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: Feel the Stress
Working individually or in groups, students explore the concept of stress (compression) through physical experience and math. They discover why it hurts more to poke themselves with mechanical pencil lead than with an eraser. Then they...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Air Pollution in the Pacific Northwest
Students are introduced to measuring and identifying sources of air pollution, as well as how environmental engineers try to control and limit the amount of air pollution. In Part 1, students are introduced to nitrogen dioxide as an air...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Reaction Exposed: The Big Chill!
Students investigate the endothermic reaction involving citric acid, sodium bicarbonate and water to produce carbon dioxide, water and sodium citrate. In the presence of water [H2O]; citric acid [C6H8O7] and sodium bicarbonate [NaHCO3]...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Introduction to Circuits and Ohm's Law
Students will explore the basics of dc circuits analyzing the light from light bulbs when connected in series and parallel circuits. Ohm's Law and the equation for power dissipated by a circuit will be the primary equations used. Using...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Concentrate This! Sugar or Salt
Students investigate the property dependence between concentrations and boiling point. First, they investigate the boiling point of various liquid solutions. Then they analyze data collected from the entire class to generate two boiling...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Concentrate This! Sugar or Salt
Students investigate the property dependence between concentrations and boiling point. In Section 1, students first investigate the boiling point of various liquid solutions. In Section 2 they analyze data collected from the entire class...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Eureka! Or Buoyancy and Archimedes' Principle
Students explore material properties in hands-on and visually evident ways via the Archimedes' principle. First, they design and conduct an experiment to calculate densities of various materials and present their findings to the class....
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: To Heat or Not to Heat?
Students are introduced to various types of energy with a focus on thermal energy and types of heat transfer as they are challenged to design a better travel thermos that is cost efficient, aesthetically pleasing and meets the design...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Magnetic Launcher
Students explore electromagnetism and engineering concepts using optimization techniques to design an efficient magnetic launcher. Groups start by algebraically solving the equations of motion for the velocity at the time when a...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Hydrogen Oxygen Reaction Lab
This lab exercise exposes students to a potentially new alternative energy source-hydrogen gas. Student teams are given a hydrogen generator and an oxygen generator. They balance the chemical equation for the combustion of hydrogen gas...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Penny Perfect Properties (Solid Liquid Interactions)
Students investigate the property dependence between liquid and solid interfaces and determine observable differences in how liquids react to different solid surfaces. They compare copper pennies and plastic "coins" as the two test...
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: Waves: The Three Color Mystery
Students are presented with a challenge question concerning color blindness and asked to use engineering principles to design devices to help people who are color blind. Using the legacy cycle as a model, this unit is comprised of five...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Asteroid Impact
Asteroid Impact is an 8-10 class long (350-450 min) earth science curricular unit where student teams are posed with the scenario that an asteroid will impact earth. They must design the location and size of underground caverns to save...
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: Up, Up and Away! Airplanes
The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's Principle to change air pressure. Following the lessons on lift, students explore the other...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Biodomes
Students explore the biosphere's environments and ecosystems, learning along the way about the plants, animals, resources and natural cycles of our planet. Over the course of lessons 2-6, students use their growing understanding of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Biomedical Engineering and the Human Body
Human beings are fascinating and complex living organisms-a symphony of different functional systems working in concert. Through a 10-lesson series with hands-on activities students are introduced to seven systems of the human...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Cells
In this unit, students look at the components of cells and their functions and discover the controversy behind stem cell research. The first lesson focuses on the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. In the second lesson,...
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: Creative Engineering Design
Students are introduced to the world of creative engineering product design. Through six activities, teams work through the steps of the engineering design process (or loop) by completing an actual design challenge presented in six...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Dams
Through eight lessons, students are introduced to many facets of dams, including their basic components, the common types (all designed to resist strong forces), their primary benefits (electricity generation, water supply, flood...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Engineering for the Earth
Young students are introduced to the complex systems of the Earth through numerous lessons on its natural resources, processes, weather, climate and landforms. Key earth science topics include rocks, soils and minerals, water and natural...