Constraints: Pop Rockets on a Shoestring Budget
Students revisit the Pop Rockets activity from Lesson 3, in which mini paper rockets are powered by the chemical reaction of antacid-tablets and water in plastic film canisters. This time, however, the design of their pop rockets is limited by budgets and supplies. They get a feel for the constraints of real engineering projects as well as the opportunity to redesign and retest their rockets to make improvements. Rocket build instructions as well as activity-guiding budget/sketch and data worksheets are provided.
Rockets on a shoestring budget!
Engineers must consider all aspects of a project during the engineering design process. In rocket design, considerations include: how far and fast it needs to go, as well as its cost, safety, weight and environmental impact. Together, these are the requirements and limitations—called the "constraints"—of the engineering challenge. To reach a goal with limited resources, engineers must be creative in making choices to balance the competing factors of cost, resources, value, and performance; we call thse trade-offs.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Give an example of a real-world constraint on engineering projects, such as budgets, deadlines, supplies and safety.
- Explain that engineering design has several steps, that a project is not usually perfect after the first design, and that it may take several redesigns to achieve a working/acceptable project.
- Use and fill out a budget and sketch sheet to create a specific design using imitation money.