engineering design process applied to

Let’s Bounce! Grade 8 Science Q1 08.13.13

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Engineering Design Process Applied to

Let’s Bounce! Polymer Ball System Design

Goal: To design a polymer ball that will bounce as high as possible.

Problem: Develop a polymer ball using the correct ratio of

materials to produce a new bouncy ball with the highest

bounce. The new ball should be more environmentally

friendly and less costly than the current ball.

Research: Examine research to gain information about

chemicals and polymers. Examine two balls – one that

bounces and one that does not bounce.

Develop: Discuss ideas for multiple versions of bouncy

balls using different ratios of materials and provide supporting evidence for the ratios.

Choose: Choose one idea or a solution that would produce a bouncy ball.

Create: Construct a polymer ball by mixing the materials provided together and molding the

substance into a sphere.

Test and Evaluate: Drop the ball from a predetermined height and measure the height of the

bounce. Record your data.

Communicate: Discuss the results within each team; then each team should share with the

whole class the ratios it used along with each team’s highest bounce.

Redesign: Based on the class discussion, create a new bouncy ball prototype using a different

ratio to produce a higher bounce.

Note: The Engineering Design Process (EDP) fits seamlessly with the 5-E model. For the

purpose of focusing teachers on engineering, the EDP headings are used in this lesson.


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Engineering Design Challenge

Project Title: Let’s Bounce! Polymer Ball System Design

Engineering Challenge: Working as chemical engineers, student teams will determine the best ratio of

materials to create a bouncy ball made from natural materials that bounces a minimum of 9 cm when

dropped from a height of 60 cm.

Project Sources: STEM Improvement Lesson Development Team

• YouTube, Happy/Sad Balls, video, (.16), http://tinyurl.com/ab62hsh

• NASA, Polymer-CNT Composite, image, http://tinyurl.com/ny9upgx

• Kids Macrogalleria, What Are Atoms Made Of? http://tinyurl.com/b6vmvtp

• About.com Guide, What Is A Polymer, article, http://tinyurl.com/aswsnfj

Project Submitter: STEM Improvement Lesson Development Team

Grade Level/Subject: Grade 8 Science, Quarter 1

Lesson Description: Students will work as polymer engineers and apply the Engineering Design Process

(EDP) to solve an engineering design challenge. Working in engineering teams, students will create a

prototype of a new bouncy ball made from simple, low-cost materials (glue, cornstarch, borax), research

polymers, ionic and covalent bonds, develop multiple design ideas for creating a bouncy ball using

different ratios of provided materials and choose one idea to create. Team members will test their

prototype by dropping it from a predetermined height and recording how high it bounced. Teams will

share their test data and compare which ratios produced the highest bouncy balls. Based on team data

and discussion, teams will redesign their first prototype by changing the ratio of materials to produce a

higher bouncing ball.

Time Required: Two 45-minute class periods.


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Engineering Content Standard:

• 2.1: Apply the steps of the Engineering Design Process.

Connection to NOW: Engineering is the process used to design technology to meet human needs.

For example, developing eco-friendly products.

MCPSS Mathematics to support the engineering challenge:

• Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real world and mathematical problems.

MCPSS Science to support the engineering challenge:

• 5.0. Differentiate between ionic and covalent bonds.

Learning Objectives to support the engineering challenge:

Students will be able to:

• Identify steps of the Engineering Design Process.

• Determine the ratio of chemicals needed to make a product that bounces.

• Use teamwork and consensus to solve a real world problem.

• Apply knowledge of chemical bonding to design a product that meets certain criteria.

