A lot of engineering goes into making today’s gravity-defying rides both exciting and safe.
There are some 450 amusement parks and other attractions with roller coasters in the United States, according to an Ohio State University infographic. And they rely on 100 companies, each with a team of 10 to 15 engineers, to design, build, upgrade, and maintain their roller coasters.
Theme parks like Disney World rely on computer engineers to model new designs and calculate such things as rider spacing, friction and mass, and curve sizes. Industrial, civil, and structural engineers are needed to build sound structures that reduce friction without compromising safety or sturdiness. Kent Seko originally wanted to be an architect but he ended up joining Arrow Dynamics, a roller coaster design company, as a draftsman and worked his way up, according to a profile on Salary.com. In 1989, he helped the firm design and build the world’s first 200-foot tall “hyper-coaster,” the Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point in Ohio.
Read Popular Science’s 2015 Q&A with Alan Schilke, who designed the first wood-and-steel hybrid coaster to complete an inverted barrel roll.
Future amusement park rides will need all sorts of engineers and technologists, including electrical and mechanical, to create new 3-D and virtual reality experiences.
No matter what, the laws of physics still apply – so no matter what kind of engineer you become, you’ll need to know the difference between kinetic and potential energy!
This year’s contest asked students in grades 3 to 12 to pick an infrastructure system in their community and write about how the system could be improved. The infrastructure systems were divided into categories: transportation, water treatment, energy, public safety, communication, financial security, health care and recreation. Prizes were awarded to students based on grade level.
“When you read the essays of these potential future engineers, you can’t help but feel our world will be in good hands. A hearty congratulations to the winners!” said NAE President C. D. Mote, Jr.
Designed for girls in elementary through high school, EngineerGirl offers information about various engineering fields and careers, questions and answers, interviews, and other resources on engineering. It is part of the NAE’s ongoing effort to increase the diversity of the engineering workforce. Surveys of essay-contest participants indicate that 40 percent of girls say they are more likely to consider an engineering career after writing their essays.
The 2018 top prize winners in each category, elementary, middle, and high school, were:
Aditi Gokhale, a third-grader at J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School in Scotch Plains, N.J., for her essay on using self-repairing roads to fix the pothole problems in her hometown.
Seventh-grader Anvitha Mahankali, from Stoller Middle School in Portland, Ore., for her essay on creating sensors to detect bioswale maintenance problems.
Aditi Misra, an 11th-grader at St. Joseph Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, placed first for her essay on investing in flywheel energy storage systems to serve the Ontario energy grid.
The 2018 EngineerGirl essay contest was sponsored by Chevron Corp. and the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology, and Science. Awards are $500 for first place, $250 for second place, and $100 for third place, with certificates for honorable mentions.
The NAE is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, an independent, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to provide objective analysis and advice to the nation on matters of science, technology, and health.
Lesson courtesy of SciGirls Connect. See .pdf in English.
Grade level: 3 -8
Time: 2 hours
Summary
In this activity, small groups of students in grades 3 to 8 learn about forces, energy, and efficiency by measuring a bicycle’s gear ratios, calculating tire revolutions, and testing who can ride a course the swiftest based on that information.
Engineering connection/motivation
Biking is fun for all ages but pedaling can be tough unless you’re in the right gear. A bike’s gear system is designed to make pedaling more efficient on different terrains. The gear ratio measures how many times the back wheel turns for each rotation of the pedals.
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 variable are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constrains of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
Physical Science
MS-PS2-2. Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object’s motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
MS-PS3-1. Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.
MS-PS3-2. Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of object interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
MS-P3-5. Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes energy is transferred to or from the object.
Common Core State Mathematics Standards
7.EE.B.3 Solve real-life and mathematical problems posed with positive and negative rational numbers, in any form, using tools strategically. Apply properties of operations to calculate with numbers in any form; convert between forms as appropriate; and assess the reasonableness of answers using computation and estimation strategies.
Common Core State Literacy Standards
Speaking and Listening
L.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.5.3 Summarize the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence.
SL.5.4 Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
Writing
W.6.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
Standards for Technological Literacy
Grades 3-5
1.E Creative thinking and economic and cultural influences shape technological development.influences shape technological development.
2.K Tools and machines extend human capabilities, such as holding, lifting, fastening, separating, and computing.
3.C Various relationships exist between technology and other fields of study.
8.C The design process is a purposeful method of planning practical solutions to problems.
8.D Requirements for a design include such factors as the desired elements and features of a products or system or the limits that are placed on the design.
