For TeachersEngineering Design in Oregon Science ClassroomsPage 1 of 13

Lesson Planfor Littlefoot’s Ride

A High School Physical Science Lesson Featuring Engineering Design

Lesson Summary:

Table of Contents

1—Lesson Overview

1.1—Introduction

1.2—Lesson Breakdown with Engineering Design

1.3—Pre-Requisite Knowledge

2—Teacher Background Information

2.1—Glossary of Terms

2.2—Scientific Concepts and Disciplinary Core Ideas

2.3—Lesson Materials

3—Preparation

3.1—Preparation Part 1: Reading Activity

3.1.1—Materials

3.1.2—Preparation Steps: Reading Activity

3.2—Preparation Part 2: Exploration Activity

3.2.1—Materials

3.2.2—Preparation Steps: Exploration Activity

3.3—Preparation Part 3: Engineering Design Activity

3.3.1—Materials

3.3.2—Preparation Steps: Engineering Design Activity

4—Activity Instructions

4.1—Activity Part 1: Reading

4.2—Activity Part 2: Exploration

4.3—Activity Part 3: Engineering Design

Appendix 1A: 2009 Standards Met With This Lesson

General Science

Engineering and Design

Scientific Inquiry

Appendix 1B: 2014 (NGSS) Standards Met With This Lesson

Alignment to Next Generation Science Standards

Performance Expectations

Science and Engineering Practices

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

Appendix 2: Complete Materials Listing

Printed Materials

Part 1: Reading Activity

Part 2: Exploration Activity

Part 3: Engineering Design Activity

Activity Materials

Part 1: Reading Activity

Part 2: Exploration Activity

Part 3: Engineering Design Activity

Buyer’s Guide

Appendix 3: Resources and Extensions

Roller Coaster Design Simulations

1—Lesson Overview

1.1—Introduction

In this engineering lesson, students will address the problems associated withcreating a roller coaster ride for kids. Their ultimate goal is to design carts that hold as many passengers as possiblefor a new amusement park ride on Mount Jefferson. The lesson is divided into three parts.

Part 1 is a reading activity to familiarize students with the physics behind roller coasters.

Part 2is an exploration activity which allows students to examine the relationship between gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy, and track design.

Part 3is an engineering activity where students will design, build, test, and evaluate cart designs for a pre-set track. Optional: design, build, test and evaluate track designs.

1.2—Lesson Breakdown with Engineering Design

Engineering Design Steps / Activity / Handout / Product
1. Define a problem that addresses a need / Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Handout Questions
2. Identify criteria, constraints, and priorities / Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Handout Questions
3. Describe relevant scientific principles and knowledge. / Part 1: Reading / Roller Coaster Physics 101 Article
Vocab Alert! / Comprehension Questions
Vocab Alert Worksheet
Part 2: Exploration / Exploration Handout / Comprehension Questions
4. Investigate possible solutions and use the concept of trade-offs to compare solutions in terms of criteria and constraints. / Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Solution Proposal/Opinion Essay
5. Design and construct at least one proposed solution. / Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Solution Sketch
6. Test a proposed solution(s), collect and process relevant data and incorporate modifications based on data from testing or other analysis. / Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Prototype
7. Analyze data, identify uncertainties, and display data so that the implications for the solution being tested are clear / Part 2: Exploration / Exploration Handout / Data collection and analysis
Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Data collection and analysis
8. Recommend a proposed solution, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and describe how it is better than alternative designs as well as identifying further engineering that might be done to refine the recommendation. / Part 3: Engineering / Design Handout / Evaluation Essay

1.3—Pre-Requisite Knowledge

Students should be familiar with the engineering design concepts of criteria, priorities, constraints, and trade-offs.

2—Teacher Background Information

2.1—Glossary of Terms

Acceleration: A change in an object’s velocity. Acceleration equals a change in velocity divided by time.

Friction: A force which opposes motion.

G-Force: Acceleration felt as weight. It is not a straight-up force like friction, but rather a force per unit mass. 1 g-force equals acceleration due to gravity or 9.8 m/s².

Gravitational Potential Energy: Stored energy due to height. GPE = Mass x Gravity x Height.

Kinetic Energy: Energy of motion.

Inertia: The tendency of an object to resist changes in motion, equal to its mass

Law of Conservation of Energy: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change forms.

Velocity: A rate of motion. Velocity equals distance divided by time and because it is a vector quantity both magnitude and direction are needed to define it.

2.2—Scientific Concepts and Disciplinary Core Ideas

See theArticle Handout for the scientific concepts covered in this lesson.

Note: For a complete list of scientific concepts and disciplinary core ideas covered in this lesson, see Appendix 1.

2.3—Lesson Materials

Note: For a complete and up-to-date listing of materials in a printable shopping list format, see Appendix 2: Complete Materials Listing.

