The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Take It To the Top

Take It To the Top

A 5th grade STEM lesson

Kendra Buchta

Feb. 13, 2023

Notes for teachers

• This lesson takes place over several hours in the classroom (1 to 3 class periods).
• This project is intended to be done in small groups of 2-4 students.
• Brainstorming is important and encouraged.

List of Materials ( based on what you have on hand)

• Elevator
• Wooden dowel rods, popsicle sticks, straws, stiff straw, toothpicks
• Masking tape, butcher’s twine, shoe laces, wire, pipe cleaners
• Cardboard, foamboard, cardstock, lightweight plastic (for shaft), paper towel rolls
• Glass rocks, pebbles, washers, or anything with measurable mass
• Paper clips, curtain rings, hooks, or clips, paper cups, binder clips, push pins, glue
• Thread spools, wooden spools

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Arizona Science Standards

Standards:

5.P3U1.4: Obtain, analyze, and communicate evidence of the effects that balanced and unbalanced forces have on the motion of objects.

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5.P3U2.5: Define problems and design solutions pertaining to force and motion.

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Core Ideas:

U1: Scientists explain phenomena using evidence obtained from observations and/or scientific investigations. Evidence may lead to developing models and/or theories to make sense of phenomena. As new evidence is discovered, models and theories can be revised.

U2:The knowledge produced by engineering and technologies to solve problems and/or create new products.

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Science and Engineering Practices

• ask questions and define problems
• develop and use models
• plan and carry out investigations
• analyze and interpret data
• use mathematics and computational thinking
• construct explanations and design solutions
• engage in argument from evidence

obtain, evaluate, and communicate information

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Arizona ELA Standards

5.RI.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a 5th grade topic or subject area.

5.RI.6: Analyze multiple accounts of the same event of topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.

5.W.7: Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic and to answer a specific question.

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Objectives:

• Today we will explain that forces are interactions between objects that cause a push and/or pull between them.
• We will draw a free body diagram and come up with plans for our elevator structure.
• We will demonstrate how the force of gravity, a downward normal force, and an upward force from the tension in the cable hold the elevator. The combined systems (downward and upward) have two forces, a combined force of gravity and the tension in the cable.
• Today we will brainstorm ideas on how to make the most effective elevator from the supplies available to lift actual mass to the top of the structure.
• Today we will collaborate respectfully and effectively to complete an engineering design challenge.
• Today we will record our data from our elevator structures and determine which group has the most successful design that can carry the most weight to the top of the structure.
• Today we will conclude whether our Free-Body Diagrams can be built and carry weight. We will write a conclusion of our findings.

Agenda (One hour)

What is an elevator? How does it work?

Engineering an elevator

Share and present

What is an elevator?

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What is an elevator?

Elevators, also called lifts, are cars that move in a vertical shaft to carry

passengers or freight between levels of a multistory building. Most

modern elevators are propelled by electric motors, with the aid of a

counterweight, through a system of cables and pulleys.

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The elevator’s design has three forces: the force of gravity, a downward

normal force from you, or the items being lifted, and an upward force

from the tension in the cable holding the elevator.

Basic Parts of an Elevator

The basic parts of an elevator include: a car, a shaft, a

motor (cranking device), and a counterweight. The car

provides a sturdy and safe area for people to ride up and

down. The shaft provides the tunnel like structure where

the car can move safely from floor to floor. The motor, or

cranking device, provides the power needed to pull the

elevator to the top. The cable attaches to the motor, the top

of the shaft, and the car.

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Instructions

In groups of 2-4, engineer an elevator to carry up the maximum weight possible.

• The student’s task is to build a working model of an elevator that uses a cranking device to move an object to the top of the structure.
• The elevator should include a car, a motor (cranking device), and a cable, at the minimum.
• Shafts are important and it is important to include one made of cardboard, foamboard, or heavy cardstock.
• The elevator should be able to lift an object (mass) from the bottom to the top using the crank as a motor.

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Constraints

• Cardboard for a shaft
• Wooden dowel
• String for Cable
• One binder clip
• Proposed material for car
• Set of predetermined weights the elevator should be able to carry

Or come up with a list of materials students have to use

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• One and a half hours after they come up with their design to construct and test prototype

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Assessment

How do we assess our work?

• We come up with elevator plans
• We build it and test out plans to see if they are successful
• We seek feedback
• Possible improvement to design

Assessment

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Test Your Work:

• Does your elevator work?
• Can it raise increasingly heavy amounts of objects to the top of the shaft?
• How much?
• Which of the group’s elevators can hold the most weight and why?

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Differentiation

One way to differentiate this lesson, is to let the groups watch the entire video on how to make the elevator shafts.

You can give them templates and design instructions if they are struggling to come up with a design on their own.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

• You can set up a contest and test different weights and items they need to successfully lift.
• Have the students develop multiple designs and test them against each other to see which one is the most successful.
• They can come up with a hypothesis for the most successful prototype.
• Was their hypothesis correct? Why or why not?

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