great Explorations in Math and Science, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California – Berkeley.

Procedure

1. Prepare bubble solution: 1 cup dishwashing liquid, 50-60 drops glycerin (optional), 1 gallon water. Have
small containers of the solution, and straws or other hollow tubes to blow the bubble with, put in various
locations around the room.
2. Read: In the 18th century, a scientist named Daniel Bernoulli discovered a scientific principle that now
carries his name. It became the basis for airplane flight many years after its discovery. The Bernoulli
principle states that the faster air flows, the less pressure it exerts.
3. Draw a diagram of an airplane and an airplane wing on the chalkboard. Point out that as air hits the wings
of a plane, some of it has to go over them and some of it has to go underneath. Scientists have discovered
that regardless of whether the air goes over or under, it arrives at the other side of the wing at the same
instant. What does the Bernoulli principle say about faster moving air?
4. Explain that the force pushing upward is called dynamic lift. Summarize by stating that there are two
approaches to keeping an object aloft: increasing the pressure under it, or decreasing the pressure over it.
5. Divide your class into small groups. Ask the groups to experiment to devise methods to keep their bubbles from
hitting the ground and list methods that work by increasing the pressure under the bubble, or by
decreasing the pressure over it. You may distribute index cards and invite them to wave the cards over and
under the bubbles to further demonstrate Bernoulli’s principle.

Tying it all together and going further:

1. Students write a group report and share results of this activity, explaining which method worked and why.
2. Make or obtain posters of airplanes and airplane wings and post them around the classroom. Ask students to
explain how the Bernoulli principle is incorporated into the design of each plane.
3. Set up a series of short bubble obstacle courses, including challenging features as steps, curves,
corners, and a hoop.
4. Challenge students to use bubbles to detect air flow patterns in a room or outdoors.

Author: MaryAnne Nelson, Needham Elementary, Durango, Colo.

In this two-hour lesson, middle-school students use the engineering design process to design a plant growth chamber for use on the lunar surface. They will work individually and in teams.

Objectives

Students will learn to:

• Explain that design is a creative planning process that leads to useful products and systems.

• Identify criteria and constraints related to the design and development of a plant growth chamber on the lunar surface.

• Apply the engineering design process to solve a problem.

• Identify and describe the major steps in the engineering design process.

• Explain that brainstorming is a group problem-solving design process in which each person in the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum.

• Use criteria and constraints related to the design and development of a plant growth chamber to brainstorm possible design solutions.

• Analyze possible solutions to the design challenge.

• Select an approach to the design challenge.

Teaching Tools/Materials/Equipment

Chalkboard or overhead projector; computer with Internet access; LCD projector and speakers; sketching and drawing sheets (optional); teacher rubric included in lesson

Before beginning this lesson, teachers are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Packing Up for the Moon Educator Guide, available as a free PDF, from which this lesson is drawn. Teachers may want to print pages 38-39 (Design Brief), 40-41 (Plant Growth Chamber Design Steps) and 48 (Modeling Ideas). Page 14 of the guide shows applicable standards and benchmarks.

A useful powerpoint presentation of the plant growth chamber is available here.

Explanation

Plant growth will be an important part of space exploration in the future as NASA plans for long-duration missions to the moon. NASA scientists anticipate that astronauts may be able to grow plants on the moon, and the plants could be used to supplement meals. But the plants would require a special chamber that replicates the growing environment found on Earth.

NASA engineers have developed a plan for a lunar outpost. The station will be established near the lunar South Pole and be inhabited by two astronauts on a three-month mission. The available space on the lunar lander is extremely limited; therefore, all items must be designed to take up minimal space. The mission requires that a plant growth chamber be used to supplement the diet of the astronauts during their stay.

