VIRTUAL EDITION


Projects you can do in the classroom or at home!

Forces Acting on a Suspension Bridge

BRIDGE BUILDING

Challenge: Your TEAM will be given fifty plastic straws and 1 meter of masking tape. Teams will have approximately 20 minutes to construct a bridge that spans the greatest possible distance and be able to support the object when placed by the judge in the center of, and at a right angle to, the length of the bridge.

● The bridge must support the mass for ten seconds.

● No building materials, save the fifty straws and tape, will be allowed in the construction of the bridge.

CCSS Math Practices

  1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

  2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

  3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

  4. Model with mathematics.

  5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

  6. Attend to precision.

  7. Look for and make use of structure.

  8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

CATAPULT

Using the materials provided, create a catapult that launches a provided object (such as a marshmallow). You do not have to use all of the materials, but you cannot use additional materials.

Materials:

● Spoon

● Craft sticks

● Rubber band

Science and Engineering Practices

1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for

engineering)

2. Developing and using models

3. Planning and carrying out investigations

4. Analyzing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for

engineering)

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

BARGE BUILDING

Challenge: Your TEAM will be given a piece of aluminum foil. The goal is to design and build a barge (boat) that will support the maximum amount of cargo without sinking.

Materials:

● 1 piece of foil

● Cargo (pennies, metal washers, etc)


TOWERS

Challenge: Your TEAM will use given materials to design and create a tower that will support a tennis ball. The goal is to create the tallest tower that supports a tennis ball.

Materials:

● Straws

● Tape

HEAD HARP

Wrap a string around your head and pluck it to play music.


Place the middle of the string behind your head, pull the string across your ears, and hold the two free ends together in front of your face. The string should cross over the opening in each ear. Pluck the string, and listen to the tone it makes.

You can hear your string, but the sounds are so quiet you will not disturb other people even if they are close to you.

How can you change the sound? Pull the string tighter, or make it looser, and listen to the change in pitch. Change the length of the string by sliding your hand along the string while keeping the tension as constant as possible. Then listen to the change in pitch.


Materials:

● A piece of string at least 3 feet (1 meter) long