I don't have any photographs today, but will take some next week, but I thought I would share the initial write-up and the lesson on engineering drawing.
Last year I spent an hour working with the students on the engineering design process, but had a difficult time getting them to follow the process. So this year, I decided I would concentrate on teaching them to draw their ideas, and the requirements, and then just let them go build.
Here is the writeup.
Eggineering: Designing an Egg Racer
Team Members: _________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
Design Brief: Your
team has been assigned to design and build a fast, convertible sports car. This car should allow a driver, an uncooked
egg, to “drive” down a track going down the track and across the floor as far
as possible. In addition, the driver
must survive a crash test on 6 foot track, crashing into a barrier.
Design Requirements:
·
You
will use parts from given design kit.
·
Car
must not be wider than 12 ½ cm, including wheels and axles.
·
The
car must not be longer than 24 cm.
·
The
car must be open topped ( nothing above the egg’s head).
·
The
total weight of the car and egg must be less than 10 ounces.
·
The
car must include at least one of the following safety devices: seat belt, air
bag, and/or rollbar/cage.
·
The
egg’s face (a circle one inch in diameter – use a quarter) must not be covered
so he can see the road.
·
The
egg may wear a safety helmet.
·
The
egg must be able to get out of the car easily so he can be inspected for injury
after the crash test.
Design Criteria: Your
team’s car will be judged on the following items:
·
Operation
of the car, how far it moves down the track and how well it protects its
passenger
·
Elegance
of design and your engineering drawing
·
Use
of available resources
·
Reliability
(how consistently your car performs)
·
Ease
of use (how easily your egg can be put in and taken out of the car)
Eggineering: Designing an Egg Racer
Evaluation Guidelines
|
Judgment Criteria
|
Maximum
Points
|
Score
|
|
Track Performance (1 point for each foot of travel beyond
the track)
|
15
|
|
|
Crash Test Performance
(10: no cracks;
5: minor cracks; 1 major cracks; 0: completely smashed)
|
10
|
|
|
Repeatability
of Car Performance (how far car repeats distance performance on each of 3
trials)
(5: excellent;
3: average; 1: poor)
|
5
|
|
|
Ease of use (can you easily get your egg in and out
of the car) (5: excellent; 3: average; 1: poor)
|
5
|
|
|
Creativity:
How innovative is your car design, is it a Maserati or a Kia? (5:
excellent; 3: average; 1: poor)
|
5
|
|
|
Did it meet design requirements:
(5: excellent; 3: average; 1: poor)
|
5
|
|
|
How good is your engineering drawing?
(5: excellent;
3: average; 1: poor)
|
5
|
|
|
Total Score:
|
50
|
|
Materials:
·
Pipe
cleaners: 2
·
Straws:
1
·
Craft
sticks: 3
·
Cardboard
·
Wheels:
4
·
Axles:
2
Tools:
·
Glue
gun with teacher’s assistance
·
Tape
·
Scissors
·
Rulers
·
Scale
·
Glue
