Driving Questions
Unit Driving Question: How can we design a car of the future that balances cost, safety, and performance?
- Module 1: How can we maximize the speed and efficiency of a car?
- Module 2: What factors affect the severity of a crash, and how can we improve passenger safety?
- Module 3: How has car design changed and how might it change in the future?
- Module 4: How can we refine and market our design to increase sales?
Materials List
Handouts
Class Supplies
- Premade pinewood car
- 3-5 10ft Plastic rain gutters
- Assorted toy cars
- Assorted boxes or books
- Duct tape
- Index cards
- Assorted weights and masses
- Modeling clay
- Scales
- 1 Photogate
- 1 Laser
- Stands for securing laser and photogate
- Meterstick
- Tape
- Eggs
- Plastic bag(s)
- 1-6 Vernier sensor cart track
- 1 Crash barrier (concrete block, wood, or books)
- Cotton balls
- Styrofoam (pool noodle)
- Scrap paper
- Bubble wrap
- Honeycomb packaging
- Newspaper
- Packing peanuts
- Straws
- Cardboard
- Hot glue
- 6-10 Go Direct Sensor Carts
- Wooden board or solid barrier
- Wheels
- Nail axles
- Rubber bands
- Card stock
- Pipe cleaners
- Eyelet screws
- Staples
- Dowels
Group Supplies
- 2 10ft Rain gutter
- Toy car
- Assorted boxes and books
- Meterstick
- (Optional) Mini beanbags
- 5N Spring scale
- Friction block
- Assorted surface materials (rubber, foil, paper, wood, etc)
- Pinewood car supplies
- (Optional) Coping saws
- (Optional) Chisels
- (Optional) Drill
- (Optional) Clamps
- (Optional) Sandpaper
- 1 Sensor cart
- Pinewood car
- Vernier Graphical Analysis software
- Computer
- 2ft of Tape
- Scissors
- 6 Marbles
- 1 Ruler with an indent/track in the middle or two metersticks and tape
- Egg
- Plastic bag
- Concrete barrier (cinder block)
- Tennis ball
- Ping-pong ball
- Clay
- Presentation materials (poster, trifold, digital)
- Markers and Sharpies
- Paint
Individual Supplies
- Calculator
- 2 Sheets graph paper
- Ruler or straightedge
- (Optional) Stopwatch
- (Optional) Computers and graphing application
- 3 Pennies or small chips/disks
Important Links
- Unit Summary
- Unit available through REVIT
- YouTube Video: Driving a Ford Model T is a Lot Harder Than You’d Think! We Tried It
- YouTube Video: How Cars Got Safe
- YouTube Video: My Job in F1: Emma | Aero Performance Engineer
- YouTube Video: What Makes a Honda Is Who Makes a Honda: Sandip’s Story
- YouTube Video: My Job in F1: Georgia | Build Component Logistics Coordinator
- YouTube Video: My Job in F1: Katherine | Graphic Designer
- YouTube Video: My Job in F1: Ola | Aerodynamics
- U.S. Department of Energy Gas-Saving Tips
- YouTube Video: Egg Drop – Impulse and Momentum
- Air Track Simulations
- Benefits of Automated Vehicles (AVS)
- YouTube Video: San Francisco Is Teeming With Self-Driving Cars And It’s A Mess
- YouTube Video: Roadshow Explains: How automatic emergency braking works
- YouTube Video: 2018 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Air Brake & Aerodynamics
- YouTube Video: Regenerative Braking System | The Kia EV3 (alternative video)
- YouTube Video: How Head-Up Display Works & HUD How To | Chevrolet
- Drive Different? Apple Is Working on an Augmented Reality Windshield for Cars
- YouTube Video: Vehicle Materials Of Today
- Interactive Periodic Table of Elements
- New Data Expands on Why Women Have a Greater Risk of Injury in Car Crashes
- Effects of Obesity on Seat Belt Fit
- NHTSA’s Crash Test Dummies
Next Generation Science Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
| HS-PS2 | Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions |
| HS-PS2-1 | Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision. |
| HS-PS2-2 | Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system. |
| HS-PS2-3 | Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision. |
| HS-PS3 | Energy |
| HS-PS3-1 | Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known. |
| HS-ETS1 | Engineering Design |
| HS-ETS1-2 | Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering. |
| HS-ETS1-3 | Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts. |