The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
STEM CANDY CARS
STEM CANDY CARS
A 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade STEM lesson
Kasi Johnson
9-1-2024
Notes for teachers
In this lesson, students design, build and test model candy cars made from simple materials. They measure the changes in distance traveled by the addition/revision of design features.
Students also practice the steps of the engineering design process by brainstorming, planning, building, testing, and improving their "candy -cars."
List of Materials
Standards
3-5-ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. (Grades 1-3
3-5-ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. (Grades 1-3)
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.OA.C Operations and Algebraic Thinking
Multiply and divide within 100.
CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.B Measurement and Data
Represent and interpret data.
CCSS.Math.Content.3.G.A.2 Geometry
Graph points on the coordinate plane to solve real-world and mathematical problems. Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.
Standards
.
STEL-7I Design in Technology and Engineering Education-Apply the technology and engineering design process.
STEL-7J-Design in Technology and Engineering Education-Evaluate designs based on criteria, constraints, and standards.
MS-PS2-1. Apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
MS-PS2-2. Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Objective(s):
Today students will learn about Newton's Laws and Energy Efficient cars by reading through a slide show and class discussion.
Students will engineer a candy car and a cardboard ramp making sure the candy car can roll using the materials provided.
Students will fill in data on their charts measuring the distance the candy car traveled while implementing the engineering design process and redesign the candy car to see if it will go farther.
Agenda (120 min)
Students will begin with the slideshow on Newton’s Laws and Energy efficient cars.
Students will use this gained knowledge to engineer a design of a candy car on paper first or a computer CAD program.
Students will build their candy car using the materials provided and create a cardboard ramp for the car to roll. (guideline to make sure the car rolls)
Data sheet-students will create a data sheet and measure the distance their candy car traveled and record their 3 trials.(either on paper or a google doc)
Engineering Process-fix the parts of candy car that will make the car roll farther then repeat the process and record the trials again.
Answer the reflection questions at the end of the lesson.
Automobiles or Cars-form of transportation
The energy use and pollution associated with transportation is one of the largest issues facing society today. By building energy-efficient cars, engineers can lower the negative impacts that cars have on the environment and ultimately help improve our lives. The energy efficiency of a car is affected by a variety of factors, including size, aerodynamics, weight, and the rolling resistance of the wheels. Engineers must know all about these factors to design better cars. First, let's start with Newton’s 3 Laws.
Newton’s 3 Laws - Who is Sir Isaac Newton?
Isaac Newton - the brilliant physicist and mathematician, revolutionized our understanding of the universe with his laws of motion and the force of gravity.
In the first law, an object will not change its motion unless a force acts on it.
In the second law, the force on an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration.
In the third law, when two objects interact, they apply forces to each other of equal magnitude and opposite direction.
Can each of these laws apply to a car?
How do they apply?
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
aerodynamics: The ability of an object to cut through air (or water) efficiently
control: A variable that you are careful to keep the same during an experiment.
dependent variable: A variable that changes in value when you change an independent variable. Usually this is the variable about which you collect data during an experiment.
energy efficiency: Being able to do more with less energy.
independent variable: A variable you intentionally change in an experiment. Usually, the intent of the experiment is to see how a change in this variable affects the dependent variable.
rolling resistance: The force of friction acting on a rolling object by the ground to slow it down.
variable: Something that can be changed in an experiment.
Energy Efficient Cars
How far can a car travel on one gallon of gas?
Do you think all cars are the same? How about a semi-truck? (Answer: Definitely not.)What makes the difference in a vehicle's energy efficiency? A car's energy efficiency depends on many things, including its weight, its rolling resistance, and its aerodynamics. A car that is energy efficient can travel farther on the same amount of gas, which saves the driver money. Creating more energy-efficient cars also decreases air pollution and helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions due to automobile emissions. Also, gasoline is made from oil, a fossil fuel. Oil is a non-renewable energy source, which means that when it is used up, no more is available. For these reasons, engineers are continually figuring out ways to make cars more energy efficient by decreasing their air resistance, rolling resistance, and weight.
Energy Efficient Cars
The aerodynamics of a car is dependent on how much air the car has to move out of the way as it travels along a road. Engineers often design cars to resemble aerodynamic animals and shapes in nature. Can you think of any aerodynamic animals? (Possible answers: Fish, birds, sharks.)These animals move through the air (or water) easily and use little energy because they are sleek in their shapes, having no sharp corners or flat surfaces facing the wind. This causes the air to flow smoothly (efficiently) over them. A sleek car moves more easily through the air than a semi-truck does, which means the car is more energy efficient.