Materials required:

For each teacher:

� Engineering Design Process poster

� Computer and AV equipment

� PowerPoint Slides: Polymer Balls, Slides # 1-11

� Optional: 1 set, Happy/Sad Balls (can be purchased from Amazon or science supply store @ $8)

� 1 gallon, white glue

� 1 box, Borax

� 4 boxes, cornstarch

� 1 roll, wax paper

� 400, 3-5 oz. cups

� 100 calibrated plastic medicine cups (Office Depot, $1.09 for 100)

� 200, small craft sticks

� 100, re-sealable sandwich bags

� 5-6 permanent markers for teams to share (Provided by teacher)

� 1 pkg., food coloring *For teacher distribution only

� 1 box, disposable gloves

� Goggles, one for every student/person in the room (Science Lab)


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� 200 index cards (Provided by teacher)

� 2-3 rolls, paper towels (Provided by teacher)

For each team of 3-4 students:

� 4 5-8 oz. paper/plastic cups for Borax, cornstarch, glue and mixing

� 4 graduated medicine type plastic cups for measuring dry and wet materials

� 2 sandwich bags

� Wax paper

� 1 small bottle of glue

� 3-4 craft sticks

� 2 pair, disposable gloves

� 3-4 pairs of goggles (Science Lab)

� Permanent marker (Provided by teacher)

Teacher Preparation: Day 1

� Prior to the day you teach this lesson, place students in teams of 3-4. On the day of the lesson

they should know where to go and be ready to begin as soon as class starts.

� Prepare to lead student learning:

− Be familiar with the engineering design process on page # 1 of this lesson.

− Study today’s lesson. Adapt the pace so that students can design their prototype and

conduct a drop test from 60 cm by the end of the period.

− Preview the student handout and the PowerPoint slides.

� Gather and prepare all materials. Prepare a materials kit for each team (refer to materials list for

each team of 3-4 students above). Prepare the following for each team:

− Place 2 labeled 3-5 oz. cups in the kit. Label one cup “B” for Borax. Label the other “C” for

Cornstarch.

− Pre-fill the B and C cups to the top with Borax and cornstarch (no need for exact

measurement). Glue will be poured into another cup when teams begin making the balls.

� Make copies of the handout, Design a Bouncy Ball, one for each team of 3-4.

� Set up a testing space in the classroom – preferably a wall. (Optional: To save time, set up more

than one test area.)

− Fasten a meter stick to the wall with the zero end touching the floor.

− Tape construction paper on the wall before taping the meter stick as a backdrop for


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measuring the bounce of the ball.

− At the 60 cm height, place a piece of tape on the wall and print “DROP” on it.

Teacher Preparation: Day 2

� Study the Day 2 lesson.

� Restock materials kits as needed.

� *Have food coloring available. Plan to monitor the amount of coloring used to avoid saturating

the balls, as this affects the drying time as well as the staining problem.

*Make sure that students wear gloves when working with food coloring.

Prerequisite knowledge:

Before this lesson, students should have:

• Knowledge of ratios

• Knowledge about ionic/covalent bonds

• Experience with metric measurements

• Clear expectations of teamwork procedures


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Let’s Bounce! Polymer Ball System Design

Grade 8, Science, Quarter 1

Day 1

Engineering Connection: Polymer Engineers use the engineering process to design and

create new and advanced products. Working in engineering teams, they brainstorm multiple

ideas to solve real world problems that lead to higher performance products at lower cost and

have the potential to shift production and manufacturing of petroleum based, non-renewable

products to products that are comprised of renewable materials. Polymer scientists work

closely with polymer engineers to create and design new and improved products used in

everyday life.

1. DEFINE THE PROBLEM. (8 min.)

• Bell Ringer. Prior to students entering class, place one index

card per student at each workstation and display Slide # 1, the

Engineering Design Process graphic. As students enter class,

direct them to sit in their pre-assigned teams and record their

bell ringer answers on an index card. When the bell rings, switch

• to Slide # 2. Allow a few students to share their answers and

• inform students that today they will use the engineering design

• process to find a solution to a problem.

• Launch the Challenge: Read the announcement below aloud.

Teams of Polymer Engineers worldwide are competing in the “How High Will

It Bounce” Engineering Design Challenge (EDC) to create a system of

manufacturing bouncy balls that have the highest bounce, and are made from

materials that are less harmful to the environment than the current product.

