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Fence That Farmland!
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Educational Use
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Students develop and solidify their understanding of the concept of "perimeter" as they engage in a portion of the civil engineering task of land surveying. Specifically, they measure and calculate the perimeter of a fenced in area of "farmland," and see that this length is equivalent to the minimum required length of a fence to enclose it. Doing this for variously shaped areas confirms that the perimeter is the minimal length of fence required to enclose those shapes. Then students use the technology of a LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robot to automate this task. After measuring the perimeter (and thus required fence length) of the "farmland," students see the NXT robot travel around this length, just as a surveyor might travel around an area during the course of surveying land or measuring for fence materials. While practicing their problem solving and measurement skills, students learn and reinforce their scientific and geometric vocabulary.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Ursula Koniges
Date Added:
09/18/2014
The Fibonacci Sequence & Robots
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Educational Use
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Using the LEGO® NXT robotics kit, students construct and program robots to illustrate and explore the Fibonacci sequence. Within teams, students are assigned roles: group leader, chassis builder, arm builder, chief programmer, and Fibonacci verifier. By designing a robot that moves based on the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, they can better visualize how quickly the numbers in the sequence grow. To program the robot to move according to these numbers, students break down the sequence into simple algebraic equations so that the computer can understand the Fibonacci sequence.

Subject:
Applied Science
Computing and Information
Engineering
Mathematics
Technology
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Alexander Kozak
Nicole Abaid
Russell Holstein
Vikram Kapila
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Follow the Light
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Educational Use
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Students' understanding of how robotic light sensors work is reinforced in a design challenge involving LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and light sensors. Working in pairs, students program LEGO robots to follow a flashlight as its light beam moves around. Students practice and learn programming skills and logic design in parallel. They see how robots take input from light sensors and use it to make decisions to move, similar to the human sense of sight. Students also see how they perform the steps of the engineering design process in the course of designing and testing to achieve a successful program. A PowerPoint® presentation and pre/post quizzes are provided.

Subject:
Applied Science
Career and Technical Education
Electronic Technology
Engineering
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Nishant Sinha
Pranit Samarth
Satish S. Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Foucault Pendulum
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Educational Use
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Students learn about the Foucault pendulum an engineering tool used to demonstrate and measure the Earth's rotation. Student groups create small experimental versions, each comprised of a pendulum and a video camera mounted on a rotating platform actuated by a LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT motor. When the platform is fixed, the pendulum motion forms a line, as observed in the recorded video. When the rotating, the pendulum's motion is observed as a set of spirals with a common center. Observing the patterns that the pendulum bob makes when the platform is rotating provides insight as to how a full-size Foucault pendulum operates. It helps students understand some of the physical phenomena induced by the Earth's rotation, as well as the tricky concept of how the perception of movement varies, depending on one's frame of reference.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Jeffrey Laut
Violet Mwaffo
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Friction Force
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Educational Use
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Students use LEGO® MINDSTORMS® robotics to help conceptualize and understand the force of friction. Specifically, they observe how different surfaces in contact result in different frictional forces. A LEGO robot is constructed to pull a two-wheeled trailer made of LEGO parts. The robot is programmed to pull the trailer 10 feet and trial runs are conducted on smooth and textured surfaces. The speed and motor power of the robot is kept constant in all trials so students observe the effect of friction between various combinations of surfaces and trailer wheels. To apply what they learn, students act as engineers and create the most effective car by designing the most optimal tires for given surface conditions.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Physical Science
Physics
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Akim Faisal
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Gears: Determining Angular Velocity
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Educational Use
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Students work as engineers and learn to conduct controlled experiments by changing one experimental variable at a time to study its effect on the experiment outcome. Specifically, they conduct experiments to determine the angular velocity for a gear train with varying gear ratios and lengths. Student groups assemble LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots with variously sized gears in a gear train and then design programs using the NXT software to cause the motor to rotate all the gears in the gear train. They use the LEGO data logging program and light sensors to set up experiments. They run the program with the motor and the light sensor at the same time and analyze the resulting plot in order to determine the angular velocity using the provided physics-based equations. Finally, students manipulate the gear train with different gears and different lengths in order to analyze all these factors and figure out which manipulation has a higher angular velocity. They use the equations for circumference of a circle and angular velocity; and convert units between radians and degrees.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
James Cox
Jasmin Mejias
Jennifer S. Haghpanah
Leonarda Huertas
Mihai Pruna
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Gears: Lift It Up!
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Educational Use
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A gear is a simple machine that is very useful to increase the speed or torque of a wheel. In this activity, students learn about the trade-off between speed and torque when designing gear ratios. The activity setup includes a LEGO(TM) MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT pulley system with two independent gear sets and motors that spin two pulleys. Each pulley has weights attached by string. In a teacher demonstration, the effect of adding increasing amounts of weight to the pulley systems with different gear ratios is observed as the system's ability to lift the weights is tested. Then student teams are challenged to design a gear set that will lift a given load as quickly as possible. They test and refine their designs to find the ideal gear ratio, one that provides enough torque to lift the weight while still achieving the fastest speed possible.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Jeffrey Laut
Paul Phamduy
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Get in Gear
Read the Fine Print
Educational Use
Rating
0.0 stars

