Bundle 1: Story of Things
Tier 3: Cooling The Room
Tier 3: Cooling The Room
Objective:
Students will create a device that will cool surrounding air by planning, building, and testing the device.
Overview:
Students will build on their prior learning to create a device to cool air temperature, while gaining a greater understanding of the impacts of the materials on society. Students will plan, build, test, and argue their results with their peers. Student will then select one component of their “air cooling device” and determine where (geographically) the parts of that component came from. Students will share out quantitative and qualitative data regarding their device to determine the success or challenges of their device, as well as participating in a discussion on the impact to society.
Big questions:
- How do devices cool air?
- How do synthetic materials, coming from natural resources, impact the environment and society?
Standards addressed:
| MS-PS1-3 | Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society. |
| MS-PS3-3 | Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer. |
| MS-ETS1-1 | Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions. |
| MS-ETS1-2 | Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem. |
| MS-ETS1-3 | Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success. |
Tier in depth:
Part I: Students will create a device that will cool surrounding air (“air conditioner”). They will plan, build, test, and argue their results with their peers.
Disclaimer: Teachers can determine the appropriate constraints (time, cost, materials, etc) for this activity.
Part II: Students will share out quantitative and qualitative data regarding their device to determine the success or challenges of their device as well as participating in a discussion on the impact to society.
Part III: Students will select one component of their “air cooling device” and determine where (geographically) the parts of that component came from. Students can report this out through the use of a video they create, a schematic flow chart, etc. An example can be shown to the students through this video regarding the “Story of a Pencil.” Additional information regarding components might be found here: https://mrdata.usgs.gov/
Extension:
Students could also extend into a discussion of the environmental impact of their “air conditioner” by considering all components of their device. Students could construct a “cradle to grave” analysis that details all aspects of the manufacturing and products that are utilized in their device.
Possible ideas can be found at the following websites:
Homemade Air Conditioner ideas
Experts:
Solutions:
