Go Rover Go

Duration: Four 50-minute sessions

Grade Levels: 4-8

Learn how modifying building materials can convert potential energy into kinetic energy.
Resources

Lesson Plan PDF

 

Grade Levels: 4-8

Duration: Four 50-minute sessions

Objectives:

4th – 5th grade students will:

  • Explain how a vehicle stores potential energy and how that energy is converted to kinetic energy to move the rover.
  • Analyze data from testing to inform design decisions intended to improve the efficiency of a rover.
  • Apply knowledge about potential and kinetic energy to design, build and improve the efficiency of a rover.
  • Use evidence from testing and the concept of energy to support claims about how well a design meets the criteria and constraints of a design challenge.

 

6th –8th Grade students will:

  • Explain how the distance between parts of a system affects the amount of potential energy stored in that system.
  • Analyze data from testing and knowledge about potential and kinetic energy to inform design decisions to improve the efficiency of a product.
  • Use evidence from testing and science concepts to support claims about how well their design meets the criteria and constraints of the final design challenge.

The Tech Challenge

This resource was developed to prepare students for the 2017 Tech Challenge. Each year The Tech Challenge invites teams of students in Grades 4-12 to use the engineering design process to solve a real-world problem.

Learn about this year's Tech Challenge.

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The Tech Academies

This activity was developed in partnership with educators from The Tech Academies Fellowship program. Tech Academy Fellows learn to be leaders of STEM education while designing and testing resources to be shared with other educators.