Overview

Students are going to be working in an Engineering Design team to create a car using K’Nex pieces. They will work through 3 iterations of design in a goal to have their car travel 600 CM. They will use a ramp (defined in the lesson) to have their car gain momentum. They will also create a 3D Printed wheel to be attached to their design and determine if this has improved their design.

●      Teacher/Student Guide

●      Linkis to 3D Design Videos

●      Project Rubric

Big Idea(s)

1. Interactions between any two objects can cause any changes in one or both of them.

PA Core Standards / Next Generation Science Standards

T & E Education

Science Education

Mathematics Education

Computer Science

CEW

CC.3.6.4.C

CC.3.2.7.B

CC..2.7.D

CC.2.1.6.E.4

2-DA-08

13.3.8.C

Essential Questions

●      Can you design a car with KNex pieces to travel a distance utilizing gravity.

●      Can you 3D design a wheel to allow a car to travel farther than a rubber wheel.

Students Will Know

Students Will Be Doing

●      Content specific vocab

○      Hybrid Car

○      Fuel

○      Average

○      Gravity

○      Radius

○      Negative Space

○      Grouping Shapes

●      Engineering design process

○      Define the Problem

○      Do Background Research

○      Specify Requirements

○      Brainstorm Solutions

○      Choose the Best Solution

○      Do Development Work

○      Build a Prototype

○      Test and Redesign

●      Researching Alternative Fuel Cars

●      Creating Diagrams of Cars

●      Building Cars with K’Nex Pieces

●      Recording Data based on trials

●      Making iterations on car design to improve the distance traveled

●      Using data to create graphs

●      Designing a tire using 3D Software

●      Testing the car with the 3D printing wheels

Assessments (Formative and Summative):

Performance Task(s)

●      Informal Formative Assessments throughout unit through classroom observations

●      Formal assessments on:

○      Rubric for final project

●      The students will create a car for testing.

●      The students will design and print a wheel using 3D Printers.

Learning Activities:

Learning targets are written from the students perspective.

I can…

-        Identify different types of Hybrid cars

-        Describe the design of a car that will work with gravity

-        Design a wheel using 3D Software

These should lead up to answering the Essential Question(s).

●      Identify the steps of the design process.

●      Solve a real-world problem by applying the design process.

●      Identify a solution by using a decision matrix.

●      Create sketches/drawings of my ideas

●      Determine the Speed of their car.

●      Determine Acceleration

Activities

Presentations

Assessments

●      Gravity Design Brief

●      3D Designing for Good

●      3D Printed Food

●      3D Printed Home

●      3D Printed Sneakers

●      3D Printed Tires 1

●      3D Printed Tires 2

●      Gravity Car Rubric