Procedure |
In a team of three or four, using only the materials provided, design and build a device or vehicle to move a small figure (or other object) as far as possible across the room on the fishing line cable. A team member may initiate the motion of the vehicle or device but may not provide forward momentum.
Brainstorm (5 minutes): Assign a recorder for your group. As a team, brainstorm as many ideas for your device/vehicle as possible as the recorder documents your ideas. You may handle and inspect the materials, but you may not alter or connect any of the materials in any way during this phase. Select one of your sketched ideas to pursue. Build (10 minutes): Build your device. Make changes to your original ideas as necessary. Test (1 minute): Each team will have one minute to test their device on the fishing line cable. Redesign (5 minutes): Make revisions to your device based on the results of your testing. Present: Each team will take a turn attempting to send their vehicle across the room on the fishing line cable. The distance traveled will be recorded. |
Conclusion Questions |
1. Why do you think brainstorming is helpful when solving a problem?
It helps to think of a design before building rather than during building 2. How did testing improve your design? It helped us decide where to distribute the weight and what item causes the least friction on the wire 3. With respect to designing the solution of a problem, what are some important characteristics of a successful team? Being able to design and build something while agreeing and being able to share constructive criticism |