Posted on September 29th, 2009 by ASEE
Frustrated by gridlock? Traffic engineers feel your pain. Using math, they devise ways to improve the flow of vehicles at busy intersections and on highways. Here is an example of the kind of problem they might try to solve. Designed for advanced high-school algebra students, it can be worked out most easily using Microsoft Excel.
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Filed under: Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Better Traffic Flow
Tags: Research on Learning
Posted on September 16th, 2009 by ASEE
In this lesson series for ages 8-18, teams of students explore the engineering behind recorder manufacturing, and then design, construct, test, and evaluate a working musical instrument using easily found materials. Time required: Two to three 45-minute sessions.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Manufacturing Engineering, Music engineering, Research on Learning
Posted on September 15th, 2009 by als
Hurricane season is here, reminding us that accurate weather forecasts can be a matter of life and death in vulnerable coastal areas of the country. Even inland, severe thunderstorms play havoc with late-summer travel, and tornadoes threaten lives and property. In this lesson for grades 6 to 8, students begin by considering how weather forecasting plays an important part in their daily lives. They learn about the history of weather forecasting — from old weather proverbs to modern forecasting equipment — and how improvements in weather technology have saved lives by providing advance warning of natural disasters.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Environmental Engineering, Research on Learning, Technology for Learning, Wind Technology
Posted on July 27th, 2009 by ASEE
In this lesson for grades 6-12, students experience the forces of tension and compression by manipulating objects that are strong in each but not in both. Students then take what they have learned and apply it to the construction of a simple model of a beam bridge and the more complex suspension bridge and inverted triangle support structure. During the lesson, students watch video segments that illustrate the design and construction process in the real world.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »
Tags: Bridge building, Bridge Design, Civil Engineering, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plan
Posted on July 3rd, 2009 by ASEE
In this lesson for Grades K-2, youngsters come to understand that there are limits to what the eye can see and that a magnifying glass can help extend those limits.
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Filed under: Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 17th, 2009 by ASEE
In this series of lessons for grades 6-8, students first experiment with a virtual solar cooker to discover the mathematical relationship among reflection, transmission and absorption. Then they apply their knowledge to building and testing a solar cooker of their own invention. In an extension, students investigate how these principles can be used as sustainable energy sources for homes through passive solar heating.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »
Tags: Grades 6-8, Solar Engineering
Posted on May 20th, 2009 by ASEE
This 50-minute lesson for grades 3-5 introduces the ways that engineers study and harness the wind. Students will learn about the different kinds of winds and how to measure wind direction; how air pressure creates winds, and how engineers build and test wind turbines to harness energy from wind. A separate activity, Bubble-ology, introduces students to aerodynamics by challenging them to devise the best ways to keep a bubble aloft.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Harnessing Wind
Tags: Aerodynamics, Wind Technology
Posted on May 6th, 2009 by ASEE
In this two-hour lesson, middle-school students use the engineering design process to design a plant growth chamber for use on the lunar surface. They will work individually and in teams.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: A Garden on the Moon
Posted on March 25th, 2009 by ASEE
In this design challenge for grades 6 to 8, students will harness the power of the sun to design, construct and evaluate a solar-powered modelcar of their creation. Students will utilize the design process and undergo review by their peers to select an optimal gear ratio and components for their car. As a culminating activity, students compete in a “Solar Sprint” race modeled after the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Junior Solar Sprint competition.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Cars, Class Activities, Competitions for Students, Grades 6-8, renewable energy, Solar Engineering