Students are introduced to gear transmissions and gear ratios using LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots, gears and software. They discover how gears work and how they can be used to adjust a vehicle's power. Specifically, they learn how to build the transmission part of a vehicle by designing gear trains with different gear ratios. Students quickly recognize that some tasks require vehicle speed while others are more suited for vehicle power. They are introduced to torque, which is a twisting force, and to speed the two traits of all rotating engines, including mobile robots using gears, bicycles and automobiles. Once students learn the principles behind gear ratios, they are put to the test in two simple design activities that illustrate the mechanical advantages of gear ratios. The "robot race" is better suited for a quicker robot while the "robot push" calls for a more powerful robot. A worksheet and post-activity quiz verify that students understand the concepts, including the tradeoff between torque and speed.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Michael Hernandez
Violet Mwaffo
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Hare and Snail Challenges
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Educational Use
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Students engage in the second design challenge of the unit, which is an extension of the maze challenge they solved in the first lesson/activity of this unit. Students extend the ideas learned in the maze challenge with a focus more on the robot design. Gears are a very important part of any machine, particularly when it has a power source such as engine or motor. Specifically, students learn how to design the gear train from the LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT servomotor to the wheel to make the LEGO taskbot go faster or slower. A PowerPoint® presentation, pre/post quizzes and a worksheet are provided.

Subject:
Applied Science
Career and Technical Education
Electronic Technology
Engineering
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Pranit Samarth
Sachin Nair
Satish S. Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Hearing: How Do Our Ears Work?
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Educational Use
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Students learn about the anatomy of the ear and how the ears work as a sound sensor. Ear anatomy parts and structures are explained in detail, as well as how sound is transmitted mechanically and then electrically through them to the brain. Students use LEGO® robots with sound sensors to measure sound intensities, learning how the NXT brick (computer) converts the intensity of sound measured by the sensor input into a number that transmits to a screen. They build on their experiences from the previous activities and establish a rich understanding of the sound sensor and its relationship to the TaskBot's computer.

Subject:
Anatomy/Physiology
Applied Science
Engineering
Life Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Charlie Franklin
Marianne Catanho
Sachin Nair
Satish Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
The Hospital of the Future: Engineering through Robotics and Automated Patient Care
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Educational Use
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Students further their understanding of the engineering design process while combining mechanical engineering and bioengineering to create an automated medical device. During the activity, students are given a fictional client statement and are required to follow the steps of the design process to create medical devices that help reduce the workload for hospital workers and increase the quality of patient care.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Health, Medicine and Nursing
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Jared R. Quinn
Jeanne Hubelbank
Kristen Billiar
Terri Camesano
Date Added:
10/14/2015
How Cold Can You Go?
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Educational Use
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Students explore materials engineering by modifying the material properties of water. Specifically, they use salt to lower the freezing point of water and test it by making ice cream. Using either a simple thermometer or a mechatronic temperature sensor, students learn about the lower temperature limit at which liquid water can exist such that even if placed in contact with a material much colder than 0 degrees Celsius, liquid water does not get colder than 0 °C. This provides students with an example of how materials can be modified (engineered) to change their equilibrium properties. They observe that when mixed with salt, liquid water's lower temperature limit can be dropped. Using salt-ice mixtures to cool the ice cream mixes to temperatures lower than 0 °C works better than ice alone.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Hydrology
Physical Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Donna Johnson
Elina Mamasheva
Leonarda Huertas
Ryan Caeti
Ursula Koniges
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Do Human Sensors Work?
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Educational Use
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This lesson highlights the similarities between human sensors and their engineering counterparts. Taking this approach enables students to view the human body as a system, that is, from the perspective of an engineer. Humans have recreated most human sensors in robots – eyes, ears and sensors for temperature, touch and smell. The lesson inculdes a PowerPoint file that is programmed to run a Jeopardy-style game as a fun assessment tool.

