This is a guided inquiry discussion to introduce machines and to identify types of simple machines
Student teams design, build and test small-sized gliders to maximize flight distance and an aerodynamic ratio, applying their knowledge of fluid dynamics to its role in flight. Students experience the entire engineering design process, from brainstorming to CAD (or by hand) drafting, including researching (physics of aerodynamics and glider components that take advantage of that science), creating materials lists, constructing, testing and evaluating—all within constraints (works with a launcher, budget limitation, maximizing flight distance to mass ratio), and concluding with a summary final report. Numerous handouts and rubrics are provided.
Students conduct their own research to discover and understand the methods designed by engineers and used by scientists to analyze or validate the molecular structure of DNA, proteins and enzymes, as well as basic information about gel electrophoresis and DNA identification. In this computer-based activity, students investigate particular molecular imaging technologies, such as x-ray, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and create short PowerPoint presentations that address key points. The presentations include their own explanations of the difference between molecular imaging and gel electrophoresis.
Innovation Workshop Student Reporter shows a sneak peek into the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s NanoFab where scientists work in a clean room to build highly structured circuits. Nanoelectronics is how we use nanotechnology to build electronics with nanoscale features. And it’s a field of study where researchers are still creating new methods to build.
For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork
Innovation Workshop Student Reporter Kurien attended the TechConnect World Innovation conference in Washington DC to see how business is driving innovation. Nanotechnology has the potential to impact all areas of our lives.
For more information: http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/innovation_nanotechnology/index.html
Twitter @FFXNetwork
Los estudiantes diseñan, construyen y ponen a prueba torres hechas de palitos y/o clavijas.
Students test the insulation properties of different materials by timing how long it takes ice cubes to melt in the presence of various insulating materials. Students learn about the role that thermal insulation materials can play in reducing heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation, as well as the design and implementation of insulating materials in construction and engineering.
Backwards design unit and lesson template for STEM toolkit work
Students are introduced to the concept of an environment and the interactions within it through written and hands-on webbing activities. They also learn about environmental engineering careers and the roles of these engineers in our society.
This is an activity about structures in space. Learners will construct two different types of trusses to develop an understanding of engineering design for truss structures and the role of shapes in the strength of structures. For optimum completion - this activity should span 3 class periods to allow the glue on the structures to dry. This is engineering activity 1 of 2 found in the ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide.
This is an activity about keeping astronauts safe from debris in space. Learners will investigate the relationship between mass, speed, velocity, and kinetic energy in order to select the best material to be used on a space suit. They will apply an engineering design test procedure to determine impact strength of various materials. This is engineering activity 2 of 2 found in the ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide.
This is an activity about using solar arrays to provide power to the space station. Learners will solve a scenario-based problem by calculating surface areas and determining the amount of power or electricity the solar arrays can create. This is mathematics activity 1 of 2 found in the ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide.
This is an activity about the orbit of the ISS around the Earth. Leaners will investigate the relationship between speed, distance, and orbits as they investigate how quickly the ISS can travel to take a picture of an erupting volcano. This is mathematics activity 2 of 2 found in the ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide.
This is an activity about orbital mechanics. Learners will investigate how lateral velocity affects the orbit of a spacecraft such as the ISS. Mathematical extensions are provided. This is science activity 1 of 2 found in the ISS L.A.B.S. Educator Resource Guide.
Interview an Organism gives students the opportunity to enter the world of an organism. Students slow down and have a “conversation” with an organism of their choosing, asking questions that can be answered through more observation while paying attention to its surroundings and the scale of its world. It helps take students to a “next level” of observing and questioning as they learn to ask themselves questions that lead them to make deeper observations. In the process, they get to know their chosen organism.
In this Exploration Routine, students search for interesting organisms and observe them. Each pair of students chooses an organism to study, comes up with questions about the organism’s appearance and structures, while attempting to answer each one through observations. Then they move on to more probing questions about the organism’s behavior, ecosystem, and relationships to other organisms. Afterwards, students share with other pairs and then with the whole group.
After watching a 1940 film clip of the "Galloping Gertie" bridge collapse and a teacher demo with a simple pendulum, student groups discuss and then research the idea of motion that repeats itself specifically the concepts of periodic and harmonic motion. They become aware of where and how these types of motion occur and affect them in everyday applications, both natural (seasons, tides, waves) and engineered (swings, clocks, mechanical systems). They learn the basic properties of this type of motion (period, amplitude, frequency) and how the rearrangement of the simple pendulum equation can be used to solve for gravitational acceleration, pendulum length and gravity. At lesson end, students are ready to conduct the associated activity during which they conduct experiments that utilize swinging Android® devices as pendulums.
Acting as if they are biomedical engineers, students design and print 3D prototypes of pressure sensors that measure the pressure of the eyes of people diagnosed with glaucoma. After completing the tasks within the associated lesson, students conduct research on pressure gauges, apply their understanding of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and its components, iterate their designs to make improvements, and use 3D software to design and print 3D prototypes. After successful 3D printing, teams present their models to their peers. If a 3D printer is not available, use alternate fabrication materials such as modeling clay, or end the activity once the designs are complete.
This educational resource provides essential information for implementation of Industry 4.0 in SME’s environment in the form of a collection of “recipes” suitable for SMEs that can be directly used by the owners and managers of SMEs. It includes practical approaches that support SMEs in the implementation of Industry 4.0 taking advantage on the decreasing costs of technologies like 3D printing, robotics, Augmented Reality, etc.
Microcontrollers are the brains of the electronic world, but in order to play with one, you must first get it connected! For this maker challenge, students learn how to connect their Arduino microcontroller circuit boards to computers. First, students are walked through the connection process, helped to troubleshoot common pitfalls, and write their first Arduino programs (setup and loop functions, semicolons, camel case, pin 13 LED). Then they are given the open-ended challenge to create their own blinking LED code—such as writing Morse code messages and mimicking the rhythm of a heartbeat. This practice helps students become comfortable with the fundamental commands before progressing to more difficult programs.
The discipline of Biosystems Engineering emerged in the 1990s from the traditional strongholds of agricultural engineering and food engineering. Biosystems engineering integrates engineering science and design with applied biological, environmental, and agricultural sciences. Introduction to Biosystems Engineering is targeted at 1st and 2nd year university-level students with an interest in biosystems engineering but who are not yet familiar with the breadth and depth of the subject. It is designed as a coherent educational resource, also available for download as individual digital chapters. The book can be used as a localized, customizable text for introductory courses in Biosystems Engineering globally. It is written as a series of stand-alone chapters organized under six major topics: Food and Bioprocessing; Environment; Buildings and Infrastructure; Information and Communications Technology and Data; Machinery Systems; and Energy. Each chapter is organized around stated learning outcomes and describes key concepts, applications of the concepts, and worked examples.