Students are introduced to static equilibrium by learning how forces and torques are balanced in a well-designed engineering structure. A tower crane is presented as a simplified two-dimensional case. Using Popsicle sticks and hot glue, student teams design, build and test a simple tower crane model according to these principles, ending with a team competition.

Students apply their knowledge of constructing and programming LEGO MINDSTORMS (TM)NXT robots to create sumobots - strong robots capable of pushing other robots out of a ring. To meet the challenge, groups follow the steps of the engineering design process and consider robot structure, weight and gear ratios in their designs to make their robots push as hard as possible to force robot opponents out of the ring. A class competition serves as the final test to determine the best designed robot, illustrating the interrelationships between designing, building and programming. This activity gives students the opportunity to be creative as well as have fun applying and combining what they have learned through the previous activities and lessons in this and prior units in the series. A PowerPoint (tm) presentation, pre/post quizzes and a worksheet are provided.

In this lesson, students begin to focus on the torque associated with a current carrying loop in a magnetic field. Students are prompted with example problems and use diagrams to visualize the vector product. In addition, students learn to calculate the energy of this loop in the magnetic field. Several example problems are included and completed as a class. A homework assignment is also attached as a means of student assessment.

Investigate how torque causes an object to rotate. Discover the relationships between angular acceleration, moment of inertia, angular momentum and torque.

Investigate how torque causes an object to rotate. Discover the relationships between angular acceleration, moment of inertia, angular momentum and torque.

This module is thought of to be used by teachers and students. It's main area of concern is rotational motion and mass moment of inertia, two concepts which in my experience as a teacher, often makes students nervous due to the seemingly very abstract quantities involved in rotational motion. The goal of the following module is to bridge the gap between the students preliminary working knowledge in classical mechanics, while providing a hands-on approach to teaching the subject of the kinetics of rotating, solid objects. Learning ObjectivesIntroduce students to the fundamentals of the physics of rotating objects, with a suitable mix of theoretical and practical problem solving activites involving torque and mass moment of inertia.Allow students to relate their newfound understanding to real world situations where the theory allows students to analyse rotational motion in everyday situations as well as engineering applications and beyond.Enable the students to work through the concepts required before potentially proceeding with more advanced topics such as rotational energy and angular momentum. 

Students are introduced to the concepts of torque, power, friction and gear ratios. Teams modify two robotic LEGO® MINDSTORMS® vehicles by changing their gear ratios, wheel sizes, weight and engine power, while staying within a limit of points to spend on modifications. The robots face each other on a track with a string attaching one to the other. The winning robot, the one with the best adjustments, pulls the other across the line.

Students are introduced to the similarities and differences in the behaviors of elastic solids and viscous fluids. Several types of fluid behaviors are described Bingham plastic, Newtonian, shear thinning and shear thickening along with their respective shear stress vs. rate of shearing strain diagrams. In addition, fluid material properties such as viscosity are introduced, along with the methods that engineers use to determine those physical properties.

Students reinforce an antenna tower made from foam insulation so that it can withstand a 480 N-cm bending moment (torque) and a 280 N-cm twisting moment (torque) with minimal deflection. During one class period, students discuss the problem, run the initial bending and torsion tests and graph the results. During the following class periods, students design, construct and test sturdier towers, and graph the results.