Posted January 9th, 2009 by admin

Motion and Design

Author:	Carol Swink
Level:	Elementary School
Content Area:	Science, Technology, Engineering

Lesson 6: Designing Vehicles to Meet Requirements

Pre-activities:

The vehicle must move a distance equal to the height of the work space in four to six seconds.
Review previous lessons: lesson 3—students learned that a lighter weight on the end of the string produced slower vehicle motion, lesson 4—heavier loads carried by the vehicle produced slower changes in vehicle speed.
Give students a copy of the design challenge for this lesson (read aloud).

Activities:

SCIENCE NOTEBOOK:
1. Students write the question to be investigated in their science notebooks. Have students read the design challenge and develop the question themselves (based on the design challenge).
2. Students complete a two-column chart in their notebooks: one column is labeled “what made our vehicle move slowly.” The other column is labeled “what made our vehicle move fast.” See page 65 of the teacher’s guide for ideas.
3. Students then write a prediction about the vehicle (design and effectiveness).
4. Students share responses with the class.
5. During and after completion of the vehicle design, students will document the procedure used to create the vehicle. Students will also draw the final vehicle designed (if time allows).
6. Students record the data and observations. This section includes observations/data from the vehicle trials.
7. *Students also write conclusions about their vehicle design—explain how it worked well. If you were to do the investigation again what would you change about your vehicle and/or the design problem?
SCIENCE NOTEBOOK: Students share vehicle designs with the class and complete the LOL in science notebooks. The LOL may also consist of a content blast.
1. Groups that finish early will read the selection “Lunar Rover: Making Tracks on the Moon” on pages 26-27 in the student book.