American Chemical Society
Chemical Reactions and Engineering Design
Construction leads to habitat loss and local wildlife suffers. Scholars must build a reptile egg incubation device that meets many constraints. Various experiments help them discover the chemical reaction needed to reach the proper...
Bonneville
Researching Chemicals and Materials for Solar Cell Construction
Revolutionize the solar cell industry with a new design. The 10th of 14 lessons in the Cost Effective Solar Cells unit has pupils start a project in which they design a unique solar cell. They receive an introduction to the project,...
Teach Engineering
Exploring Variables While Testing and Improving Mint-Mobiles (for Middle School)
There are more ways to use mint candies than to just eat them. In groups, learners design and build race cars using mint candies, drinking straws, Popsicle sticks, index cards, and other materials. They decide on an independent variable...
Teach Engineering
Exploring Variables While Testing and Improving Mint-Mobiles (for High School)
Mint candies are good for more than just one's breath. Using basic materials such as mint candies, straws, index cards, and Popsicle sticks, scholars create race cars that meet a given budget as well as design constraints. They perform...
Radford University
Basketball Math
Shoot for a better knowledge of optimization strategies. During the first part of the task, scholars use given basketball shooting percentages for different players to predict the winner by examining systems of inequalities. For the...
Radford University
Linear Programming: Sports Shoes
Don't shoo away the resource on shoes. Given constraints on the amount of leather and string needed to make two different types of shoes, learners graph a system of inequalities for the situation. They then determine the maximum profit...
Purdue University
Can You Design and Construct a Better Candy Bag?
Bag the sweet resource for later use! Pupils learn about engineering design by developing a new, improved bag for candy from thin plastic sheets or from paper. The bags are to be visually appealing, but should also be functional. To...
Purdue University
Lifeguard Chair
Save the class from a lack of engineering experience. An engaging STEM activity has learners work in groups to design a lifeguard chair out of masking tape and index cards. They build and test prototypes, all while learning about the...
Concord Consortium
Track of Dreams
Don't run from the resource—sprint to it. Using an engaging performance task, scholars consider a set of constraints on the creation of a track. Given several possible designs, they determine if the designs meet the constraints. If not,...
Mascil Project
Packaging
Wrap up an engineering lesson plan with a worthwhile project. An engineering design task challenges groups to develop a package for a pharmaceutical company given constraints on the volume. Learners then create a presentation to...
Mascil Project
Amberhavn: New Bus Network
Public transportation is an important aspect of any growing city. Collaborative groups work to redesign a system for a city in need of restructuring. Young scholars design a route, create a timetable, and incorporate a quality control...
DiscoverE
Build a Bridge
Cost overruns are unacceptable—in the real world and in an engaging activity. Groups of pupils get together to build a bridge out of straws, paper cups, and tape. They keep track of costs ($1,000 for each material) and must stay within a...
DiscoverE
Textbook Support Challenge
Textbooks are heavier than a sheet of paper, so how can paper hold up a textbook? Young engineers create a structure out of paper that can support a textbook. To add another wrinkle, they must stay within budget and time constraints.
DiscoverE
Hold Your Water
Let's hope there are no leaks. Pupils work together in groups to build a device that will keep as much water as possible in a cup. After being dropped from a height of seven feet! Time to haul out the ladder.
DiscoverE
Trophy Triathlon Design Challenge
Build a trophy and be a winner. Pupils build trophies that can support a sports ball of their choosing. Based on the ball choice, they figure out how the height requirement changes.
GeoGebra
All For One, One For All
Will someone please constrain those pets? Pupils create two constraint equations on the number of cats and dogs for a pet sitter. They choose specific points and determine whether the point satisfies one or both constraints. The...
GeoGebra
Pet Sitters Feasible Region
Find the best way to maximize the profit. Pupils graph four constraints of a pet-sitting company, using a revenue equation to find a maximum amount the sitters can earn. By using the equation, scholars determine the number of cats and...
GeoGebra
Too Big, or Not Too Big
Determine whether the point is just right. The interactive allows participants to input a constraint equation. Pupils pick a point and determine whether it is too big, not too big, or just right for the constraint. Using the graphing...
NPR
Identify Criteria and Constraints
What defines success? The fourth installment of a 10-part series focuses on the criteria for engineering design success in solving the plastics problem. Pupils also consider any constraints.
Teach Engineering
Considering Trade-Offs and Maximizing Efficiency in a Fast Food Restaurant
Make fast food restaurants even faster. Groups consider trade-offs when maximizing efficiency in fast food restaurants. Restructuring schedules and floor plans, as well reassigning job duties, all fall under this directive.
Teach Engineering
All About Linear Programming
Class members connect engineering with an understanding of linear programming using a technical resource. Scholars learn about linear programming (linear optimization) and how it applies to engineering design in the first of two modules....
Teach Engineering
Optimizing Pencils in a Tray
What do you call a story about a broken pencil? Pointless. Scholars may not be telling stories when using the resource, but they are solving optimization problems involving the maximum number of pencils that can fit on a tray. They...
Teach Engineering
Straw Bridges
Pairs work as engineering teams to design and build model bridges from drinking straws and tape. In this third segment in a series of 10, teams compete in an attempt to build the strongest bridge. To help with the design, the groups...
Teach Engineering
Super Slinger Engineering Challenge
How well can you launch a ping-pong ball? Small groups design launchers that can launch a ping-pong ball 20 feet into a target. The teams follow the engineering design process as they develop a solution that meets the design...