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Resources for Grades 3-5:

Designed for Efficiency

Module Description Students conduct experiments, explore with online interactives, and watch videos that will help them answer the question: How do transportation vehicles such as cars, trucks, and buses move? Students will determine what it means for a vehicle to be efficient. They use what they learn about efficiency to analyze the performance of actual vehicles. Finally, students demonstrate their understanding by designing efficient vehicles of their own.
Module Project Students work individually or collaboratively to design a moving vehicle that uses energy efficiently. Depending on the available resources, their designs may take the form of working models, multimedia presentations, or letters to automotive executives.
Objectives
  • Develop an operational definition of
    efficiency as it relates to transportation vehicles.
  • Identify design features of transportation vehicles that contribute to reduced friction.
  • Describe how the energy in fuel or other energy sources is converted into vehicular motion.
  • Design and describe efficient transportation vehicles.

Red Toolbox and Tires

Lesson Plans

1: Force and Motion Students are introduced to the module project. They apply what they already know about force and motion to begin their exploration into vehicle design.

2: That Force Called Friction Students conduct an experiment to help them relate the concepts of force, motion, and friction. They investigate ways of reducing the effect of friction on vehicle movement.

3: Air Resistance as a Frictional Force Students use blow dryers to simulate the effect of air resistance on vehicle movement. They continue to consider how various forces contribute to or reduce a vehicle's efficiency.

4: What Keeps Vehicles Moving? Energy Students learn about different kinds of energy and energy sources, both natural and technological, by observing various objects in motion.

5: Where Does Energy for Motion of a Vehicle Come From? Students compare and contrast racecars in order to determine how different engines and energy sources affect vehicle efficiency and performance.

6: What Is Efficiency in a Vehicle? Students explore the concept of vehicle efficiency by using marbles to represent energy units. They also collect and manipulate data to help them calculate the miles per gallon ratio for a variety of vehicles.

7: Designing an Energy-Efficient Vehicle After reviewing the main concepts developed in the first six lessons of this module, students work individually or collaboratively to design their own energy-efficient vehicles. Students will have an opportunity to present their designs to their classmates in such forms as a working model, a multimedia presentation, or a letter to an automobile executive.

Supplemental Lesson Plans

See below for additional STEM-related exercises and lessons to extend topics for students.

Friction in our Lives Explore examples of friction in everyday life and learn how it both helps and hinders everything we do.

Forces Build a simulated luge track and make predictions about the impact of surface type, wind resistance, size of slope and shape of luge on their track.

Introduction to Physical Science Test Newton's three laws of motion in a game of marbles.

Student Resources

Keep your class engaged in this module's topics with tools set aside just for them.

Students can fuel up on even more action with topic-related videos, interactives, animations, and puzzles in the Elementary section.

Go!