Students learn how rooftop gardens help the environment and the lives of …
Students learn how rooftop gardens help the environment and the lives of people, especially in urban areas. They gain an understanding of how plants reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, provide agriculture space, reduce energy consumption and increase the aesthetic quality of cities. This draws upon the science of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation, materials, color) and ecology (plants, shade, carbon dioxide, photosynthesis), and the engineering requirements for rooftop gardens. In the associated activity, students apply their scientific knowledge to model and measure the effects of green roofs.
In this lesson, students will be introduced to one of the main …
In this lesson, students will be introduced to one of the main ways that the Great Lakes impact the economy of the region—shipping. Countless ships carry myriad cargo throughout the Great Lakes waterways to various destinations, making the transportation of goods accessible, reliable, and effective. Without the Great Lakes to transport various goods, which are typically shipped in the waterways, many commonly accessible materials would not be available in the ways they are today. This lesson will afford students the chance to see some of that technology in action, as well as see the direct impact that shipping has on the regional commercial industry.
Students act as Mars exploratory rover engineers. They evaluate rover equipment options …
Students act as Mars exploratory rover engineers. They evaluate rover equipment options and determine what parts fit in a provided NASA budget. With a given parts list, teams use these constraints to design for their rover. The students build and display their edible rover at a concluding design review.
Students act as Mars exploratory rover engineers, designing, building and displaying their …
Students act as Mars exploratory rover engineers, designing, building and displaying their edible rovers to a design review. To begin, they evaluate rover equipment and material options to determine which parts might fit in their given NASA budget. With provided parts and material lists, teams analyze their design options and use their findings to design their rovers.
Students construct model landfill liners using tape and strips of plastic, within …
Students construct model landfill liners using tape and strips of plastic, within resource constraints. The challenge is to construct a bag that is able to hold a cup of water without leaking. This represents similar challenges that environmental engineers face when piecing together liners for real landfills that are acres and acres in size.
Students use a watt meter to measure energy input into a hot …
Students use a watt meter to measure energy input into a hot plate or hot pot used to heat water. The theoretical amount of energy required to raise the water by the measure temperature change is calculated and compared to the electrical energy input to calculate efficiency.
Students use LEGO® motors and generators to raise washers a measured height. …
Students use LEGO® motors and generators to raise washers a measured height. They compare the work done by the motor-generator systems with the energy inputs to calculate efficiency.
Nate Barlow, Susan Powers, Jan DeWaters, and a number of Clarkson and St. Lawrence University students in the K-12 Project Based Learning Partnership Program
A process for technical problem solving is introduced and applied to a …
A process for technical problem solving is introduced and applied to a fun demonstration. Given the success with the demo, the iterative nature of the process can be illustrated.
The purpose of this activity is to recreate the classic egg-drop experiment …
The purpose of this activity is to recreate the classic egg-drop experiment with an analogy to the Mars rover landing. The concept of terminal velocity will be introduced, and students will perform several velocity calculations. Also, students will have to design and build their lander within a pre-determined budget to help reinforce a real-world design scenario.
As part of the engineering design process to create testable model heart …
As part of the engineering design process to create testable model heart valves, students learn about the forces at play in the human body to open and close aortic valves. They learn about blood flow forces, elasticity, stress, strain, valve structure and tissue properties, and Young's modulus, including laminar and oscillatory flow, stress vs. strain relationship and how to calculate Young's modulus. They complete some practice problems that use the equations learned in the lesson mathematical functions that relate to the functioning of the human heart. With this understanding, students are ready for the associated activity, during which they research and test materials and incorporate the most suitable to design, build and test their own prototype model heart valves.
This site, created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, introduces the electrical …
This site, created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, introduces the electrical engineering and computer science department. Graduates of MIT's electrical engineering and computer science department work in diverse industries and conduct research in a broad range of areas. The site features lecture notes, assignments, solutions, online textbooks, projects, examples and exams.
Students are briefly introduced to Maxwell's equations and their significance to phenomena …
Students are briefly introduced to Maxwell's equations and their significance to phenomena associated with electricity and magnetism. Basic concepts such as current, electricity and field lines are covered and reinforced. Through multiple topics and activities, students see how electricity and magnetism are interrelated.
The grand challenge for this legacy cycle unit is for students to …
The grand challenge for this legacy cycle unit is for students to design a way to help a recycler separate aluminum from steel scrap metal. In previous lessons, they have looked at how magnetism might be utilized. In this lesson, students think about how they might use magnets and how they might confront the problem of turning the magnetic field off. Through the accompanying activity students explore the nature of an electrically induced magnetic field and its applicability to the needed magnet.
This lesson introduces students to the fundamental concepts of electricity. This is …
This lesson introduces students to the fundamental concepts of electricity. This is accomplished by addressing questions such as "How is electricity generated," and "How is it used in every-day life?" The lesson also includes illustrative examples of circuit diagrams to help explain how electricity flows.
Building on concepts taught in the associated lesson, students learn about bioelectricity, …
Building on concepts taught in the associated lesson, students learn about bioelectricity, electrical circuits and biology as they use deductive and analytical thinking skills in connection with an engineering education. Students interact with a rudimentary electrocardiograph circuit (made by the teacher) and examine the simplicity of the device. They get to see their own cardiac signals and test the device themselves. During the second part of the activity, a series of worksheets, students examine different EKG print-outs and look for irregularities, as is done for heart disease detection.
This course introduces principles and mathematical models of electrochemical energy conversion and …
This course introduces principles and mathematical models of electrochemical energy conversion and storage. Students study equivalent circuits, thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, transport phenomena, electrostatics, porous media, and phase transformations. In addition, this course includes applications to batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and electrokinetics.
Thermodynamic and transport properties of aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes. The electrode/electrolyte interface. …
Thermodynamic and transport properties of aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes. The electrode/electrolyte interface. Kinetics of electrode processes. Electro-chemical characterization: d.c. techniques (controlled potential, controlled current), a.c. techniques (voltametry and impedance spectroscopy). Applications: electrowinning, electrorefining, electroplating, and electrosynthesis, as well as electrochemical power sources (batteries and fuel cells). This course covers a variety of topics concerning superconducting magnets, including thermodynamic and transport properties of aqueous and nonaqueous electrolytes, the electrode/electrolyte interface, and the kinetics of electrode processes. It also covers electrochemical characterization with regards to d.c. techniques (controlled potential, controlled current) and a.c. techniques (voltametry and impedance spectroscopy). Applications of the following will also be discussed: electrowinning, electrorefining, electroplating, and electrosynthesis, as well as electrochemical power sources (batteries and fuel cells).
This course discusses applications of electromagnetic and equivalent quantum mechanical principles to …
This course discusses applications of electromagnetic and equivalent quantum mechanical principles to classical and modern devices. It covers energy conversion and power flow in both macroscopic and quantum-scale electrical and electromechanical systems, including electric motors and generators, electric circuit elements, quantum tunneling structures and instruments. It studies photons as waves and particles and their interaction with matter in optoelectronic devices, including solar cells, displays, and lasers. The instructors would like to thank Scott Bradley, David Friend, Ta-Ming Shih, and Yasuhiro Shirasaki for helping to develop the course, and Kyle Hounsell, Ethan Koether, and Dmitri Megretski for their work preparing the lecture notes for OCW publication.
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