What Are Gears?
Posted on July 25th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this activity, students in grades 4 to 8 use LEGO spur gears to learn about different types of gears and how they are used in many engineering devices, including bicycles, to change the speed, torque, and direction of a power source.
Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on What Are Gears?
Tags: bicycle, Class Activities, gears, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, LEGOS, Mathematics, Mechanical engineering, Physics, simple machines, speed, torque
Saving energy and helping a blind classmate navigate around the school were among the winning mobile app designs that student teams submitted in the Verizon Innovative App Challenge this year. Registration for the 2014/15 contest opens August 4, 2014.
In this activity, part of a robotics design curricular unit, teams of students in grades 4 – 8 learn how to program LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT intelligent bricks so that one can remotely control the other, gaining skills and an appreciation for wireless communications as they play “robot soccer.” 
In this activity, students in grades 3 to 6 learn about force and friction by examining how basic rim bicycle brakes work and discussing the advantages of various designs. They then use low cost materials to devise a simple braking system, suggest improvements to current bicycle brake designs, and present their recommended changes to the class.
In this delicious exercise, middle school students in teams of 3 to 5 learn about the field of industrial engineering by creating an assembly line to pack as many snack bags in 2 minutes as possible. They then see if they can improve their process.
In this quick, fun activity, pairs of students in grades 2 – 8 will learn about industrial engineering and measurement by estimating how many times a partner can complete a task in one minute, then checking the estimate against actual performance. Students then can discuss ways to improve their performance and try again.
“Engineering Tomorrow’s Cities,” the theme of the Technology Students Association’s 2014 National Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science (TEAMS) Competition, asks middle and high school students to address such urgent societal needs as fresh water supplies and green space. The daylong competition will be held at the TSA annual conference in Washington, D.C., June 27 to July 1.
Student teams in grades 6-8 reinforce their knowledge of the digestive system and explore the concepts of simulation and the engineering design process by developing a pill coating that can withstand the churning and acidic environment of the stomach. They test the coating’s durability using a clear soda to simulate gastric acid.