Challenge: Design a plant growth chamber that will be used by astronauts to grow lettuce and tomatoes as dietary supplements on the moon.
Requirements:
1. The lunar plant growth chamber must be able to provide a growing area of 10 square feet and have a delivery volume of three cubic feet or less.
2. The lunar plant growth chamber may expand to any volume desired.
3. The lunar plant growth chamber must be a separate, independent structure from the lunar station.
4. Placement and access to the chamber must make it possible for astronauts to tend to and harvest crops without venturing out onto the lunar surface.
5. The lunar plant growth chamber must have systems that provide light, temperature control, water and nutrient delivery and power.
6. The lunar plant growth chamber may link to the lunar station to get power.

Understanding the Role of Plants in a Lunar Base

Through the process of photosynthesis, plants remove carbon dioxide, or CO2, from the air, while producing oxygen, or O2 and food, shown as a generic unit of carbohydrate below. This entire process is the reverse of respiration for humans, where food and O2 sustain metabolic needs. Plant systems can also be used to help purify wastewater. Water evaporates from the leaves and resultant humidity can be condensed as a source of clean water. This process is called transpiration.

In space, plants will serve two main functions: oxygen production and food supply. A plant’s ability to supply the oxygen needs for a person depends largely on the species of plant and the intensity and quality of light it receives. At very high light intensities, wheat could supply much of one human’s food and all their O2 needs from an area as small as 15 square meters. At moderate light intensities, a diverse mix of crops could supply a more complete diet for one person from about 50 square meters and meet all of their O2 needs.

Procedure:

The teacher discusses the Constellation Program (the new vehicles and systems that will likely be used to transport humans to the moon and beyond) with the students. The teacher shows the video “Return To the Moon and Beyond,” one of several videos and images that can be used to show the new systems. “Camping on the Moon” is a section that shows a proposed design for a moon outpost. (Location can be found in the References section p.29). The teacher explains that: Invention and innovation relate to the development of new products, processes and systems.
Brainstorming is a group problem-solving process in which each person in the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum. Ideas are to be recorded but not evaluated during this step. Drawings and lists are common ways to record design ideas. Modeling, testing, evaluating and modifying are used to transform ideas into practical solutions.

The teacher reviews the basic steps of the Engineering Design Process.

• Identify the problem.

• Identify criteria and constraints (requirements).

• Brainstorm possible solutions.

• Generate ideas—develop multiple solutions.

• Explore possibilities—create a pro/con chart for each idea.

• Select an approach—based on requirements and pro/con chart.

• Make a model or prototype.

• Test and evaluate the design.

• Refine the design.

The teacher distributes copies of the Design Brief. Student volunteers read the design brief aloud to the rest of the class.

The teacher asks students to draw and label three examples of a flat surface with an area of 10 square feet. The teacher may choose to draw one example on the board to help students get started. The teacher demonstrates methods for solutions that involve the following steps: rectangles; circles; triangles; combinations of these shapes.

Student activities:

1. Students, working individually, use the KWL Chart to enhance their understanding of the requirements for a plant growth chamber to be used on the lunar surface.
2. Students, working in groups of two to four, will use the engineering design process to develop a prototype of a lunar growth chamber.
3. Student groups will: a. Assign a project manager. b. Discuss the problem and take notes. c. Individually sketch ideas and list possible solutions. d. Select a few ideas and develop detailed drawings. e. Evaluate each idea by identifying pros and cons. f. Select an approach that meets the criteria and constraints. Students document their work using the resource, Lunar Plant Growth Chamber Design Steps.

If time permits, student groups may make an oral presentation to the class describing the use and function of the lunar plant growth chamber.

Evaluation

Student knowledge, skills and attitudes are assessed using selected response items and rubrics for class participation and brief constructed responses. The rubrics are presented in advance of the activities to familiarize students with the expectations and performance criteria. They are also reviewed during the activities to guide students in the completion of assignments. The teacher may wish to develop a collection of annotated exemplars of student work based on the rubrics. The exemplars serve as benchmarks for future assessments and may be used to familiarize students with the criteria for assessment.

Enrichment

Students may read about and see more images of the components of the Constellation Program. Students may be asked to identify old and current technology being applied to this new endeavor as well as the new systems being developed. Students may also be asked to identify mission components as expendable versus reusable.