The current bouncy balls do have a high bounce, however, the materials used

to make them contain materials that are not environmentally friendly. Your

challenge is to create a bouncy ball that is more friendly to the environment.


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Ask the class what might make a product more

environmentally friendly. Possible answers:

• Doesn’t harm the environment

• Made of renewable resources

• Will decay naturally when it is no longer in use

Display Slide # 3, Your Challenge! Read the challenge

aloud.

• Identify criteria & constraints. Explain that real-world engineering teams need to know

what criteria, or specifications, must be met for their designs to be successful. In

addition, engineers also have constraints, or limits, that a product must meet to be

considered successful. (Mention that being “successful” in engineering design simply

means designing and redesigning a prototype until it meets all of the criteria and

constraints.)

Suggest that these be the criteria. Ask: What are some criteria

that might be required for this bouncy ball to be successful?

Possible answers:

• Has to bounce

• Has to be more environmentally friendly

Display Slide # 4, Prototype Guidelines. Criteria

Prototype must:

• Consist of a large percentage of eco-friendly materials.

• Bounce a minimum of 9 cm.

Constraints

Prototype must:

• Use no more than 40 mL of materials given

• Have a diameter less than 4 cm

2. RESEARCH. (10 min.)

• Introduce the science connection. Display Slide # 5, the


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Engineering Design Process graphic, and inform the class that once engineering teams

have identified a problem, they RESEARCH information that will help them to find

possible solutions to the problem. Ask:

What do we need to know about bouncy balls before we can begin?

Sample responses:

• What is a ratio?

• What chemicals/materials will we be using?

• What does polymer mean?

Write the words “polymer, ionic bond, and covalent bond” on the board. Tell teams

that their research will provide important characteristics of each of these terms so that

they will be able to make educated decisions about the ratio of chemicals to use in

making a polymer ball. Ask teams to think about the properties of Ionic and Covalent

Bonds, and ask if anyone can identify a characteristic of each.

Display Slide # 6, Ionic vs. Covalent, and read the

characteristics aloud. Relate the characteristics to

the challenge. Ask:

• Do you think the characteristics of ionic bonds

would produce a good bouncy ball? Why? Or

why not?

Accept a few responses. Then display Slide # 7, Ionic

vs. Covalent; read the characteristics aloud. Ask:

• Would these characteristics produce a good

bouncy ball?

Teams should determine that bouncy balls consist of

covalent bonds. Ask:

• Which ball do you want to produce?

Then click on the link at the bottom of this slide to view YouTube, Happy/Sad Balls,

video, (.16) and use the video demo to reinforce ionic and covalent properties.

*Optional: If you purchased a set of Happy/Sad Balls, conduct your own demo and skip

the video.

Display Slide # 8, What are polymers? Read the


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prompts aloud and conduct a quick check for

understanding of science concepts.

Display Slide # 9, Minerals, and ask the class to decide

if these substances would be considered eco-friendly.

Students should realize that the substances are

renewable resources.

Give each team a copy of the handout, Design a

Bouncy Ball, and point out that all of the information

students saw in the research slides is also on the handout.

Encourage them to use this information as they

determine the ratios of the materials used for their

bouncy balls.

3. DEVELOP & CHOOSE. (6 min.)

• Distribute materials. Pass out one materials kit to each team and direct teams to only

observe the materials at this time. Use one team’s kit to demonstrate the materials that

will be used to create the first prototype ball. Explain that the glue and warm water will

be available when needed.

• Brainstorm solutions. Direct teams’ attention to the EDP poster and explain that, in real

world engineering, teams use what they learned in their research to think of multiple

solutions to their problem. They then DEVELOP a plan that they would like to try for

their prototype. Ask teams to restate the problem for this challenge—To determine the

optimal ratio of materials needed to create a polymer ball that is friendly to the

environment, that has a good, high bounce.