Subject:
Anatomy/Physiology
Applied Science
Engineering
Life Science
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Ajay Nair
Satish Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Do Sensors Work?
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Educational Use
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Through six lesson/activity sets, students learn about the functioning of sensors, both human and robotic. In the activities, student groups use LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and components to study human senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) in more detail than in previous units in the series. They also learn about the human made rotation, touch, sound, light and ultrasonic sensors. "Stimulus-sensor-coordinator-effector-response" pathways are used to describe the processes as well as similarities between human/animal and robotic equivalent sensory systems. The important concept of sensors converting/transducing signals is emphasized. Through assorted engineering design challenges, students program the LEGO robots to respond to input from various LEGO sensors. The overall framework reinforces the theme of the human body as a system with sensors that is, from an engineering perspective. PowerPoint® presentations, quizzes and worksheets are provided throughout the unit.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Full Course
Unit of Study
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Nishant Sinha
Pranit Samarth
Satish S. Nair
Srijith Nair
Trisha Chaudhary
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Do You Make Loops and Switches?
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Educational Use
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Students learn how to program using loops and switches. They see how loops enable us to easily and efficiently tell a computer to keep repeating an operation. They also see that switches permit programs to follow different instructions based on whether or not preconditions are fulfilled. Using the LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots, sensors and software, student pairs perform three mini programming activities using loops and switches individually, and then combined. With practice, they incorporate these tools into their programming skill sets in preparation for the associated activity. A PowerPoint® presentation, pre/post quizzes and worksheet are provided.

Subject:
Applied Science
Computer Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Pranit Samarth
Riaz Helfer
Satish S. Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Do You Make a Program Wait?
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Educational Use
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Building on the programming basics learned so far in the unit, students next learn how to program using sensors rather than by specifying exact durations. They start with an examination of algorithms and move to an understanding of conditional commands (until, then), which require the use of wait blocks. Working with the LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and software, they learn about wait blocks and how to use them in conjunction with move blocks set with unlimited duration. To help with comprehension and prepare them for the associated activity programming challenges, volunteer students act out a maze demo and student groups conclude by programming LEGO robots to navigate a simple maze using wait block programming. A PowerPoint® presentation, a worksheet and pre/post quizzes are provided.

Subject:
Applied Science
Computer Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Pranit Samarth
Riaz Helfer
Satish S. Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Does a Light Sensor Work?
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Educational Use
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Students learn more about how light sensors work, reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of sight. They look at the light sensing process incoming light converted to electrical signals sent to the brain through the human eye anatomy as well as human-made electrical light sensors. A mini-activity, which uses LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT intelligent bricks and light sensors gives students a chance to investigate how light sensors function in preparation for the associated activity involving the light sensors and taskbots. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, sensor fundamentals, and details about the LEGO light sensor, including its two modes of gathering data and what its numerical value readings mean. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to gain a deeper understanding of how robots can take sensor input and use it to make decisions via programming.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Pranit Samarth
Satish S. Nair
Srijith Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Does a Sound Sensor Work?
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Educational Use
Rating
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Students learn about how sound sensors work, reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of hearing. They look at the hearing process sound waves converted to electrical signals sent to the brain through human ear anatomy as well as sound sensors. A mini-activity, which uses LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT intelligent bricks and sound sensors gives students a chance to experiment with the sound sensors in preparation for the associated activity involving the sound sensors and taskbots. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, sensor fundamentals, the unit of decibels, and details about the LEGO sound sensor, including how readings are displayed and its three modes of programming sound input. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to appreciate how robots can take sensor input and use it to make decisions to via programming.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Pranit Samarth
Satish S. Nair
Srijith Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Does a Touch Sensor Work?
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Educational Use
Rating
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Students learn about how touch sensors work, while reinforcing their similarities to the human sense of touch. They look at human senses and their electronic imitators, with special focus on the nervous system, skin and touch sensors. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, how touch sensors are made and work, and then gives students a chance to handle and get familiar with the LEGO touch sensor, including programming LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots to use touch sensor input to play music. Students take pre/post quizzes and watch a short online video. The mini-activities prepare students for the associated activity. This lesson and its associated activity enables students to appreciate how robots can take input from sensors, and use that to make decisions to move.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Pranit Samarth
Satish S. Nair
Trisha Chaudhary
Date Added:
09/18/2014
How Does an Ultrasonic Sensor Work?
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Educational Use
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Students learn about how ultrasonic sensors work, reinforcing the connection between this sensor and how humans, bats and dolphins estimate distance. They learn the echolocation process sound waves transmitted, bounced back and received, with the time difference used to calculate the distance of objects. Two mini-activities, which use LEGO MINDSTORMS(TM) NXT robots and ultrasonic sensors, give students a chance to experiment with ultrasonic sensors in preparation for the associated activity. A PowerPoint® presentation explains stimulus-to-response pathways, sensor fundamentals, and details about the LEGO ultrasonic sensor. Pre/post quizzes are provided. This lesson and its associated activity enable students to gain a deeper understanding of how robots can take sensor input and use it to make decisions via programming.

Subject:
Applied Science
Engineering
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Nishant Sinha
Pranit Samarth
Satish S. Nair
Date Added:
09/18/2014