Posted on May 8th, 2020 by Mary Lord
In this open-ended design activity, students in grades 3 to 5 use everyday materials such as water bottles and straws to build small-scale transportation devices that incorporate two simple machines: a wheel and axle, and a lever. They race their vehicles, measuring distance, time and weight; and then calculate speed.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Wheeling It In
Tags: bicycle, Engineering Design Process, Geometry, levers, measurement, NGSS aligned activity, Physics, simple machines, transporation, vehicle
Posted on August 10th, 2017 by Mary Lord
Middle school students learn about the Earth’s geometrical relation to the sun by calculating where the sun will be in the sky for any date or time given a particular location on Earth, such as their school. The three-activity module was developed by lighting engineer Tony Esposito, Ph.D., during his graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University and made available to eGFI Teachers.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans, Special Features | Comments Off on Solar Geometry
Tags: angle, calendar, Class Activities, day, earth sciences, eclipse, Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Geometry, globe, Grades 6-8, latitude, Lesson Plans, light engineering, longitude, map, Mathematics, NASA, Project CANDLE, season, Solar Geometry, sun, Tony Esposito Jr.
Posted on February 28th, 2011 by ASEE
In this project, students in grades 6-12 will recreate the remarkable measurement of the circumference of the earth first performed over 2,000 years ago. Using rulers, protractors, and meter sticks, students measure shadows cast by a stick on a day close to the equinox, then use that measurement in a simple equation to determine the circumference.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Earth Science, Geometry, Mathematics
Posted on August 30th, 2010 by ASEE
Who can resist fiddling with the Rubik’s Cube, that enduring, colorful puzzle? In this lesson, as students in grades 9-12 learn to solve the cube, mixing up, then re-aligning each of its sides, they become acquainted concepts of solid geometry and practice skills of sequencing, memorization, and problem solving.
Holding the Rubik’s Cube, twisting and turning the parts, can help students of all ages grasp important math concepts including area, perimeter, volume, angles, algorithms and enumeration, among other geometry and algebraic topics. This sample lesson, drawn from youcandothecube.com, is one of several on the site that uses the cube to illustrate concepts of general mathematics, algebra, and geometry.
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Filed under: Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Geometry, Grades 9-12, Mathematics
Posted on July 19th, 2010 by ASEE
Students learn about sailboat design and how the shape of sails affects their movement. They apply what they learn about sailboat design to their math lesson, which involves the basic postulate of right triangle trigonometry and the Pythagorean Theorem. The lesson provides a fun, hands-on way to demonstrate that the Pythagorean Theorem can be tested and proved.
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Filed under: Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: The Math of Sailboat Design
Tags: Geometry, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plan, Mathematics, Nautical Engineering
