Transcript
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
Aims
In this session, students will be challenged to engineer floating objects out of clay. They’ll need to consider shape and load. In the process of designing and testing their prototypes, students discover some of the basic principles of floatation and practice the engineering design process.
Key learning outcomes
By the end of the activity students will: • Understand why different objects float by making a floating object out of clay • Practice and recognise the steps of the engineering design process used to create a floatable object • Work in teams to successfully complete an engineering challenge
• PowerPoint presentation
Resources
• Projector/interactive whiteboard • Student worksheet (copy for each student) • Timer/stopwatch Each group of 2-3 students will need: • 2 sticks of modelling clay • Empty ice cream tub/large bowl half filled with water • Pennies/marbles/beads to use as load
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
1
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
Before running a workshop • Read through this overview and familiarise yourself with the content and supporting resources. • We’ve included a Fact File at the end of this guide to walk you through any key concepts or theory you need to know.
Are you a Siemens volunteer? • There are plenty of volunteer resources to support you in preparation for your workshop. Start with the Volunteer Guide available through the Curiosity Project website. • Get in touch with the teacher beforehand to discuss resources you need (equipment, print outs, access to internet, facilities etc.) or questions you may have - they’ll be happy to help.
Workshop overview Activity steps
Time needed
You will
Students will
Starter discussion
5 minutes
Get students thinking about the characteristics that make objects float.
Discuss what makes an object float and why.
Activity
15 minutes
Support students through the engineering design process as they create a floating object.
Work in teams to complete an engineering challenge using the design process, recording their learning on worksheets.
Follow-on activity
15 minutes
Support students to reassess their designs as they seek to develop a floating object that can carry a load.
Apply learnings to improve their designs and compete with other teams to engineer a floating object that carries the most load.
Plenary and reflection
10 minutes
Link the activities to the engineering design process, support students as they consider what they’ve learnt and answer any remaining questions they have about the workshop.
Reflect on the design process and identify areas that have been covered. Discover further resources that might inspire them.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
2
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
On the day On the day Starter discussion 5 minutes
• Have the second slide showing as students enter the room. .ppt
.ppt
Slide 2
Slide 3
• If you’re a Siemens volunteer take a couple of minutes to introduce yourself, what you do, and why you’re here on behalf of Siemens and the Curiosity Project. Start with a couple of interesting facts about you/your career: – ‘I received Cs in my GCSEs, but took a more practical education route and now I’m part of a highly skilled team that installs wind turbines across the UK.’ – ‘I’ve just come back from talking at a conference in the Middle East and my team developed a way to test the hearing of new born babies.’
Learning outcomes .ppt
Slide 4
• Set the learning outcomes for the session.
What is floating? .ppt
Slide 5
• This slide shows different objects which may or may not float. Generate a short discussion by asking: – What do the objects have in common? – What are some of the differences between the objects? – Which ones are floating? – Why do objects float? Tip: Ideas such as objects’ ability to float, carry weight and their shape, size and materials may come up. Don’t provide any answers just yet – just acknowledge ideas and suggest they’ll discover the answers for themselves during the next few activities.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
3
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
Activity 10 minutes Can you engineer a floating object? .ppt
Slide 6
• Show students a stick of modelling clay. Ask them if they think it will float or sink in water. • What is their prediction? Ask those who think it will float to raise their hands. Then, drop the clay into a clear container of water to demonstrate that it sinks. • Now set the challenge: explain that in groups of 2-3, students need to take sticks of clay and make them float! • Tell students they’ve got 5 minutes to experiment with shaping the clay so it floats, in as many ways they can think of. Encourage them to test their creations as often as they like. • Ask students to use section 1 of the worksheet to make note of what works well and what doesn’t, recording observations and making improvements. Archimedes’ principle
.ppt
Slide 7
• Introduce Archimedes’ principle, which explains why boats float. The principle states that an object will float if it displaces as much water as it weighs. See the Fact File for more information. • Read through the information on the slide and talk through the example in the drawing. Plimsoll and waterlines
.ppt
Slide 8
• Introduce the concept of a waterline – this will help students think about practical safety measures engineers need to consider in the design of a boat. See the Fact File for more information. • Ask: – Why might the Plimsoll line be important for safety? – What factors would engineers need to consider when drawing a Plimsoll line on a boat? Hint: Factors to consider include temperature and salinity of the water. Colder and saltier water is denser, so boats will float ‘higher’ in the water in these conditions. Fresh warm water is less dense, so boats will sink lower in these conditions. Other factors include whether the boat needs to carry any weight. This is important to consider for large cargo ships that travel around the world in different conditions.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
4
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
Follow-on activity 15 minutes Whose floating object can carry the most weight? .ppt
Slide 9
• Now it’s time to get creative – and competitive! Ask teams to keep Archimedes’ principle in mind as they try to create an object from their modelling clay that can handle as much weight as possible, without sinking. • Set the timer to 10 minutes and as students work, encourage them to continue making prototypes, testing them and recording observations and improvements in section 2 of their worksheets. • After 10 minutes is up, put the students’ prototypes to the test one by one at the front of the class. • Before they demonstrate their objects, encourage them to explain their design process and why they settled on their final prototype. • Prompt questions: – What did you notice while building your objects? – Why did you make the changes you made? – How did your design change throughout the activity? • Keep a note of the load each team’s object can carry, and declare the object that can hold the heaviest load without sinking the winner!