• Review ratios. Ask if anyone knows what a ratio is.

Responses should reflect the understanding that a

ratio is relationship between two numbers. Display

Slide # 10, Determining Ratios, and read the

instructions aloud. Ask the class to answer the

questions. What is the ratio of Borax to total

amount? (30:60)


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Tell students that a ratio comparing three numbers in a specific order is a continued

ratio. If the ratio of Borax to cornstarch is 30:20 and the ratio of cornstarch to glue is

20:10, then the continued ratio of Borax to cornstarch to glue is 30:20:10. When

students are speaking about the materials they use in their bouncy ball, they should use

a continued ratio of Borax to cornstarch to glue.

Go back to Slide # 4, Prototype “Guidelines” and review

the constraints, be sure to emphasize that total amount

of materials must equal no more than 40 mL (although

they do not have to use 40 mL). Allow teams 3 minutes

to discuss ideas of possible mixtures they would like to

use for prototype 1. Leave the criteria and constraints

slide up so teams may reference it while making the

balls.

• Choose a ratio. Have teams come to consensus and choose one ratio for prototype # 1

development. Instruct teams to record this ratio on their handout.

4. CREATE & TEST. (21 min.)

• Construct a prototype. Review the procedures on the student handout with the class

and tell them that as they create the prototype, they may want to make adjustments to

the ratio they started with. This is okay; however, a team member must keep track any

ratio changes made so that the final ratio is the one recorded on the chart.

• Monitor testing. Teams test how high their ball bounces when dropped from a height

of 60 cm and record the heights on the data chart. Each team will conduct the drop test

3 times and choose the highest bounce. As teams finish testing the “bounce” of the ball

and record the height, assist any teams who may be having trouble. Direct team

members to begin cleaning up the workstation.

• Wrap-Up. Let teams know that if they haven’t completed the averages and ratio

questions on the handout for Day 1 that there will be time to finish them on Day 2. Ask

teams to store their bouncy ball prototype in a zip-seal bag for Day 2.


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Day 2

5. COMMUNICATE & EVALUATE. (12 min.)

• Bell Ringer. Prior to students entering class, give

each student an index card and each team a copy of

its Design a Bouncy Ball handout from Day 1.

Display Slide # 11, Engineering Design Process, Day

2. As students enter class, direct their attention to

the slide and index cards at workstations and ask

them to answer the questions.

• Review the engineering design process. When class begins, take a moment to review

the EDP graphic on the slide and use guided questions to lead teams to the conclusion

that they have now completed one cycle of the EDP. Explain that today teams will be

using the data gathered in Day 1 to begin the REDESIGN process.

• Analyze and discuss data. Allow 2 minutes for teams to share bell ringer ideas with

their team members. Direct teams to the handout at the workstations, and explain that

teams will analyze their data and discuss the pros and cons of their ratios from Day 1.

Allow 3 minutes for teams to complete the Evaluate & Communicate section on the

handout and come to consensus on a ratio for prototype 2. As teams are working,

distribute team materials kits to the workstations.

6. REDESIGN. (20 min.)

• Create, test, and evaluate. As teams create and test their designs, circulate through the

room answering questions and assisting any teams that need help. As teams finish

testing, direct them to clean up the workstations and begin the Communicate & Debrief

section of the handout.

7. COMMUNICATE. (13 min.)

Note: Students will be eager to test prototype 1 when they arrive to see if the drying

had any effect on the height of the bounce. You may opt to skip the bell ringer activity

and allow teams to test instead. If that is the case, begin class with the review of the EDP

as written below.


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• Debrief. When all teams are finished with the Communicate & Debrief section of the

handout, explain that engineering teams are expected to report their progress and

findings to the developer, community, or agency that has funded their work. For this

challenge, teams were asked to write a statement that detailed what they learned from

their work. Allow each team 60 seconds to summarize and share their statements with

the class.

• Wrap-Up. Collect teams’ handouts for assessment of student learning.

engineering design process applied to

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