TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Energy Storage Derby and Proposal
In Activity 5, as part of the Going Public step, students demonstrate their knowledge of how potential energy may be transferred into kinetic energy. Students design, build and test vehicle prototypes that transfer various types of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Red Cabbage Chemistry
Students take advantage of the natural ability of red cabbage juice to perform as a pH indicator to test the pH of seven common household liquids. Then they evaluate the accuracy of the red cabbage indicator, by testing the pH of the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Density Column Lab Part 1
In this first part of a two-part lab activity, students use triple balance beams and graduated cylinders to take measurements and calculate the densities of several common, irregularly shaped objects with the purpose to resolve confusion...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Density Column Lab Part 2
Concluding a two-part lab activity, students use triple balance beams and graduated cylinders to take measurements and calculate densities of several household liquids and compare them to the densities of irregularly shaped objects (as...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Energy Systems and Solutions
The Energy Systems and Solutions unit brings students through the exploration of science and engineering concepts as they relate to energy issues in everyday life. Issues surrounding energy production and energy consumption provide a...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Air Pollution
Students are introduced to the concept of air quality by investigating the composition, properties, atmospheric layers and everyday importance of air. They explore the sources and effects of visible and invisible air pollution. By...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Environmental Challenges in China
Students learn about the wonderful and fascinating country of China, and its environmental challenges that require engineering solutions, many in the form of increased energy efficiency, the incorporation of renewable energy, and new...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Physics of Fluid Mechanics
Five lessons about the study of fluid mechanics. The unit concludes with students applying what they have learned to determine the stability of individual above-ground storage tanks given specific storm conditions so they can analyze...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Urban Stormwater Management
Through the two lessons in this unit, students are introduced to green infrastructure and low-impact development technologies. Student teams take on the role of stormwater engineers through five associated activities.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Ocean Water Desalination
Students learn about the techniques engineers have developed for changing ocean water into drinking water, including thermal and membrane desalination. They begin by reviewing the components of the natural water cycle. They see how...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Off the Grid
Students learn and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of renewable and non-renewable energy sources. They also learn about our nation's electric power grid and what it means for a residential home to be "off the grid."
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Extinction Prevention via Engineering
Species extinction is happening at an alarming rate according to scientists. In this lesson plan, young scholars are asked to consider why extinction is a problem that we should concern us. They are taught that destruction of habitat is...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Clean It Up!
Students learn about a special branch of engineering called bioremediation, which is the use of living organisms to aid in the clean-up of pollutant spills. Students learn all about bioremediation and see examples of its importance. In...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Test and Treat Before You Drink
Students learn about water quality testing and basic water treatment processes and technology options. Biological, physical and chemical treatment processes are addressed, as well as physical and biological water quality testing,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: What Kind of Footprint? Carbon Footprint
Young scholars determine their carbon footprints by answering questions about their everyday lifestyle choices. Then they engineer plans to reduce them. Students learn about their personal impacts on global climate change and how they...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Capillarity Measuring Surface Tension
Learners are presented with a short lesson on the difference between cohesive forces (the forces that hold water molecules together and create surface tension) and adhesive forces (the forces that causes water to "stick" to solid...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is an interesting and somewhat publicized environmental problem. A swirling soup of trash up to 10 meters deep and just below the water surface is composed mainly of non-degradable plastics. These...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Above Ground Storage Tanks in the Houston Ship Channel
Students are provided with an introduction to above-ground storage tanks, which sets the stage for the real-world engineering challenge presented in the associated activity- to design new and improved storage tanks that can survive storm...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Flocculants: The First Step to Cleaner Water!
Students experience firsthand one of the most common water treatment types in the industry today, flocculants. They learn how the amount of suspended solids in water is measured using the basic properties of matter and light. In...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Biological Processes: Putting Microbes to Work
Students learn the fundamentals of using microbes to treat wastewater. They discover how wastewater is generated and its primary constituents. Microbial metabolism, enzymes and bioreactors are explored to fully understand the primary...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Natural and Urban Stormwater Water Cycles
Through an overview of the components of the hydrologic cycle and the important roles they play in the design of engineered systems, students' awareness of the world's limited fresh water resources is heightened. The lesson lays the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Green Infrastructure & Low Impact Development Technologies
Learners are introduced to innovative stormwater management strategies that are being used to restore the hydrology and water quality of urbanized areas to pre-development conditions.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Designing a Sustainable Guest Village
This lesson introduces students to their task of designing a permanent guest village within the Saguaro National Park. The design must provide a true desert experience to visitors while also emphasizing sustainable design, protection of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Students are presented with examples of the types of problems that environmental engineers solve, specifically focusing on air and land quality issues. Air quality topics include air pollution sources, results of poor air quality...