3—Preparation

3.1—Preparation Part 1: Reading Activity

3.1.1—Materials

Printed Materials

Vocab Alert Handout—(one per student)

Roller Coaster Physics 101 Article—(one per student)

Activity Materials

None

3.1.2—Preparation Steps: Reading Activity

1)Make student copies of both the Roller Coaster Physics 101 Articleand its accompanying Vocab Alert

3.2—Preparation Part 2: Exploration Activity

3.2.1—Materials

Printed Materials

Exploration Handout—(one per student)

Exploration Answer Key—(one per teacher)

Track Building Instructions—(one per group/one for the teacher)

Activity Materials

Chuggington Wooden Railway Elevated Track Pack (1 set will cover two groups)

Maxim Enterprise Inc. Stone Bridge Set (1 set will cover two groups)

Set of six 8" Straight Tracks (1 set will cover two groups)

Set of six 3.5" Curved Wooden Train Tracks(1 set will cover two groups)

Orbrium Toys Cargo Train Car Set for Wooden Railway, 5-Piece (1 set will cover four groups)

Ruler or measuring tape (one per group)

Pennies or similar weights to simulate passengers

Scale for weighing carts (one per 2-4 groups)

3.2.2—Preparation Steps: Exploration Activity

1)Plan to have students work in groups of six for this activity.

2)Make student copies of the Exploration Handout.

3)Set-out the materials for track construction plus carts and pennies.

4)Have scales and rulers available for student use.

3.3—Preparation Part 3: Engineering Design Activity

3.3.1—Materials

Printed Materials

Design Handout—(one per student)

Track Building Instructions—(one per group/one for the teacher)

Activity Materials

Chuggington Wooden Railway Elevated Track Pack (1 set will cover two groups)

Maxim Enterprise Inc. Stone Bridge Set (1 per group)

Set of six 8" Straight Tracks (1 set will cover two groups)

Set of six 3.5" Curved Wooden Train Tracks(1 set will cover two groups)

Orbrium Toys Cargo Train Car Set for Wooden Railway, 5-Piece (1 set will two groups)

Ruler or measuring tape (one per group)

Pennies or similar weights to simulate passengers

Scale for weighing carts (one per 2-4 groups)

3.3.2—Preparation Steps: Engineering Design Activity

1)Plan to have students work in groups of three for this activity with two groups per track set-up.

2)Make student copies of the Design Handout. Make group copies of the Track Building Instructions.

3)Set-out the materials for track construction plus carts and pennies.

4)Have scales and rulers available for student use.

4—Activity Instructions

4.1—Activity Part 1: Reading

1)Pass out the Vocab Alertworksheet and have students rate their knowledge of the article’s key vocabulary.

2)Pass out the Roller Coaster Physics 101 for students to read and discuss.

3)Once students are finished with the article they should re-rate the vocabulary words as well as take notes on their meaning.

4.2—Activity Part 2: Exploration

1)Arrange students into groups of six.

2)Pass out ExplorationHandoutto each student.

3)Groups should spend around 25 minutes setting up the longest track their cart can travel.

4)Students should spend the rest of the time sketching their tracks and answering the questions on their handouts.

4.3—Activity Part 3: Engineering Design

1)Plan to have students work in groups of three with two groups sharing a track set-up.

2)Pass out DesignHandoutto each student. Pass out a copy of the Track Building Instructions to each group.

3)Go over the instructions and project requirements with the students. Be sure to show them the materials they have available for building their carts.

4)In their groups, students should identify the problems, criteria, priorities, constraints, and trade-offs associated designing and building carts.

5)Next, student groups should brainstorm initial hill solutions. They should build and test at least one design according to the instructions on their handout. Time permitting, there is also space on their handout to design more solutions.

6)Using their observations and data, students should write an essay recommending a proposed solution, which identifies both its strengths and weaknesses as well as describes how it is preferable to other solutions. As a conclusion to this essay, students should suggest further engineering that might be done to refine their recommendations. A scoring rubric for this paper is available at

Appendix 1A: 2009 Standards Met With This Lesson

General Science

H.2P.3 Describe the interactions of energy and matter including the law of conservation of energy.

H.2P.4 Apply the laws of motion and gravitation to describe the interaction of forces acting on an object and the resultant motion.

Students will be able to describe the energy transformations that occur during a roller coaster ride.

Students will examine how the law of gravitation affects the potential energy of a coaster cart.

Students will examine how friction affects the kinetic energy of a coaster car.

Engineering and Design

H.4D.1 Define a problem and specify criteria for a solution within specific constraints or limits based on science principles. Generate several possible solutions to a problem and use the concept of trade-offs to compare them in terms of criteria and constraints.

Students will identify problems in the design of a cart for a kiddie coaster ride and brainstorm solutions.

Students will evaluate their design ideas using the concepts of trade-offs, criteria, and constraints.

H.4D.2 Create and test or otherwise analyze at least one of the more promising solutions. Collect and process relevant data. Incorporate modifications based on data from testing or other analysis.

Students will build prototype carts and collect data on their effectiveness.

H.4D.3 Analyze data, identify uncertainties, and display data so that the implications for the solution being tested are clear.

Students will present their data in an easy-to-read graph format, and write an analysis which clearly communicates both the uncertainties in the data as well as the implications for their prototype.

