5-5 POWER FUNCTIONS CARS

Monday: Cars & Gears
Students: I can use a motor and lego parts to make a race car.

Clean the lab. Wipes are on my desk. Be sure to clean all computers and tables. Wash your hands afterwards.

1. Race Car Power Functions - follow along as we discuss this weeks challenge.

 
How can you adjust the speed of a motor when it only spins at one speed? This rotation you will learn how "gearing up" a motor can increase it's speed.

There are many ways to build a car and adjust the motors. I have provided you a simple method to be able to build your car in one class and then test out different gears the next session.

2. You and a partner will be assigned a tote number. Use that tote and a small connectors kit to begin building your car. Follow the video below for instructions. Your motor will need 6AA batteries. If your motor kit does not have batteries, come to the desk to get some. 

3. After building your car you will take it to the hallway and drive it from the Start line to the finish line and time the number of seconds it takes to get there. Repeat the trials for at least 6 times. Be sure to record on paper each time you do this.

4. Return your paper you recorded on, your stop watch and your motor kit box to your tote. Please put your car on the back shelf behind my desk. 

Please put motor kit tote inside your big tote and return it to your grade level shelf.. Put your car on the back shelf by my desk.

5.If there is time left you may do the activities below.

​Tuesday:  Gearing Up
Students: I can learn what gearing up a motor means.


1.  Be sure that you have built your car with 2 large gears and have tested it several times. You should have used a timer to find the number of seconds it takes to get from Start A to the Finish B and written it down somewhere.

2. Now you are going to change the follower gear to a medium size gear. Watch the video to learn how.

3. Now you are going to change the follower gear to a small size gear. Watch the video to learn how.

4. Now what do we do?

​Wednesday: Calculating Speed
Students: I can try to build an even faster car.

1.   If you did not complete activities 1-4 from yesterday, please continue to do that. If you have completed activity 4, then move on to #2 below.

2. Watch the video to learn how to calculate speed.

3. Measure the distance we have been driving in the hallway in meters. If it is not an exact amount you may want to put down some new tape to make it a whole number. You will need the tape measures from me to do this. Once you have a set distance, rerun your car and calculate the speed to be meters/second. Here is an online calculator to help you divide.

4.  If all students have completed their own design, we can go have some races in the gym or we can do this on Thursday. If not everyone is finished, you can put your car away and do the activities below.

​Thursday: In the Gym

Friday: In the Gym

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MITECS STANDARDS
1. Empowered Learner Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
1.c. Use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
5. Computational Thinker Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions. 
5.b. Collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem solving and decision-making.