Short NASA video clips are available here:

In this two-period (90 minutes total) activity for grades 3 and 4, students learn the basics of engineering associated with the design of telephones to make them more accessible for people who have a visual or hearing impairment or who lack fine motor skills.

Overview

Phones are everywhere in our lives. We have them in our homes, schools, at work, and in public access areas. The use of cellular phones has put them in places we never had them before such as cars. Phones provide an easy way for most of us to communicate with other people. The design of telephones by engineers has focused primarily on making them useful for the average person, and on the aesthetics of the phone. This unit focuses on the engineering re-design of phones to improve their usefulness for people with special needs.

Skills & Standards
1. Analyze a product’s components and their functions.
2. Recognize a design need or engineering problem.
3. Communicate the solution through drawing and speaking.

Materials required per
group:

• Real telephone (2 or 3) per class or 1 per group
• Paper
• Markers, crayons and/or colored pencils

Materials required per group: Part 2
Assorted materials to make a model of a phone such as:

• Shoebox, small shirt box, jewelry box or other small containers
• Construction paper
• Markers, crayons
• Empty film canisters
• Paper towel or toilet paper tubes
• Glue and tape
• Buttons
• Twine/yarn

Presentation

• Briefly explain engineering (See Presenter’s Guide for more detail.)
• Engineers use scientific information to design and create useful things.
• In designing and creating, the engineer goes through a problem solving process in which both math and science are important components.

Introduce the activity to the students.

Have a general discussion about telephones. Encourage students to share what they know about telephones and what types of things are important on a telephone. Present the ‘problem’ and ‘who wants to
know’.

Divide the class into groups if you have more than one adult leader.

Each group of students should have an adult leader. As the students work on the activity present ‘how can you help solve the problem’ to help them with the brainstorming and testing.

Activity: Re-thinking telephones

This activity has the students participate in a variety of simple activities to better understand the issues people with special needs may have. With these experiences in mind, the students will redesign phones so that they are more useful for people with special needs. The activity has been developed based on a traditional engineering design process which pose key questions – all identified in boldface type, that help the students approach the problem as engineers.

PART 1A: EXPLORING LIMITS IN ACCESS

What’s the problem? Many people have hearing, visual impairments, or limited motor skills. These people also need to be able to use telephones to communicate. Often the standard phone is difficult for them to use.

NOTE: Each group should do the following process for each of the three special needs separately. It is important to have at least one sample phone and one adult leader for each group of students. Be aware of the sensitive nature of special needs and discuss them with a positive outlook.

• Vision impairment: Use the example phone. Have the students close their eyes, try to pick up the receiver and call the emergency number 911.

• Hearing impairment: Have the students pretend that they have a hard time hearing. Have them discuss the types of things they need to hear when using a phone such as dial tone, voices, and ringing.

• Lack of fine motor skills: Use the example phone. Have the students limit their fine skill hand motion by either putting socks or mittens over their hands or by wrapping their fingers together with masking tape. Then have them try to pick up the receiver and call the emergency number 911.

PART 1B: CREATE YOUR OWN TELEPHONE DESIGN

Who wants to know?
Telephone companies want to develop telephones that everyone can use.

How can you help solve the problem?
Think about the special needs you just experienced.

How do your phone needs vary from people without these special needs?

What suggestions do you have for how phones could be changed to meet their needs?

Use Worksheet 1: Design Considerations as a reference to facilitate
the discussion.

1. Divide the students into groups of 2 or 3. Assign each group with a specific special need (hearing or vision impairment or lack of fine motor skills) to focus on for their phone redesign. Make sure to assign each type of special need so that there will be a variety of solutions.
2. Have each team draw a picture of their proposed design. You may want to have the students use Worksheet 2 as a reference page for their drawing. Encourage creative solutions in their drawings.
3. After the drawings are done, lead a discussion in which each group presents their idea(s) for the phone.

