Primary 7 STEM Task

Helicopters

Imagine you have been asked to design a helicopter to drop supplies to people in a remote disaster area. A controlled descent and soft landing is essential - too fast might damage the load and too slow might blow off course!
See below for a template for one possible helicopter.
Once you have had a go,think about how the helicopter could be adapted.
How would you decide on the best possible helicopter design?
You will need to decide the height from which you will drop the helicopter, and the load it will carry.
Here are some issues to consider in your search for the best helicopter:

  • number, shape and design of wings
  • speed of descent
  • choice of materials
  • cost of materials
  • wastage
  • choice of colour

Template

Cut out the template below to make your helicopter

Primary 7 STEM Task

Observing the Sun and the Moon

Here are some questions you might explore, or you may have your own questions about the sun or the moon which you would like to investigate:

  • the time when the sun sets or rises
  • the place on the horizon where you last or first see it
  • the time when the moon sets or rises
  • the place on the horizon where you last or first see it
  • the phases of the moon
  • the number of sunspots on the sun and how they move (more information) - but it is very important that you do NOT look directly at the sun. The easiest, safe way to observe the sun is to use a pinhole camera.

A paper plate is a good way to show where there are tall trees or buildings on the horizon which you can use for a marker, and where the sun or moon rises or sets. It's also a good way to show sunspots.

Primary 7 STEM Task

Flip Your Mat!

Drinks mats are not only for preventing spills on table tops - they are also good for flipping and catching!

In this project, you will design your own mat and test it against others to see which is best for flipping and catching.

You will need to think about:

  • Shape - should it be a regular polygon, an irregular polygon, or should it be circular or have rounded sides?
  • Size - what is the optimum size for flipping and catching, does it depend on the size of the person's hand?
  • Material - it needs to be easy to catch, not too slippery, perhaps slightly flexible but not too flexible. You don't want it to hurt your hand!
  • Design - you will want your mat to be eye-catching, to stand out from the crowd!

Once you've designed your drinks mat, you need to test it against other people's. How will you plan a fair test? You will need to think about what a standard 'flip' is, and how you can make sure that all flips are the same as far as possible.

Solving Problems Involving Capacity

  1. A 2.5 litre bottle of cola is shared between 5 friends, how much does each person get?
  1. Michael drinks a 330ml bottle of lemon water every day. How much lemon water will he drink in one week? What is this in litres?
  1. A Porsche uses 2.5 litres of fuel every 2 kilometres it travels. How much fuel does it use if it travels 50 kilometres?
  1. Susie has a jug of lemonade. She does not know how much lemonade she has, but she knows she can fill 12 glasses which have a capacity of 270 ml each. How much lemonade does she have?
  1. Jug A holds 1800 ml. Jug B holds 3/10 more. How much does jug B hold?

Solving Problems Involving Capacity

  1. A 2.5 litre bottle of cola is shared between 5 friends, how much does each person get?
  1. Michael drinks a 330ml bottle of lemon water every day. How much lemon water will he drink in one week? What is this in litres?
  1. A Porsche uses 2.5 litres of fuel every 2 kilometres it travels. How much fuel does it use if it travels 50 kilometres?
  1. Susie has a jug of lemonade. She does not know how much lemonade she has, but she knows she can fill 12 glasses which have a capacity of 270 ml each. How much lemonade does she have?
  1. Jug A holds 1800 ml. Jug B holds 3/10 more. How much does jug B hold?

Solving Problems Involving Capacity

  1. Michael drinks a 330ml bottle of lemon water every day. How much lemon water will he drink during April? What is this litres?
  1. Jug A holds 3.75 litres of liquid. Jug B holds 1250 millilitres more. How much liquid does Jug B hold?
  1. James drinks 2.4 litres of water in a day. Stephen drinks 1/3 more. How much water does Stephen drink? What is this in millilitres and litres?
  1. A Porsche uses 2.5 litres of fuel every 2 kilometres it travels. How much fuel does Mr Rich use in a working week if his journey to work from his house is 8 km? What is this in millilitres?
  1. Rochelle creates a Super Fruit Smoothie. It contains 1/10 of a litre of apple juice, 2/5 of a litre of orange juice and 1/8 of a litre of grape juice. Which jug is the most suitable for Rochelle to serve her Smoothie in? Explain why you have chosen this jug.