Maglev Cars
- 3rd Grade -
The Challenge!
Use the engineering design process to create a car that hovers over the Maglev Track and moves down the track smoothly and quickly.
Challenge Constraints
Your supplies are limited to what is available.
You must follow the engineering design process for your design.
You must test and improve your design at least 2 times.
Student Skills In Focus
Learning Goals
Students will:
Use the Engineering Design Process and understanding of magnetic forces to create a hovering vehicle that can move along a track.
Use the challenge to develop the Pillar Skills in focus.
Questions To Ask Students:
What can you observe or measure to determine if your design was successful?
What characteristics of your design could be changed?
Do the placement of your magnets impact the results?
Do the number of magnets impact your results?
Essential Questions:
What invisible forces exist on our planet?
What effects do invisible forces have on my life?
Why is it important to analyze patterns in the world around us?
NJ Student Learning Standards:
3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
3-PS2-3. Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
3-PS2-4. Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
3-5-ETS1-2. 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.
3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.