PART 2: BUILD A MODEL TELEPHONE

1. Distribute the construction materials and have each group of students build a model of their proposed phone.
2. Will your suggestion(s) work? Have each group present their drawing or model to the class.
3. During the presentation encourage them to show their special feature(s) and describe how this will help the people with the type of special need that was assigned to their group.

See Worksheet 2 for some of the considerations.

1. Who can help you solve the problem?
2. What type of information or knowledge is needed to understand special needs and telephone design?
3. Human factor engineers are concerned with designing items so that they can be comfortably used. Materials engineers work with the plastics that are used in phone construction.

Engineering Summary

Finish with a discussion about how the students acted as engineers. Reflect on the activity and spend time discussing what was discovered and learned. How are the phones for people with special needs different? How are they the same? Present ‘will your suggestion work’ to think about potential re-tests.

Career Connection

Discuss what types of jobs are involved with understanding telephone design and how to produce effective telephones. Asking ‘Who can help you solve the problem’ may get students to think about the type of people who would know.

This video may offer additional ideas for class discussion.

Making the Connection
M. Cyr Tufts University, CEEO

Copyright © 2001 WEPAN

Funded by Lucent Technologies Foundation

In this 50-minute activity for grades 10-12, students use an old fashioned children’s toy, a metal slinky, to mimic and understand the magnetic field generated in an Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine. The metal slinky mimics the magnetic field of a solenoid, which forms the basis for the magnet of the MRI machine. Students run current through the slinky and use computer and calculator software to explore the magnetic field created by the slinky.

Courtesy of the University of Wisconsin

This is one of a series of activities and lessons in a curriculum for accelerated high-school physics students entitled MRI Safety Grand Challenge. The curriculum is intended to teach electricity and magnetism topics including the magnetic force, magnetic moments and torque, the Biot-Savart law, Ampere’s Law, and Faraday’s Law. For more on the curriculum, click here.

Solenoids form the basis for the magnet of an MRI, an imaging tool designed by biomedical engineers. Exploring the properties of this solenoid helps students understand the MRI machine. In questions 5 and 6 of the post assessment, students are asked to apply what they have learned during the experiment to design a safe environment around an MRI machine.

Related Curriculum : Subject area – Physics

Educational Standards: National Science Education Standards Science (Grades 9 – 12). Check here to see if it meets your state’s standards.

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Determine the relationship between magnetic field and the number of turns per meter in a solenoid.
• Explain how the field varies inside and outside a solenoid.
• Design an experiment that measures the value of µ0, the permeability constant.

Materials List

Each group needs:

• Magnetic field sensor
• Physics with Vernier Lab Book
• Metal Slinky
• Switch
• Meter stick
• DC power supply
• Ammeter
• Connecting wires
• Non-conducting Tape such as masking tape
• The cost of durable goods which may have to be purchased for this lab includes Magnetic Field Sensor, Physics with Vernier Lab Book, DC Power Supply, Ammeter and connecting wires, totaling approximately $250.00.

Note: The lab description describes the lab using Vernier magnetic field sensors and equipment, but the lab can be adapted to any sensor and calculator or computer. Vernier sensors can be ordered from www.vernier.com. Other companies include Pasco (www.pasco.com), and Texas Instruments (www.ti.com)

Introduction/Motivation

An MRI machine uses a large solenoid to create its magnetic field. By exploring the properties of a small solenoid (a slinky), we can predict the properties of the MRI magnet. It is important to note where the solenoid’s magnetic field is strongest, and ways of making the magnetic field of a solenoid stronger in order to understand MRI Safety.

To explore the properties of a small solenoid, students will complete the lab “Magnetic Field in a Slinky” provided free of charge by Vernier. The sample lab can be found on Vernier’s website at the address http://www.vernier.com/cmat/pwv.html, under sample labs for computers. Following this link and clicking on “The Magnetic Field in a Slinky” lab will guide you to a pdf. The first two paragraphs on this document provide a useful background and introduction for students.

Procedure

The following procedure has been adapted from Vernier’s online lab. The lab in its entirety may be found by following the link above.

