Students are introduced to the field of biomechanics and how the muscular …
Students are introduced to the field of biomechanics and how the muscular system produces human movement. They learn the importance of the muscular system in our daily lives, why it is important to be able to repair muscular system injuries and how engineering can help.
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. …
Build your own system of heavenly bodies and watch the gravitational ballet. With this orbit simulator, you can set initial positions, velocities, and masses of 2, 3, or 4 bodies, and then see them orbit each other.
This is a lesson about the Cassini Spacecraft. Learners will engage in …
This is a lesson about the Cassini Spacecraft. Learners will engage in basic problem-solving as they design and construct their own small model of a spacecraft. Through writing and illustration, students will document their work and will complete a Design Review Summary. Like scientists and engineers, students will make presentations to show and explain their models and design summaries to their peers. This is lesson 5 of 10 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 1-2.
This is a lesson about spacecraft design. Learners will hear the NASA …
This is a lesson about spacecraft design. Learners will hear the NASA solutions to the problems they wrote about lesson 6. They will then write a nonfiction piece comparing their spacecraft to Cassini, and share their writing with the class. This introduction to design prepares students for the task of trying to design a working model of a probe to land on Saturn‰Ûªs moon, Titan. This is lesson 7 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.
This is a lesson about spacecraft design. Learners will think like engineers …
This is a lesson about spacecraft design. Learners will think like engineers as they are presented with problems that the NASA team faced when designing a spacecraft to travel to Saturn. Students work with partners to think of solutions to address those problems, and to use these ideas to sketch their spacecraft. This is lesson 6 of 12 in the Mission to Saturn Educators Guide, Reading Writing Rings, for grades 3-4.
Students learn about frequency and period, particularly natural frequency using springs. They …
Students learn about frequency and period, particularly natural frequency using springs. They learn that the natural frequency of a system depends on two things: the stiffness and mass of the system. Students see how the natural frequency of a structure plays a big role in the building surviving an earthquake or high winds.
Using new knowledge acquired in the associated lesson, students program LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) …
Using new knowledge acquired in the associated lesson, students program LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots to go through a maze using movement blocks. The maze is created on the classroom floor with cardboard boxes as its walls. Student pairs follow the steps of the engineering design process to brainstorm, design and test programs to success. Through this activity, students understand how to create and test a basic program. A PowerPoint® presentation, pre/post quizzes and worksheet are provided.
In this lesson, students will learn that math is important in navigation …
In this lesson, students will learn that math is important in navigation and engineering. Ancient land and sea navigators started with the most basic of navigation equations (Speed x Time = Distance). Today, navigational satellites use equations that take into account the relative effects of space and time. However, even these high-tech wonders cannot be built without pure and simple math concepts basic geometry and trigonometry that have been used for thousands of years. In this lesson, these basic concepts are discussed and illustrated in the associated activities.
Produce light by bombarding atoms with electrons. See how the characteristic spectra …
Produce light by bombarding atoms with electrons. See how the characteristic spectra of different elements are produced, and configure your own element's energy states to produce light of different colors.
This is a lesson about the solar wind, Earth's magnetosphere, and the …
This is a lesson about the solar wind, Earth's magnetosphere, and the Moon. Participants will work in groups of two or three to build a model of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. They will use the model to demonstrate that the Earth is protected from particles streaming out of the Sun, called the solar wind, by a magnetic shield called the magnetosphere, and that the Moon is periodically protected from these particles as it moves in its orbit around the Earth. Participants will also learn that the NASA ARTEMIS mission is a pair of satellites orbiting the Moon that measure the intensity of solar particles streaming from the Sun.
In this activity, students view a satellite image of Earth at night, …
In this activity, students view a satellite image of Earth at night, and consider the environmental considerations and consequences associated with the pattern of light they see. The resource includes a map for student use. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site. To complete the activity, students will need to access the Space Update multimedia collection, which is available for download and purchase for use in the classroom.
Students expand upon their understanding of simple machines with an introduction to …
Students expand upon their understanding of simple machines with an introduction to compound machines. A compound machine a combination of two or more simple machines can affect work more than its individual components. Engineers who design compound machines aim to benefit society by lessening the amount of work that people exert for even common household tasks. This lesson encourages students to critically think about machine inventions and their role in our lives.
This activity introduces the primary colors of light. Satellites transmit images to …
This activity introduces the primary colors of light. Satellites transmit images to us as a series of numbers, and this activity is designed to show how numbers are combined to create images using the primary colors of light. Students work in groups to create different colors using flashlights with red, blue, and green theatrical gels. Students create a numerical code to represent colors of light, experiment with building colors using the code, and complete a color mixing table.
In this extension to the Ohm's Law I activity, students observe just …
In this extension to the Ohm's Law I activity, students observe just how much time it takes to use up the "juice" in a battery, and if it is better to use batteries in series or parallel. This extension is suitable as a teacher demonstration and may be started before students begin work on the Ohm's Law I activity.
Students work to increase the intensity of a light bulb by testing …
Students work to increase the intensity of a light bulb by testing batteries in series and parallel circuits. They learn about Ohm's law, power, parallel and series circuits, and ways to measure voltage and current.
The lesson begins by introducing Olympics as the unit theme. The purpose …
The lesson begins by introducing Olympics as the unit theme. The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the techniques of engineering problem solving. Specific techniques covered in the lesson include brainstorming and the engineering design process. The importance of thinking out of the box is also stressed to show that while some tasks seem impossible, they can be done. This introduction includes a discussion of the engineering required to build grand, often complex, Olympic event centers.
Students use three tracks marked on the floor, one in yards, one …
Students use three tracks marked on the floor, one in yards, one in feet and one in inches. As they start and stop a robot specific distances on a "runway," they can easily determine the equivalent measurements in other units by looking at the nearby tracks. With this visual and physical representation of the magnitude of the units of feet, yard and inches, students gain an understanding of what is meant by "unit conversion." They also gain a familiarity with different common units of measurement. They use multiplication and division to verify their physical estimated unit conversions. Students also learn about how common and helpful it is to convert from one unit to another in everyday situations and for engineering purposes. This activity helps students make the abstract concept of unit conversion real so they develop mental models of the magnitude of units instead of applying memorized conversion factors by rote.
Explore an active area of research in optical physics: producing designer pulse …
Explore an active area of research in optical physics: producing designer pulse shapes to achieve specific purposes, such as breaking apart a molecule. Carefully create the perfect shaped pulse to break apart a molecule by individually manipulating the colors of light that make up a pulse.
Did you ever imagine that you can use light to move a …
Did you ever imagine that you can use light to move a microscopic plastic bead? Explore the forces on the bead or slow time to see the interaction with the laser's electric field. Use the optical tweezers to manipulate a single strand of DNA and explore the physics of tiny molecular motors. Can you get the DNA completely straight or stop the molecular motor?
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