9.C The engineering design process involves defining a problem, generating ideas, selecting a solution, testing the solution(s), making the items, evaluating it, and presenting the results.
11.G Improve design solutions.
Grades 6-8
1.H Technology is closely linked to creativity, which has resulted in innovationcreativity, which has resulted in innovation.
2.M Technological systems include input, processes, output, and at times, feedback.
2.R Requirements are the parameters placed on the development of a product or system.
A product, system, or environment developed for one setting may be applied to another setting.
Knowledge gained from other fields of study has a direct effect of the development of technological products and systems.
8.E Design is a creative planning process that leads to useful products and systems.
8.G Requirements of a design are made up of criteria and constraints.
9.F Design involves a set of steps, which can be performed in different sequences and repeated as needed.
9.G Brainstorming is a group problem-solving design process in which each person in the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum.
10.G Invention is a process of turning ideas and imaginations into devices and systems. Innovation is the process of modifying an existing product of system to improve it.
11.L Make a product or system and document the solution.
Materials
For each small group:
Bicycle with gears that can be changed
Helmet
Marker
Pencil and paper
Tape measure
Stopwatch
Chalk
Calculator (optional)
Procedure
Beforehand, find a safe area where girls can ride their bikes. Determine the bike course; decide where to start and end. Try to include different features (e.g., flat surfaces, hills) and estimate the distance of the course.
1. Introduce bikes and gears. Divide girls into small groups1 and have them discuss how bikes work. Visit scigirlsconnect.org/page/pedalpower for background information, including embedded videos explaining bicycle mechanics, parts, and performance and an educational coloring book from the Society of Women Engineers.
2. Brainstorm. Ask each group to brainstorm ways to go faster on a bike (pedal quickly, change gears, bike design). Guide girls toward thinking about how gears affect speed.
3. Deliver the challenge: Determine which gears will help you bike a set course in the shortest amount of time.
4. Calculate gear ratio. Help each group turn their bicycle upside down on the floor. Make sure it’s stable. Use a marker to help count the teeth on the gears in the front (near the pedals) and in the back. Then, calculate each possible gear ratio. Rank them from highest to lowest and record data in a table. (Download an example table like the one below at scigirlsconnect.org)
Front Gear (F)
Back Gear (B)
Gear Ratio (F/B)
Tire Revolutions
F1 (smallest gear)
28
B1 (smallest gear) = 14
2
B2 = 16
1.8
B3 = 18
1.6
B4 = 21
1.3
B5 = 24
1.2
B6 (largest gear) = 28
1
F2 (middle gear)
38
B1 (smallest gear) = 14
2.7
B2 = 16
2.4
B3 = 18
2.1
B4 = 21
1.8
B5 = 24
1.6
B6 (largest gear) = 28
1.4
F3 (largest gear)
48
B1 (smallest gear) = 14
3.4
B2 = 16
3
B3 = 18
2.7
B4 = 21
2.3
B5 = 24
2
B6 (largest gear) = 28
1.7
GEAR RATIO = number of teeth on front gear/number of teeth on back gear
5. Calculate tire revolutions. Set the bike to its lowest gear (smallest gear in thee front, largest gear in the back). Mark a line on the back tire with chalk. Start with the pedal and tire marking at the 12 o’clock position as shown in the illustration (right). Slowly move the pedal forward, clockwise, and make one full revolution. Count how many revolutions the back tire makes.
Record this number and compare it to the gear ratio. Try the highest gear (largest gear in front, smallest gear in back). What is the relationship between gear ratio and tire revolution? (Low gears have more tire revolutions, high gears have fewer tire revolutions.) How do tire revolutions relate to speed? (The more tire revolutions per pedal stroke, the faster you will go.) Would you want to be in a high or low gear when you go up a hill? Down a hill? Why?
6. Plan and test. Show the girls the course and give groups 10 minutes to decide the gears to test and who will ride. Encourage them to think about which gears will work best on the various landscapes (low gears for uphill, high
gears for downhill, middle to high gears for flat stretches). Then, have groups take turns riding and recording their completion times. Each girl’s ability will be different, so they should each ride the course several times.
7. Share results. Have each group discuss what gears they used, why they used them and their various completion times. Are gears the only factor in speed? Ask girls to share other ideas for how to ride faster.
Troubleshooting tips
If you only have one bike for the whole group, first calculate the gear ratio as a large group. Then, have small groups make plans for the bike course and present them. Choose two or three plans to test and discuss results.