Ask students to follow the initial setup indicated on the handout, then design an experiment to answer the later questions in the handout. Students should be able to design and describe their own procedure. During the experiment, walk around the groups of students and answer questions as needed.

Ask students to follow the initial setup indicated on the handout, then design an experiment to answer the later questions in the handout. Students should be able to design and describe their own procedure. During the experiment, walk around the groups of students and answer questions as needed.

Magnetic fields due to a solenoid. Courtesy of Helen Smith, Australian National University

Attachments

Slinky Lab Handout

Get a PDF here

Assessment

Embedded assessment: Students should create a lab report in which they design experimental procedures to answer a number of questions from the handout. These questions also ask students to apply what they have learned about solenoids to creating a safe MRI machine.

Before beginning this activity, teachers may want to watch this video of an MIT Physics lecture on electromagnetic fields.

References: Physics with Vernier
Vernier Software and Technology. Accessed July 21, 2008.
Physics with Vernier – (Source of Slinky Lab with some adaptation)

© 2006 by VaNTH ERC
Eric Appelt, Primary Author

In this design challenge for grades 6 to 8, students will harness the power of the sun to design, construct and evaluate a solar-powered modelcar of their creation. Students will utilize the design process and undergo review by their peers to select an optimal gear ratio and components for their car. As a culminating activity, students compete in a “Solar Sprint” race modeled after the NationalRenewable Energy Laboratory’s Junior Solar Sprint competition.

Content Objectives

Students will know that solar energy is a renewable energy source, and its utilization has numerous benefits for our environment.

The angle at which a solar cell is positioned in relation to the sun affects its power output.

The amount of current produced by a photovoltaic cell is proportional to the amount of the light hitting the cell; therefore, increasing light intensity or increasing the size of the cell itself will increase the power output of the cell.

In order to construct a solar powered system that will work at maximum efficiency, numerous factors pertaining to the design, such as gear ratio and power output, must be considered.

Process Objectives

Students will be able to

• Describe three factors influencing a solar car’s power needs: friction, air drag, and acceleration.

• Calculate the gear ratio used in the drive system of their solar powered car.

• Describe the motion of their solar car based upon its position, direction, and speed.

• Explain how the solar car design was optimized based upon gear ratio and materials used.

• Utilize the design process to construct a solar-powered car.

Suggested Time

Four to ten (4-10) 50-minute class periods.

Materials

Per Group:

• Solar Sprint kit (from http://www.nrel.gov/education/kits.html)

• Solar Sprint accessories kit (from http://www.nrel.gov/education/kits.html)

• Various reused materials to construct a body for the car (foam core, Blue board, wood, corrugated cardboard)

• Stopwatch

• Solar Racing Student Handout PDF Document (http://www.pspb.org/e21/media/Solar_Racing_v105_SH.pdf)

Instead of purchasing Solar Sprint kits, many accessories can be extracted from old toys, VCRs, tape recorders, old “Spirograph” gears and reused as shafts, wheels and gears.

Teacher Tools:

• Solar Racing Teacher’s Notes PDF Document

• Soldering Iron

• Sharp Utility Knife or Coping Saw

• Cool-Melt Glue Gun

• Needle-Nose Pliers

• 1/8″ Drill Bit or Electric Drill with Bit

• 2 C-Clamps

• Rulers

• Pencils

• Wire Strippers and Wire Cutters

Multimedia Resources

• Solar and Car Fundamentals PowerPoint Document (http://www.pspb.org/e21/media/MS_S05_Andy_Lau.ppt)

• Build Junior Sprint Car PowerPoint Document (http://www.pspb.org/e21/media/build_junior_sprint_car.ppt)

The Lesson

Part I: The Design Process (One 50-minute Class Period)

1. Introduce students to the U.S. Department of Energy’s contest, Junior Solar Sprint using background information and rules from this website: www.nrel.gov/education/jss_hfc.html.

2. Allow them to get into teams and select a name, colors and number, etc.

3. Briefly describe the components of the solar car (Solar panel, Chassis; Wheels, Axles and Bearings; Transmissions; Body Shells) about which students will be able to make design choices. If your students have not worked with solar panels previously, you may need to spend more time discussing and exploring how a solar panel works.