Plenary and reflection 10 minutes
Which designs worked best? .ppt
Slide 10
• Spark a class discussion by asking: – What is it about the winning design that made it successful? – Which boat designs did not seem to work well? – What changes would you make to your designs if you did the experiment again? – What safety considerations might engineers need to think about when designing a boat? – Would your/the winning design be different if the boat had to move at speed, like a speed boat?
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
5
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
Facts for discussion • Shapes which float tend to be flat (have a large surface area to volume ratio) rather than compact. This means they displace the maximum amount of water for a given mass of the material. • Boats are shaped to displace a large amount of water as they float. The water pushed out of the way by a boat weighs at least as much as the materials used in the boat’s design. • Boat designers have to balance the need to produce a shape that floats with making the boat streamlined to cut through water so the boat can travel fast and efficiently and carry passengers and cargo safely.
Engineering design process .ppt
Slide 11
• Explain to students that in the process of improving their floating objects, they practiced the steps of the engineering design process. This is a process used by engineers to solve problems and make things that are useful and help people. • Ask: – Did they enjoy going through the process? Why? – Did it help them to collect their thoughts and make changes? – Did they feel this was an effective method for achieving the best design? – Can they think of other systems that engineers might design to make people’s lives safer on a boat? Failing to succeed
.ppt
Slide 12
• Remind students whose designs didn’t work that a big part of an engineer’s work is to ‘make it, break it, learn from it, and try again’! • The design process is fantastic for learning from your mistakes, and constantly improving. • Top engineers aren’t afraid to fail – making mistakes is one of the best ways to learn.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
6
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
45 minutes
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Float the boat
Follow-on activity
Siemens and surfboards .ppt
Slide 13
• If you have time, you can demonstrate some of the cool and unexpected real-world applications of engineers’ work: – Engineers at Siemens developed software used by surfboard design and manufacturing company FireWire. The software allows surfers to custom design their own surfboards. – Check out a video of one of FireWire’s surfboards riding the waves: youtube.com/watch?v=OOpdw4gm-rY • If they want to learn more about the world of engineering or careers, refer them to the Curiosity City to learn more.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
7
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
Careers and education resources
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Careers Careers in engineering: siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project/youngpeople Apprenticeships: siemens.co.uk/careers/en/students/apprenticeships.htm Graduates: siemens.co.uk/careers/en/graduate/graduate.htm Internships: siemens.co.uk/careers/en/students/internships/internships.htm Careers at Siemens Global: siemens.com/jobs/en/index.php
Education resources Key Stages 3/4 Green Racers: siemens.co.uk/education/en/teachers/teaching-resources/schemes-of-work-ks4.htm Inspired Bus Company: siemens.co.uk/education/en/teachers/teaching-resources/schemes-of-work-ks4.htm Roller-Coaster Challenge: siemens.co.uk/education/en/activities-challenges.htm
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
8
Curious about the digital world?
Curious about using and creating energy?
Bringing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to life
Curious about keeping people healthy?
Curious about making things?
The Curiosity Project
Curious about being on the move?
Fact File: Floating and Archimedes’ principle
Curious about using Float and creating the boat energy?
Floating and Archimedes’ principle • Understanding and applying Archimedes’ principle (which states an object will float if it displaces as much water as it weighs) has led to the design of bigger, better ships for defence, leisure and the transport of goods and cargo all over the world. It has also led to smaller, superfast craft used in all kinds of water sports and competitions. • Shapes which float tend to be flat (have a large surface area to volume ratio) rather than compact. This means they displace the maximum amount of water for a given mass of the material used. If a floating object (or shape) fills with water, this makes it heavier without changing the surface area, so it may sink. • Boats are shaped to displace a large amount of water as they float. The water pushed out of the way by a boat weighs more than the materials used to make the boat. Boat designers have to balance the need to produce a shape that floats with making the boat streamlined to cut through water, so the boat can travel fast. Another way to explain this, which pupils may have met at primary school, is that the density of the floating object has to be less than that of the liquid it’s in. So, the average density of the boat is less than water.
Real world applications Engineers at Siemens developed software used by surfboard design and manufacturing company Firewire. The software allows surfers to custom design their own surfboards. There are several factors that surfers would need to consider in the design of their boards: • The shape of surfboards varies – and the different materials used to make them make a huge difference in terms of performance, purpose, style, etc. • The board needs to float, so for a given size it needs to be light enough to weigh less than the water it displaces, even with a surfer on-board. • It also needs to be strong and stiff so it does not break on impact or bend under a person’s weight. Strong, stiff, light materials include composites such as glass reinforced plastics.
siemens.co.uk/curiosity-project
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