If there are girls in your group that can’t ride bikes, assign them to be recorders.
Engineers Push the Limit to Design the World’s Fastest Bike. Inside Science article (Sept. 15, 2017) about the World Human-Powered Speed Contest and efforts by University of Toronto engineering students to build the world’s fastest bike. On this YouTube video, University of Toronto AeroVelo team member Victor Ragusila explains the physics and engineering that makes their bike so much swifter than a Tour de France racer.
Theirhuman-powered helicopter hovered into the history books, staying aloft for over 60 seconds and winning the $1 million Sikorsky prize from the American Helicopter Society.
Then a team of University of Toronto engineering graduates and students led by Cameron Robertson sought to create the world’s fastest human-powered bicycle.
AeroVelo‘s prototype vehicle, dubbed Eta after the Greek letter that symbolizes ‘efficiency,’ is a two-wheeled bullet designed to significantly surpass highway speed limits on less than 1 horse power. Aerodynamic sheathing and a high-performance transmission could enable the vehicle hit a projected top speed of 145 km/hr (91 mph).
In September 2015, Aerovelo’s Eta Speedbike set a new world record in human powered speed by going 139.45 km/hr (86.65 mph), besting the record of 133.8 km/hr (83 mile per hour) set by a Dutch vehicle at the 2013 World Human-Powered Speed Challenge at Battle Mountain, Nevada.
AeroVelo spent years refining the Speedbike’s design, testing several models (2014 photo, below) and suffering setbacks. Eta’s success, however, rests as much on the “pedal power” of the athletic team members training and driving it as on the engineering and design.
Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on World’s Swiftest Bike
In her “day job” as a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, San Diego, Pamela Cosman researches such issues as data compression and streaming high-quality videos. She’s also the mom of four boys. So when her son’s second-grade class invited her to talk about her work, Cosman hit on a kid-friendly explanation: demonstrating basic error-correction coding by sending secret messages.
Inspired by the students’ enthusiastic response, Cosman spent her spare time writing a draft of what eventually became The Secret Code Menace. As this glowing review – the first in eGFI’s Kids’ STEM Picks – by fourth grader Zoe Miguel (photo, below) indicates, the tale of three friends, bank robbers, and the science of secret codes is sure to appeal to aspiring techies and non-tech students alike. Cosman also created an instructional guide with questions, problems, and answers.
Ransom Publishing, 2015. 204 pages. Click HERE to order from UCSD bookstore or from Amazon.
Book Review by Zoe Miguel
If you are looking for adventure, you have found the right book!
This book isn’t just about adventure, you will learn some things about codes. The main characters are Sara, Daniel and Jared. They go to the same school, Jared and Sara are brother and sister, while Daniel is their cousin. They have a secret code, so they send notes in class without anyone knowing what they say. For example, 1100 means “what time is it?” and 0111 means “I am happy.”
On the first day of school, Daniel sends Sara a note – 1111 – but it gets changed. That’s because Sara and Daniel sit at opposite sides of the class room and must have people pass the note along their seating row and somebody changes the code to 1110. Modifying part of the code can mean disaster, and that is bad!
Daniel, Sara and Jared learn a few different ways to make the messages harder to get messed up or changed. Then something horrible happens and they use the secret code to solve it. I don’t want to give away what happens. I think you are going to have fun reading this book; I couldn’t put it down!
I recommend reading this book, it should definitely be the next book you read. If you are looking for a new book to read, then your search is over! I think that I would give this book 4.99/5 stars.
From dockless bike sharing and electric bikes to puncture-proof solid tires and lightweight disk brakes, bicycle technology has come a long way from the traditional Schwinn cruiser of the 1930s – let alone from the 1858 velocipede nicknamed “Boneshaker.”
Bicycles are a $6 billion-a-year industry in the United States, with many models imported from China and Taiwan. And engineers play a major role in advancing design. Recumbent bikes, for example, owe their popularity to MIT mechanical engineering professor David Gordon Wilson, who organized one of the first recumbent bike contests and was invited to edit Bicycle Science, the bible of bicycle design and MIT Press’s most popular work. University of Nevada, Reno, mechanical engineering professor Eric Wang, an avid cyclist and racer, has a Ph.D. in bike design and has helped improve suspension systems and helmets, among other innovations.
Engineering students also have come up with ingenious designs, like the Milwaukee School of Engineering undergraduates who developed, among other prototypes, a hands-free recumbent bike. Stanford undergraduates learn to build their own bikes in Mechanical Engineering 204 – one of the most popular courses in the Product Realization Lab. And Ohio State grad students designed a bike for a girl who couldn’t operate traditional brakes with her malformed hands.