4. Share the Design Process diagram, Figure 1 in the Solar Racing Teacher’s Notes PDF Document and on page 1 of the Solar Racing Student Handout PDF Document with students and give them a general overview of where and when they will apply the steps of the process in making their cars.

The Chimacum School district Junior Solar Sprint website has an excellent description of how each step of the design process is connected to building successful solar cars. It can be accessed at the link below:

http://eagle.csd49.org/middle/jss/Course_DsgnProc.htm

5. Allow teams to work together to get their initial car concepts onto paper and prompt them to generate a list of questions they have before they can select a design.

6. Be sure that your students are clear about the task before them. Make sure that you articulate that the students should be thinking about the design of the chassis, wheels and bearing, body and the solar energy source.

Part II: Experiment with Principles and Prototypes (1 or 2-50 minute Class Periods)

7. Field any questions students have generated and share the PowerPoint presentation below with your students, highlighting the concepts that direct the goals of the solar-powered car project.

Solar and Car Fundamentals PowerPoint Document http://www.pspb.org/e21/media/MS_S05_Andy_Lau.ppt

8. Focus specifically on how to calculate gear ratio and give students team-time to make decisions about their transmissions and work through the Gear Ratio calculations section beginning on page 4 of the student handout.

9. Allow students to return to teams to further time to conceptualize their design and prepare for their class presentation.

Part III: Design Review and Solar-Powered Car Construction (Multiple Class Periods)

10. Allow teams to complete page 9 of the student handout and make presentations of their designs to their classmates that explain their decisions regarding the four major car components (transmission, chassis, wheels and bearings, body and Photovoltaic array) with a rationale for each.

11. After teams have taken time to revisit the drawing board on page 10 of the PDF below, set them off to construct their cars.

(A materials list for tools is also included. If students will be using any tools, instruct them to make safety a priority.) Solar Racing Student Handout PDF Document (http://www.pspb.org/e21/media/Solar_Racing_v105_SH.pdf)

12. Encourage and allow time for some test runs. If you are lacking sun, halogen lamps work well to power cars in a short distance test-track area.

Part IV: Design Test: Solar Racing! (1-50 minute Class Period)

13. Get ready to race. Spend some time prior to race day looking at the following website:

http://eagle.chimacum.wednet.edu/middle/jss/Course_Rules.htm for information on official rules for the contest. The Chimacum School District Junior Solar Sprint website is a wonderful all-around resource. If you are interested in spending a full two weeks on the project, an extensive model program for creating solar-powered cars with embedded investigations on each stage of the design process is available.

14. Celebrate the teams’ design successes with a solar-power awards ceremony.

Part V: Make Connections: What other applications can the sun power? (20 minutes)

15. Debrief the project and allow teams to work together to complete Part 5 of the Solar Racing Student Handout PDF Document.

16. Spend time as a class sharing ideas and reflecting upon how technology and science solutions impact our society.

Part VI: Extension

17. Apply solar-powered car knowledge to designing a component for a home such as a solar water heater using a 16-ounce bottle of water.

Watch video of the Junior Sprint Solar Competition:

Watch video of the Junior Sprint Solar Competition at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xXtleFh2ls

Assessment Strategies

• Evaluation of the completed student handouts and of the student’s participation in class discussions.
• Observation of student’s participation throughout the process of designing a solar car.
• Student participation in a team presentation of their solar-powered car design.
• Completion of the student’s solar car design evaluation.

Additional Resources

http://www.nrel.gov/education/jss_hfc.html
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Education page on Junior Solar Sprint Competition.

http://eagle.chimacum.wednet.edu/middle/jss/index.htm
Suggested JSS lessons and background information on solar power.

http://eagle.csd49.org/middle/jss/Course_DsgnProc.htm
For more information on Using the Design Process.

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/psu06-e21.sci.solarracing/
Lesson Plan: Solar Racing