H.4D.4 Recommend a proposed solution, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and describe how it is better than alternative designs. Identify further engineering that might be done to refine the recommendations.

After building and evaluating their first solutions, students will write a paragraph detailing its strengths, a paragraph describing its weaknesses, and either a paragraph or a new sketch of recommended modifications.

Scientific Inquiry

H.3S.2 Design and conduct a controlled experiment, field study, or other investigation to make systematic observations about the natural world, including the collection of sufficient and appropriate data.

Students will make observations about and collect data on the speed of their coaster carts in order to determine the effectiveness of their design.

H.3S.3 Analyze data and identify uncertainties. Draw a valid conclusion, explain how it is supported by the evidence, and communicate the findings of a scientific investigation.

Students will analyze data on sample hill and coaster cart prototypes to help them identify design problems, generate solutions, and build new prototypes.

Students will analyze data in order to evaluate and write an analysis of their hill and coaster cart designs, which clearly communicates both the uncertainties in the data as well as the implications for their prototypes.

Appendix 1B: 2014 (NGSS) Standards Met With This Lesson

Alignment to Next Generation Science Standards

Performance Expectations

  • HS-ETS1-1. Analyze a major global challenge to specify qualitative and quantitative criteria and constraints for solutions that account for societal needs and wants.
  • HS-ETS1-2. Design a solution to a complex real-world problem by breaking it down into smaller, more manageable problems that can be solved through engineering.
  • HS-ETS1-3. Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
  • HS-PS3-1. Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on explaining the meaning of mathematical expressions used in the model.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to basic algebraic expressions or computations; to systems of two or three components; and to thermal energy, kinetic energy, and/or the energies in gravitational, magnetic, or electric fields.]
  • HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.* [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on both qualitative and quantitative evaluations of devices. Examples of devices could include Rube Goldberg devices, wind turbines, solar cells, solar ovens, and generators. Examples of constraints could include use of renewable energy forms and efficiency.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment for quantitative evaluations is limited to total output for a given input. Assessment is limited to devices constructed with materials provided to students.]
  • HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration. [Clarification Statement: Examples of data could include tables or graphs of position or velocity as a function of time for objects subject to a net unbalanced force, such as a falling object, an object rolling down a ramp, or a moving object being pulled by a constant force.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment is limited to one-dimensional motion and to macroscopic objects moving at non-relativistic speeds.]

Science and Engineering Practices

Asking Questions andDefining Problems
  • Asking questions and defining problems in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.
  • Analyze complex real-world problems by specifying criteria and constraints for successful solutions. (HS-ETS1-1)
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
  • Constructing explanations and designing solutions in 9–12 builds on K–8 experiences and progresses to explanations and designs that are supported by multiple and independent student-generated sources of evidence consistent with scientific ideas, principles and theories.
  • Design a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations. (HS-ETS1-2)
  • Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem, based on scientific knowledge, student-generated sources of evidence, prioritized criteria, and tradeoff considerations. (HS-ETS1-3)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems

  • Criteria and constraints also include satisfying any requirements set by society, such as taking issues of risk mitigation into account, and they should be quantified to the extent possible and stated in such a way that one can tell if a given design meets them. (HS-ETS1-1)
  • Humanity faces major global challenges today, such as the need for supplies of clean water and food or for energy sources that minimize pollution, which can be addressed through engineering. These global challenges also may have manifestations in local communities. (HS-ETS1-1)
ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions
  • When evaluating solutions, it is important to take into account a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, and to consider social, cultural, and environmental impacts. (HS-ETS1-3)
  • Both physical models and computers can be used in various ways to aid in the engineering design process. Computers are useful for a variety of purposes, such as running simulations to test different ways of solving a problem or to see which one is most efficient or economical; and in making a persuasive presentation to a client about how a given design will meet his or her needs. (HS-ETS1-4)
ETS1.B. Designing Solutions to Engineering Problems
  • When evaluating solutions, it is important to take into account a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, and to consider social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution
  • Criteria may need to be broken down into simpler ones that can be approached systematically, and decisions about the priority of certain criteria over others (trade-offs) may be needed. (HS-ETS1-2)

Appendix 2: Complete Materials Listing

Printed Materials

Part 1: Reading Activity

Vocab Alert Handout—(one per student)

Roller Coaster Physics 101 Article—(one per student)

Part 2: Exploration Activity

Exploration Handout—(one per student)

Exploration Answer Key—(one per teacher)

Basic Cart Building Instructions—(one per group/one for the teacher)

Track Building Instructions—(one per group/one for the teacher)

Part 3: Engineering Design Activity

Design Handout—(one per student)

Track Building Instructions—(one per group/one for the teacher)

Activity Materials

Part 1: Reading Activity

None

Part 2: Exploration Activity

Chuggington Wooden Railway Elevated Track Pack (1 set will cover two groups)

Maxim Enterprise Inc. Stone Bridge Set (1 set will cover two groups)

Set of six 8" Straight Tracks (1 set will cover two groups)