Feature: Engineered for Earthquakes
Posted on March 13th, 2011 by Mary Lord
From buildings that sway rather than collapse to tsunami seawalls and drills, Japan’s earthquake precautions have made the nation uniquely prepared for disaster. Learn how Japanese construct skyscrapers and other earthquake-resistant engineering in this New York Times feature. Such practices undoubtedly helped save lives, though the toll from last week’s temblor and giant wave continues to mount.
Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans, Special Features | Comments Off on Feature: Engineered for Earthquakes
Tags: Curriculum, Environmental Engineering, Japan, Lesson Plan, Physics
From the “miracle fiber” Kevlar invented by Dupont chemist Stephanie Kwolek to Silly Putty, our world abounds with materials discovered by accident. In this activity from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), students will learn some serious materials science–and hit several national science and tehcnology standards–by using everyday items to create and investigate the properties of Funny Putty.
In this quick, hands-on lesson, students in grades K-12 compare sunblock containing nanoparticles to those that do not and learn how nanoparticles are used to help block harmful rays from the sun.
In this lesson, students in grades 6-12 use simple materials to design, build, and test a model of a free-standing structure used to support overhead road signs. They begin by learning about the engineering design process and researching about support structures. They then work in groups to design and build their own sign supports. The final designs are tested to see how they stand up to two different types of loads.
In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 learn the basic engineering issues related to helmet design, specifically the physics of collisions and the biomechanics considerations of design. Students then identify and solve design challenges, create a poster representation of their solutions, and present them to their peers. Finally, students will learn about the dangers of not wearing a helmet in certain sports.
In this lab activity, students in grades 5 through 9 use a salt/detergent mixture to make a piece of a banana water soluble. Then they add cold ethanol to precipitate a froth of white DNA from the solution. With careful technique the slender threads are wound onto a glass rod for observation of deoxyribonucleic acid, the master code or blueprint of all organisms.
In this lesson, students in grades 3 through 8 assume the role of building engineers, testing several materials to determine which would provide the best house insulation. They learn about the role of insulation in preventing heat transfer and discuss the importance of energy conservation in buildings.
