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 a...
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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 learning some fundamental meteorology concepts (air pressure, barometers, prediction, convection currents, temperature inversions), students learn the impact of weather on air pollution control and prevention. Looking at models and maps, they explore the consequences of pollutant transport via weather and water cycles. Students are introduced to acids, bases and pH, and the environmental problem of acid rain, including how engineers address this type of pollution. Using simple models, they study the greenhouse effect, the impact of increased greenhouse gases on the planet's protective ozone layer and the global warming theory. Students explore the causes and effects of the Earth's ozone holes through an interactive simulation. Students identify the types and sources of indoor air pollutants in their school and home, evaluating actions that can be taken to reduce and prevent poor indoor air quality. By building and observing a few simple models of pollutant recovery methods, students explore the modern industrial technologies designed by engineers to clean up and prevent air pollution.
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This unit includes two sequential lessons. In the first, students create mobile apps that collect data from an Android device's accelerometer and then store that data to a database. This lesson provid...
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This unit includes two sequential lessons. In the first, students create mobile apps that collect data from an Android device's accelerometer and then store that data to a database. This lesson provides practice with MIT's App Inventor software and culminates with students writing their own apps for measuring acceleration. In the second lesson, students are given an app for an Android device, which measures acceleration. They investigate acceleration by collecting acceleration vs. time data using the accelerometer of a sliding Android device. Then they use the data to create velocity vs. time graphs and approximate the maximum velocity of the device.
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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...
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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 various environments and the engineering design process to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems - exploring energy and nutrient flows, basic needs of plants and animals, and decomposers. Students learn about food chains and food webs. They are introduced to the roles of the water, carbon and nitrogen cycles. They test the effects of photosynthesis and transpiration. Students are introduced to animal classifications and interactions, including carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, predator and prey. They learn about biomimicry and how engineers often imitate nature in the design of new products. As everyday applications are interwoven into the lessons, students consider why a solid understanding of one's environment and the interdependence within ecosystems can inform the choices we make and the way we engineer our communities.
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Students examine an image produced by a cabinet x-ray system to determine if it is a quality bone mineral density image. Students write in their journals about what they need to know to be able to ma...
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Students examine an image produced by a cabinet x-ray system to determine if it is a quality bone mineral density image. Students write in their journals about what they need to know to be able to make this judgment. Students learn about what bone mineral density is, how a BMD image can be obtained, and how it is related to the field of x-ray. Students examine the process used to obtain a BMD image and how this process is related to mathematics, primarily through logarithmic functions. Students study the relationship between logarithms and exponents, the properties of logarithms, common and natural logarithms, solving exponential equations, and Beer's Law.
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This curricular unit introduces students to basic Civil Engineering concepts in an exciting and interactive manner. Bridges and skyscrapers, the two most visible products of Civil Engineers, will be d...
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This curricular unit introduces students to basic Civil Engineering concepts in an exciting and interactive manner. Bridges and skyscrapers, the two most visible products of Civil Engineers, will be discussed in depth. Students will have a chance to design and build balsa wood structures, as well as understand the design principles behind these structures that allow them to withstand vertical and lateral forces. There is also an emphasis on how materials absorb different types of forces. Since the ability to visualize in three dimensions is imperative to civil engineers, there is a visual, hands-on activity designed to teach three dimensional coordinate systems.
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