Then there’s the University of Toronto team that founded Aerovelo, designer of the world’s fastest pedal bike, the Eta. The egg-shaped, aerodynamic Eta clocked world records four times, most recently in 2015 at 89.59 mph. The race track is Battle Mountain, Nevada, where the annual World Human Powered Speed Challenge is held on one of the fastest, flattest, straightest roads on earth.
Despite such advances, bicycles still hold mysteries. “Everybody knows how to ride a bike, but nobody knows how we ride bikes,” Mont Hubbard, an engineer who studies sports mechanics at the University of California, Davis, told Nature in 2016. The article, entitled “The Bicycle Problem that Nearly Broke Mathematics,” was about the work of an engineer from Massachusetts named Jim Papadopoulos who has pondered the math of bikes in motion his whole life.
Jim, on his bike.
Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Wheels of Wonder
Leah Xiao-Chan O’Keefe wanted a “big kid” bike that could shift gears. But she was born with fingers that did not extend past the first knuckle, so braking comfortably or safely was impossible.
When Ohio State University mechanical engineering professor Blaine Lilly heard Leah’s story, he knew how to make her wish come true. Two of his students, Paul Scudieri, a doctoral student in integrated systems engineering, and Kyle Russ, who was pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, wanted to experience taking an idea from blueprint to real product. Both also were bicyclists.
The result: A bike outfitted with a lever-and-hydraulic-brake system that Leah could operate.
The process was was more difficult than initially imagined and involved hunting down a small women’s bike – a Giant Rincon – that was being discontinued. There were only seven in the nation. A local bike store helped locate one and donated accessories. After many wooden prototypes, Play-Doh models of Leah’s hands, and conference calls with engineers at brake manufacturer SRAM, the brake lever and the bike were finally ready. Leah awoke on Christmas morning to her custom-made bike.
This project helped Russ land his dream job as a biomechanical engineer with Trek Bicycle Corp. in Wisconsin after graduation.
TeachEngineering activity contributed by Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN), with additional resources from eGFI Teachers.
Summary
Students are introduced to the biomechanical characteristics of helmets and challenged to incorporate them into helmet designs. They come to understand the role of engineering associated with safety products – in this case protecting the brain and neck of a bicyclist in the event of a crash, with the design dependent on the user’s needs and specifications.
Safety engineers design products with a specific user in mind. It is important that engineers fully understand the needs and specifications of the user to produce a functional product. If the product is interacts with the body, the engineers must have an understanding of biomechanics, which is the application of the principles of physics to the body.
Learning Objectives
After this activity, students should be able to:
Analyze a product to determine the need it was designed to meet and the customer it was meant to attract.
Produce, use, and evaluate a prototype of the design solution.
Describe the personal impact of the designed product.
Communicate the solution to a problem and justify decisions.
Learning Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts. [Grades 9 – 12]
International Technology and Engineering Educators Association
Troubleshoot, analyze, and maintain systems to ensure safe and proper function and precision. [Grades 9-12]
Materials
Each group needs:
Oak tag or poster board (approx. 20 x 30 in)
Markers, colored pencils, etc.
To share with the entire class:
2 or more example helmets
EPS (expanded polystyrene) or Styrofoam (approx. 10 in2)
PET (polyester terephthalate, such as cutting the plastic from a 2-liter soda bottle to lay flat)
Engineers use scientific principles and other background information to design and create useful things that we use and depend upon every day. In designing and creating, the engineer goes through a problem solving process in which math and science are important components. (As necessary, review the steps of the engineering design process, an approach all engineers have in common as work to create great design solutions.)
Each year, nearly 1,000 people die from injuries sustained in bicycle crashes, with head injuries accounting for more than 60% of these deaths. In addition, many more people survive non-fatal head injuries resulting from bicycle crashes. While some of these survivors may experience only minor headaches or dizziness, others may suffer profound and disabling neurological difficulties.
One effective way to prevent head injury from these accidents is to use bicycle helmets. What do you think would be important characteristics for a helmet to have? (Listen to student ideas.) Helmets generally consist of two parts: an impact protection system to absorb the force and a strap system to keep the protective layer in place.
