Incoming Asteroid! What's the Problem?
A critical situation requires engineers to first understand the problem and then learn more about topics related to the problem.Copyright Research.gov http://www.research.gov/research-portal/appmanager/base/desktop;jsessionid=2pc9T6LTThZPhs9J0TljfRsQgRjTW9qmCPgYFLBYQQWQ4gT8Q3Cv!66802617!1617966839?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=researchAreas_11&_urlType=action&researchAreas_11_action=selectAwardDetail&researchAreas_11_id=%2FresearchGov%2FAwardHighlight%2FPublicAffairs%2F18650_MeteoriteasteroidLinkSolved.html
Students are introduced to the Asteroid Impact unit and its engineering challenge: An asteroid is on course to impact the Earth and we must design the location and size of underground caverns to shelter the people from an uninhabitable Earth for one year. Students read the president's memo to receive their "marching orders." They form teams and begin to study the situation in depth. A simple in-class simulation shows them the potential for destruction and disaster. They complete worksheets and look at maps to help them define and understand the problem: What is the needed cavern size and depth? What are the geographical areas and natural features? A homework measurement assignment prepares them for the next activity.
Engineering teams begin the design process by defining the problem, which may include identifying, through group brainstorming, discussion and research, the technical, financial and social criteria for successful solution design.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Brainstorm, voice and write down potential solutions and questions.
- Read, understand and identify a problem.
- Hypothesize, through group discussion, what information might be required to solve the problem.
- List design constraints (social, environmental, financial, etc.) that must be considered to adequately design a functional solution to the asteroid problem.
- Exhibit basic map-reading skills, such as understanding a legend/key and using a map scale to determine distances.