Embedded Files
Read Design Brief Carefully
Days 1 - 3 : Design Process Notebook Steps 1-3 Due:?
Done Individual and must be done before you are assigned to a group
Make A Copy and Customize - Design Process Notebook
Days 4-6: Design Process Notebook Steps 4-6 Due: ?
Days 7-10 - Prototype and build Due: ?
Create video of your machine in motion. Upload your video into your Design Notebook to present to the class.
Students will:
Students will:
• Use their knowledge of energy transfer to complete a design challenge with given criteria and constraints.
• Compare and evaluate solutions based on how well they meet the criteria and constraints.
• Iterate design solutions based on their observations of failure points and combine the best characteristics from multiple machines into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
• Describe how elements of the design process were used to achieve an optimal design solution.
Engineering Practices:
Engineering Practices:
Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem
Optimize performance of a design by prioritizing criteria, making tradeoffs, testing, revising, and re-testing
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.
Instructional Materials
Instructional Materials
Questions & Concepts to Discuss
Questions & Concepts to Discuss
What is energy transfer?
As you watch the Rube Goldberg videos linked, please consider these questions.
What types of energy were shown in the video?
What kind of energy transfers were shown?
Where are energy transfers occurring?
Can you think of a real-life examples of energy transfer?
Support Materials
What Is a Rube Goldberg Machine
Beyond a Man's Machines: Exploring and Inventor's Cartoons in the Art of Rube Goldberg
Post Project Discussion Questions: Failure Points, trade-offs, optimization
Post Project Discussion Questions: Failure Points, trade-offs, optimization
• Where are the places in your machine that did not operate on your first trials?
• What did you do to improve in the design at (failure point)?
o What were some trade-offs and optimization efforts you made on your design? How did these decisions pay off?
• How did your understanding of energy transfer affect your design?
• Which machine(s) addressed the criteria and constraints in the most optimized way? Why?
Gravitational & Elastic Energy
Gravitational & Elastic Energy
Gravitational potential energy is the potential energy created by increasing the height of an object in relationship to the ground.
How could we use gravitational energy in a Rube Goldberg machine?
Elastic potential energy is the potential energy created by deforming an elastic object like a rubber band or a bouncy ball.
How could we use elastic energy in a Rube Goldberg machine?
Driving Question: How can we design a machine that will deliver a remote control to an immobile friend?
Driving Question: How can we design a machine that will deliver a remote control to an immobile friend?
YouTube Videos to be watched with teacher during instruction. As we watch a video of a Rube Goldberg machine. Pay careful attention to how the different objects are used together to transfer energy. Are there similar things we can do in our designs using the materials we have available? - Instructors - space out the videos, maybe one as an entry event and another for an exit ticket with a discussion. DO NOT show all at once.
Criteria (Design Requirements/Desired Features):
• Machine must include a drop of at least 2 inches.
• Machine must include at least 4 different energy transfers.
• The Rube Goldberg machine process should take less than 1 minute.
• Justin’s remote control must move from a starting point and end at least 8 inches away.
• [6-8th] Additional student developed criteria that is agreed upon by the class. Constraints:
• Machine may only be touched once to initiate the machine.
• No electricity is allowed anywhere in the Rube Goldberg Machine.
• Budget: Any materials provided on the materials' table are allowed to be used for this challenge.
• Schedule: Teams have 40 minutes to complete their second design.
• [6th grade] Student developed constraints that are agreed upon by the class.
Example Video Discussion Questions
Example Video Discussion Questions
What kinds of energy transfers took place?
What are some of the unexpected energy transfers that you observed?
What kinds of changes could the inventor of this machine make to add additional examples of energy transfer?
What about changes to take away examples of energy transfer?
Could we replicate any of the energy transfers with our materials?
Optimization
Optimization
Optimization is the process of iterating, refining and making trade-offs until we find the solution that best meets the criteria and constraints. While there is no perfect solution, engineers work to find the optimal solution.
Example: Cars are sometimes designed to be optimized for gas mileage meaning that the car can go as far as possible on a tank of gas but the trade-off might be to give up fast acceleration.
What were areas in your design where you tried to optimize your design for a particular criterion?
Energy Vocabulary: Use the activity to broaden the knowledge of these terms for your class, supply each class full access to this document and assign terms to individuals or teams - Energy Madness Activity
Review this vocabulary. You should be using this language during classroom discussions as well as in your written responses in your Design Notebooks and other tasks.
Possible Resources for Machine
Possible Resources for Machine
Empty boxes
• Small containers
• Empty plastic jars
• Paper towel or toilet paper rolls
• Scrap fabric
• Paper (various types of thickness)
• Paper clips
• Binder clips
• Various types of tape
• Foam tubes
• Foam shapes
• Rubber bands (various sizes)
• Legos
• Jenga blocks
• Art supplies
• Dominoes
• String
• Marbles or small balls
• Cardboard
• Small rolling cars
• Small toys
• Tinker toys
• Foam tubing
• PVC pipes/connectors
Many teachers will supply material, but we always like to have each student bring in a "Wild Card" piece of material, here is a brainstorming document where students can think of what they have at home.
Complete the Materials Brainstorm Document. Student copy in Schoology.
Focus on the Brainstorming Process and the sketching process in student Design Notebook.
Assessment Opportunities
Design Process Notebook
Sketches & Labels
Students should be able to discuss iterations of their designs based on failure points and discuss changes made to designs using content vocabulary and knowledge of energy transfer.
Explain how energy is transferred from one object to another in at least one place within the machine.
Answer questions such as: What effect would it have on your machine if you swapped ______ and _______?
Page updated
Report abuse