Engineering Brainstorming
An important part of the engineering design process is generating ideas.Copyright Wikimedia Commons http://sayitaintsoalready.com/category/the-liberal-media/page/2/
Students act as an engineering consulting firm with the task to design and sell their idea for a new vehicle power system. During the brainstorming activity (Generate Ideas), students determine and comprehend what type of information is important to learn in order to accomplish the task. Then they watch several video clips as part of the Multiple Perspectives phase. The new input contributes to changing and focusing their original ideas.
The growing field of alternative energy is rich with engineers, especially chemical and environmental engineers. To begin the engineering design process, engineers brainstorm to generate ideas. Drawing information from many sources is an important practice for engineers, as the more people that contribute to the design, the better it will be.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe what type of information is necessary to know in order to understand the design of a hybrid power system.
- Explain why it is important to study the conservation of energy.