Often three layers are used together to provide impact protection. The outer layer is generally a hard shell or a micro-shell made of fiberglass, Lexan or ABS plastic. This shell serves many purposes: it distributes the force of the collision over a large area; it allows the helmet to slide, thereby causing a slower deceleration; it provides a shield against penetration; and it holds the middle layer together. The middle layer is usually a crushable liner that absorbs the shock of collision. This layer is often made of expanded polystyrene, also known as EPS. The inner layer, which may be more segmented, helps to ensure proper fit and comfort.
How do you think engineers might be involved in safety helmets? (Listen to student ideas.) Well engineers are involved in all aspects of helmet design and manufacturing. That includes, design, development, research, production and sales.
Procedure
Before the Activity
Gather materials and make copies of the worksheets and score sheets.
Prepare to show students the Bicycle Helmet Design Slides, either via overhead transparencies or a PowerPoint presentation.
With the Students
Part 1
Review slides 1-7: People who design and manufacture bicycle helmets must know how to make a helmet protective, functional and marketable at the same time.
In groups, consider the following: all helmets contain the same basic parts to protect the head in an accident. However, helmets are not all alike. They may differ depending on who will use them and for what purpose.
Determine the purpose of a bicycle helmet.
Pass around the bicycle helmets so that the students can identify the parts. Have students note the sticker from the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) that shows that the helmet meets a safety standard, or the blue SNELL sticker indicating that the helmet has passed more stringent tests.
Describe the parts of the helmet and discuss the purpose of each part.
hard and slick shell
crushable liner
padding layer
strap system
vents
To reinforce the purpose of the hard shell, conduct the following experiment:
From shoulder height, drop the 5-pound weight onto a piece of EPS.
Pass the EPS around the class and have students note the deformation.
Tape the flat plastic piece onto the EPS.
Drop the weight from shoulder height onto the combination of EPS and PET.
Pass the combination around the class and have the students note the deformation.
Think about the helmet characteristics that are designed for a certain application. By adding these characteristics to the basic helmet, the proper design can be determined for an application. Review slides 8-11.
Have students brainstorm ideas and complete the worksheet.
Part 2
Have students prepare a two-minute poster presentation on their designs. Require the posters to include the helmet designs and that students be prepared to discuss the choices they made.
Finish with a discussion about how students approached the problem like engineers. At each stage of the project, what engineering role were they performing?
Safety Issues
Make sure the presenters are careful when dropping weights onto the test materials.
Investigating Questions
How would you test bicycle helmets to make sure that they are safe?
After an accident would you need a new helmet?
How can a consumer tell if a helmet is safe?
Assessment
Evaluation: Use the attached score sheet to evaluate each group, judging on criteria such as problem statement, group needs, design changes, marketing techniques, illustration and overall presentation.
Activity Extensions
Have students research other types of foam that have been used in helmets, such as expanded polyurethane and expanded polypropylene.
Have students research helmets that are designed for specific applications. Decide if the classroom designs are similar to the commercial product. Check websites on bicycle safety to see if specially made helmets exist for these applications.
Some people feel that wearing helmets makes riders more reckless and more prone to injury. Have students poll other students to see if this is the case. Collect enough data to be able to see if gender plays a part in the findings.
Activity Scaling
For upper grades, have students design their own experiments to test bicycle helmets for impact resistance and strap strength. Obtain used or low-priced helmets for this activity.
World Oceans Day, an annual celebration of marine life and the seas that nurture it, falls on June 8 this year. And in keeping with Earth Day’s 2018 theme of ocean plastic, the coalition has developed a number of plastic pollution resources, including an integrated arts marine debris curriculum from WashedAshore.org – an arts and environmental group whose projects include turning trash collected from seashores into sculptures like this sea turtle (video, above) that was on display at the Smithsonian Institution.
Teachers also could show “Trash Talk,” the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration’s Emmy-winning collection of videos on plastic marine debris, its impact, and what we can do about it. The series is part of the agency’s Marine Debris Program
NOAA’s annual “Keep the Sea Free of Debris” Marine Debris Program Art Contest is another way to involve students in grades K through 8. Winners like this snazzy sea turtle, have their artwork printed on a free, downloadable calendar. The contest opens October 16 and closes November 30. Click HERE for rules and entry form.
Beyond taking part in an annual coastal cleanup day, families and students can help NOAA keep tabs on plastic pollution. The Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project is one of the world’s largest “citizen scientist” efforts. The University of Georgia’s College of Engineering, the project’s co-sponsor, has even developed a marine debris tracker app that makes it easy for anyone, anywhere to report plastic and other trash. Thousands of volunteers already have logged and removes over 1 million pieces of litter and debris all over the world.