Energy Efficient Cars
The amount of energy a car uses can also be affected by the resistance of a car's tires on the road surface. You need to be able to find the balance between the amount of resistance, or friction, needed to keep the vehicle on the road and the ability to move efficiently without it flying off the road or being "stuck" to the road. Engineers design tires that increase a car's energy efficiency by rolling smoothly while making sure they are "sticky" enough to stay safely on the road, especially through corners and on wet surfaces. A great example of this would be a NASCAR race. Have any of you watched racing on television? The tires they use are expertly engineered so that the cars can reach high speeds while staying on the track during the tight corners.
Energy Efficient Cars
Finally, a car's weight affects its energy efficiency. Is it harder to push a loaded grocery cart or an empty one? (Answer: Loaded) How about if you had to push the grocery cart uphill? Would you rather do it empty or full? (Answer: Empty) A car's weight determines how much energy it takes to accelerate, or speed up, the car, and it also affects how much energy it takes to move the car up a hill. Heavier cars are less energy efficient than lighter ones. Engineers use newly created, innovative materials whenever possible to reduce the weight of cars, as well as find ways to build them smaller so fewer materials are needed, which in turn reduces the weight of the car.
All of these factors contribute to a car's energy efficiency, with some of them being more important at high speeds and others being more important at low speeds.
Engineers-What is an engineer?
All of these factors are considered variables, or something that you can change in an experiment or test. Engineers perform experiments on the many different variables to design cars for different purposes. When engineers perform experiments, they test only one variable at a time, while making sure that all of the other potential variables are kept unchanged. A variable that is kept from changing during an experiment is called a control. At the end of this activity, we will conduct several experiments to see how changing the angle of the track affects the speed of a car. In this case, the angle of the track is called the independent variable because we intentionally change it to gauge its effect on our vehicles. The speed of the car is called the dependent variable because it will be affected by the changes we make to the angle of the track. Once we have chosen our variables, we need to be very careful to control all other factors so that we get really accurate results. Let's get started!
Candy Car Vocabulary-Check for Understanding
REVIEW: Vocabulary/Definitions
aerodynamics: The ability of an object to cut through air (or water) efficiently
control: A variable that you are careful to keep the same during an experiment.
dependent variable: A variable that changes in value when you change an independent variable. Usually this is the variable about which you collect data during an experiment.
energy efficiency: Being able to do more with less energy.
independent variable: A variable you intentionally change in an experiment. Usually, the intent of the experiment is to see how a change in this variable affects the dependent variable.
rolling resistance: The force of friction acting on a rolling object by the ground to slow it down.
variable: Something that can be changed in an experiment.
Hands-on Activity Instructions
Imagine
Brainstorm ideas for building a candy car.
Draw ideas on a piece of scratch paper or design in a CAD program on the computer.
Write your design idea in full sentences on paper or on the computer.
Design
Engineer and sketch your candy car design on paper or in the CAD program.
Label each material used on your diagram (mints, tape, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, straw, index card)
Now, Build your design! 😊
*Create a cardboard ramp for your class to use for their cars to roll down consistently
Students will create a data sheet with “# of Trial” in one box and the “distance” their candy car traveled in another. They may also want to jot down in a “Notes” section what may need to be adjusted or redesigned to help their car roll farther. This can be on paper or computer (googledoc)
One at a time, the students will place their candy car at the top of the ramp, and let it roll down on its own. Students will measure the distance of each trial (total of 3) , and fill the distance their car traveled on the data sheet.
Students may redesign their car accordingly and make any adjustments necessary to see if they can get it to roll farther. Then repeat the rolling and measuring process.
Assessment
Car Design: Check the students design at each step and make sure they have adequately completed the associated task. For instance, the final design should include several different viewpoints and be adequately labeled with the materials needed.
Graphing Exercise: As a class, graph the results of the experiment together. Have volunteers graph individual points on the board while students complete the graphs on their worksheets. Discuss the shape of the graph and its meaning. See the sample worksheet for information on typical values.
Reflection Questions: Answer on a separate sheet of paper
What characteristics do the cars that roll the farthest have in common?
What is the most important characteristic that made the cars go far?
What effect does changing the angle of the track have on the car’s distance?
Differentiation
Students can ask their neighbor or table group specific questions if they are stuck
Teachers can speak one on one with students to help with clarifying questions.
Provide models for students who are struggling to get started.
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Perform a second experiment, this time using the weight of the model cars as the variable. Record the speed of a car with different amounts of weight attached, and graph the data. Compare the data from the different experiments. Which variable had the greatest effect on the car's speed? How do the two graphs compare? Are they different or the same?