Pre-Activity: K Nex Car Derby

Pre-Activity: K’nex Car Derby

Summary In this activity, students will work together in small groups to build a K’nex car that can smoothly travel down a ramp. There will be a competition among the student groups to see which car can travel the furthest down the designated ramp and course. The cars will be required to carry a bottle containing .25L of water. There will also be a secondary prize for the car that has the fastest speed. The goal of this activity is to familiarize students with K’nex construction, the concept of problem solving and redesign. Engineering Connection Contents 1. Learning Objectives 2. Materials 3. Introduction/Motivatio n 4. Procedure 5. Attachments 6. Troubleshooting Tips 7. References

The ability to use creativity to create/build objects and the ability to problem solve are the building blocks for engineering. In this activity, using the K’nex pieces to make a car is very similar to how an engineer will use what he/she has to make something important. Not everyone has grown up playing with K’nex, but it’s important for children to be able to understand how to build with K’nex and other building devices.

Grade Level: 6-8 Group Size: 2-3 Time Required: 3 hours Activity Dependency :None

Expendable Cost Per Group : US$ 134 (once)

Keywords: K’nex, car racing

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Related Curriculum : subject areas Science and Technology lessons Generators: Three Mile Island vs. Hoover Dam Educational Standards : Related Standards for Oregon  Oregon Science

o Design, construct, and test a possible solution to a defined problem using appropriate tools and materials. Evaluate proposed engineering design solutions to the defined problem. (6-8) o Define a problem that addresses a need and identify constraints that may be related to possible solutions. (7-8) o Explain why if more than one variable changes at the same time in an investigation, the outcome of the investigation may not be clearly attributable to any one variable. (6)

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Learning Objectives (Return to Contents) After this activity, students should be able to:

 To understand how to design and build a car out of K’nex  Be comfortable with building different structures with K’nex  Practice trial and error, redesign and control of the vehicle

Materials List (Return to Contents) For students:  Knex kit with: o 20 blue circles o Four small wheels with treads o Extra small wheel o Basic rods and connectors for building purposes  Small water bottle containing .25L of water For instructors / helpers  Ramp (either flat or quarter pipe)  Tape measure  Meter or yard stick (preference)  Stop watch (two for large classes)  Paper and pencil or spread sheet for recording distances and times  Masking tape  Sharpie  Prizes for winning team (optional)

Introduction/Motivation (Return to Contents) Building objects, in this case a car, out of K’nex isn’t always easy. Many kids and adults have never set their hands on a K’nex piece before. It is important to get the students familiar with K’nex and how to build, in order to reduce stress and frustration in upcoming activities that involve K’nex. Students will be able to use their creativity and their intuition to design and create their own car.

Activity (Return to Contents) Students will be given a kit that contains all of the pieces needed to make a K’nex car. For this project, students are placed in groups of two or three and design a K’nex car that can travel the farthest. Each car will be required to carry a water bottle and a load of water, .25 Liters, which will add an additional design obstacle. The goal of the activity is to familiarize the students with how to construct objects out of K’nex, in this case a car, and how to problem solve and redesign their cars to perform better. Groups will probably go through many redesign stages with their car in order to create a faster car. The most challenging aspect of this project is the initial building of the car. Students should be allowed to be creative and figure out for themselves what works and what doesn’t work.

Procedure (Return to Contents) Before the Activity  Set up K’nex kits with the appropriate number of pieces.  Set up a ramp that creates a 45 degree angle with the ground and mark distances from the bottom of the ramp (start), in intervals of 2 feet, for at least 30 feet. Pre-activity discussion and introduction to fuel cells (5 – 10 minutes)  Introduce activity  Discuss basic concept of how cars work (if needed)  Introduce competition  Discuss concept and importance of redesign

Car design (50 – 75 minutes)  The students will split up into groups  Mentors should be monitoring every groups progress and assisting o Try and let each group discover for themselves what works and what doesn’t  Once a group has a movable car let them test it Competition (45 – 60 minutes)  Allow students to practice on the track. The actual competition can be done in two different ways (or another depending on teacher preference). These are the ways it has been done before o As many trials as you can get: . Let them record every trial as an official run . Advantages:  More trial and error learning  Easy to organize . Disadvantages  Less thought into specific runs  Students try and get as many trials as possible (can get crowded) o Two or Three real runs max (not including practice) . Advantages:  Less data recording (for the instructors)  Less crowded track . Disadvantages:  Less chance for trial and error process  (We usually let the students record every run as an official run)  Designate at least one person to record distances and times. For large groups, use two tracks.  If possible, use a spreadsheet that can record distance and time and automatically calculate speed (see attachments)  Students should also record all their own distances and times on their own paper Post activity discussion and awards (10 -15 minuets)  Students with fastest and furthest traveled cars can receive a prize (dollar tree works best)  Lead discussion on what worked and what didn’t work for car design  Discuss the importance of the trial, error, redesign and control method  Congratulate everyone on a job well done

Attachments (Return to Contents)  Times for class spreadsheet Troubleshooting Tips (Return to Contents) Here are some things to try that may increase the performance of your car:  Problem: Wheels don’t spin well o Cause: there’s too much friction on the axel or the wheels . Solution: Add some of the little blue spacers between the wheels and other pieces. . Solution: Make sure the axel isn’t rubbing against anything

References (Return to Contents) ABC Pinewood Derby http://www.abc-pinewood-derby.com/pinewood_derby_rules.htm

All American Soap Box Derby http://www.aasbd.org/SBD_Rules.htm

Owner (Return to Contents) Oregon State University Department of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering Contributors Dr. Skip Rochefort, Paul Dornath, Nicholas Kraaz