ENGINEERING IN A MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM Khrystal Martinez

February 7th, 2015

Todays Objective• Today we will discover ways to implement engineering

activities into a mathematics classroom, through first hand experience of an engineering activity.

• Connect activity to Common Core Mathematics Standards from varies grade levels.

Activity: Fling Machines Challenge

•Students will design and build a device to launch a cotton ball and send it as far as possible, using only the provided materials.

Equipment and MaterialsEquipment•  Scissors 

Materials•  2 cotton balls • 1 balloon • 2 rubber bands•  2 paper clips • 2 straws •  2 craft sticks or chopsticks • 2 pipe cleaners• 12 inches of masking tape • 1 piece aluminum foil 

Procedures• Your team will have 15 minutes to devise a solution and

document the solution both in writing and in graphical form with a drawing.

• Your team will have 5 minutes to build your solution.• Your team will have 5 minutes to test your solution.

Record the distance traveled by the cotton ball (to the nearest quarter inch) for at least ten attempts.

• Finally, your team will have one attempt to demonstrate your solution.

• Use the design process learned in Unit 1. Document each step in your engineering notebook as you complete this design challenge.

Design Process

Note: Helps to build creativity, innovation, and critical thinking skills.

Standards of Mathematic Practice (SMP)

Which SMP’s did this activity support? 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

Standards: Middle School • 6.SP.1-5

• Develop understanding of statistical variability• Summarize and describe diminutions.

• 7.SP. 3-6• Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.• Investigate chance processes and develop, use and evaluate

probability models.

Standards: High School Level• Algebra 1:

• F-BF.1: Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities.

• S-ID.1-3: Summarize, represent, and interpret data on a single count or measurement variable.

• Algebra 2:• A-CED: Create questions that describe numbers or relationships.• S-ID.4: Summarize, represent, and interpret data on a single count

or measurement variable.

Questions?

Resources • Link to Fling Machine Challenge: http://

longbranch.k12.nj.us/cms/lib3/NJ01001766/Centricity/Domain/691/3.6.A%20InstantChallengeFlingMachine%20Activity%20121213.pdf

• Other suggested activities:• http://

www.kidsciencechallenge.com/pdfs/2009activities/KSC_Soda_Straw_Rocket-Mars_2009a.pdf

• http://www.exploratorium.edu/math_explorer/tfl_BBO_leaderGuide.html

• http://www-tc.pbs.org/parents/sid/files/2013/03/SID-Craft-Stick-Catapult-activity-sheet.pdf

• http://www.sharylandisd.org/cms/lib/TX21000378/Centricity/domain/167/pltw/ied/unit%2001%20-%20design%20process/Day%201%20-%20A1.1%20Instant%20Challenge%20-%20Cable%20Car.pdf

• Websites:• http://pbskids.org/designsquad/• http://www.eie.org/• http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/#.VNWJXvnF98E