Design in Nature

After reading a brief overview of automobile history and introduction to energy and motion, automotive engineering teams plan, construct, test, and evaluate a rubber-band-powered car. This manipulative experience can enrich understanding...

In the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico, some tiny creatures show just how quickly natural selection can turn a mutation into an advantageous adaptation. Watch a video about rock pocket mice, who show that one small change can make all...

Using popsicle sticks and glue, groups must work together to design and build a bridge that can support weight and is aesthetically pleasing. The lesson begins by learners reading about different features of bridge architecture, followed...

The topic of trigonometric ratios is often covered with loads of rote memorization baked into the lesson plan. This activity set, however, leans more on using similar triangles and discovery learning to help young geometers develop a...

When earth scientists or mini meteorologists are learning about wind, they can participate in an engineering activity in which they will design and construct an anemometer. A thorough overview of different types of anemometers is...

Natural human interest in patterns and algebraic study of function notation are linked in this introductory unit on the properties of sequences. Once presented with a pattern or situation, the class works through how to justify...

Section eight of the twelve-part series continues the trend towards a higher level of algebraic rigor. Emphasis on graphing and interpreting results reigns supreme in this section, be the graphs piecewise, logarithmic, or radical....

The language and features of functions get careful treatment in a complex but doable lesson. Learners get a lot of practice really figuring out what a graph means in context, and also identifying key features of graphs. Key ideas like...

Hold a free-throw shooting challenge in your engineering class! Each team must design a contraption that will fire off a "robot arm" or, more specifically, a catapult, to send a Ping-Pong ball into a basket. Use this as an opportunity to...

Did mankind invent mathematical concepts, or is math the native language of the universe itself? Discover the beliefs of famous philosophers such as Plato and Euclid with regard to the place of numbers in nature, and take a brief look at...