Project 3: Impact Control

1.What is the engineering principle that the children will learn? 

Engineering is about designing and applying scientific knowledge to solve problems in real-life. In this problem, the children have to complete building the vehicle and think of ways to increase the friction or drag on the vehicle so that it slows down sufficiently. There are two checkpoints after it descends from the ramp; the car has to pass the first but not the second.

When the car is at the top of the ramp, it has a specific amount of potential energy depending on the height of the ramp and the car's mass. One of two things can happen to this energy, it can turn into kinetic energy or heat energy as the car is released. If there is very little friction between the ramp and the car, very little energy will be converted into heat and the car will have too much kinetic energy, travel too fast, and will not be able to slow down and stop before the second checkpoint.

2.What is the activity? 

Given a toy car the students will add and modify its axles and wheels in order to create a car that can travel down a ramp. Coming down from the ramp, the car must travel past the frist checkpoint, but not the second. The challenge then, is to think of ways to slow it down sufficiently such that the car will stop before it crosses the second checkpoint..

3.What age group is the activity designed for? 

Children of ages 8 and up.

4.What will the children do and how will they learn by doing your activity? 

1. Divide the children into teams of 3-4; designate work area for each team.
   
2. Explain the project to the children, highlighting the key points.
   
3. Have the materials that will be available to children laid out on a table; allow time for children to examine materials. Maybe we can have less of one material than the number of groups in order to encourage diverse car modifications.
   
4. Facilitate creative problem-solving process; allow children to experiment with materials; encourage children to justify their changes.
   
5. Before testing the car, encourage children to explain how their design works, including how they plan to transform some of their potential energy into heat energy (friction).
   
6. One at a time, have each team place their car at the top of the ramp and let it go!
   
7. If the car crosses the first checkpoint and not the second, that team has accomplished the goal.
   
8. Distribute judging forms to each group and have each group evaluate their own product and the process that they just went through.

5.What will be in the activity box?

A toy car frame with wheels and axle attached. A ramp and all the materials for the children to use will also be provided(see below).

Materials provided:

6.How does your activity meet the requirements given above? 

The children are presented with an engineering problem to solve using only the materials provided. The problem is simple yet interesting for the kids. Teamwork is required, in particular combining design and construction techniques together. The activity is safe, can be conducted indoors and can involve a large group of children at one time. All the required materials for the final project can easily fit inside a compact vehicle.