Form vs. Function
Students explore energy efficiency of cars
Students take a closer look at cars and learn about some characteristics that affect their energy efficiency, including rolling resistance and the aerodynamics of shape and size. They come to see how vehicles are one example of a product in which engineers are making changes and improvements to gain greater efficiency and thus require less energy to operate.
More than one-third of the greenhouse gases released into the Earth's atmosphere come from the transportation sector. Engineers continually strive to make vehicles more fuel efficient so as to reduce their carbon footprints and lower their operating costs. Some aspects of car design that directly impact vehicle fuel efficiency include reducing size and weight, improving aerodynamics, and reducing rolling resistance. These changes result in more fuel efficient cars that are appealing in appearance and reliable in performance.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- List characteristics that affect a car's energy efficiency.
- Describe how rolling resistance affects a car's energy efficiency.
- Explain how a car's shape and size are related to aerodynamics.