Tuesday, March 30, 2010

LINX Design Engineering Project

We have begun a Design Engineering project whereby the students, working in teams of three, will design, build, and test, a wooden vehicle powered by wind (a fan).  Here are some photos of them in the design phase.

Wind Power Vehicle Challenge!

I. Problem: Design and build an efficient wind powered vehicle that will:
A. Travel 8 M within 12 seconds.
B. It must do this two times in a row.
C. The base has an area no greater than 200 square centimeters.
You will be provided with a specific amount and type of sail material.
After your vehicle has been built and tested, you will be allowed to test different variables, one at a time, to see how they affect the performance of your vehicle. I will help you in determining what some of these new variables may be.

2. Research: You and your partner should do some research before you begin the design phase of this project. Discuss what design might best help you to accomplish the task. You may consult references if you want. Read the packet of information I provided you with. All designs will be done in class.

3. Hypothesis: Your hypothesis will be your design of your vehicle. Use the attached sheet to draw your design on.

4. Experiment:
A. materials
B. Procedures

5. Observation:
Quantitative results: Construct a neat, easy-to-read data chart. What information does this data chart have to have? How many trials are necessary for reliable results?
Qualitative results: Here is where you write what you observed during the project.

6. Conclusion: You must answer all of these questions. You may weave the answers into paragraph form if you’d like.
1. What were the constants, or controls, in this project?
2. What problems did you have during this project? How did you overcome them?
3. What was the variable in this project?
4. Did your vehicle travel the 8m course without hitting the walls? If not, why?
5. What might you have done differently, or better, in this challenge?

No comments: