Wednesday, April 15th: Collision Challenge (2-days)

Collision Challenge

A real-world effect of Newton’s 3^rd Law of Motion is collisions.  A collision is a crash.  Sometimes, when two objects hit each other, damage occurs because of the force that both objects give.  Below are examples of different types of collisions:

Car vs. Car	Athlete vs. Athlete

Skateboarder vs. Ground	Human vs. Water

What are some other kinds of collisions that you can think of?

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Moon Landing 

Landing a vehicle on a moon or planet is another type of collision.  This is a type of collision that NASA engineers spend LOTS of time and millions of dollars trying to manage.  When a ship lands on a moon or planet (or back on Earth), the “crash” needs to be gentle.  If not, expensive equipment could get damaged and  crew members could get hurt or even die. 

Today you are going to take on the role of a NASA engineer.  The “crew members” and “equipment” will be modeled by a water balloon.

You must design and build a landing vehicle that can survive a crash without breaking the balloon. 

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Moon Lander Design Challenge Rules:
**You should have gotten water balloons attached to your paper packet at school or in the mail.  If you didn't get them, send me a message ASAP: adolan@hccs481.org. **

The water balloon must be filled with water as full as you can get it without breaking.

You may use any materials that you have at your house.  (Make sure you get parents’ permission first!)

Your “lander” must be dropped from as high as you can safely get it.  At the very least, stand on a chair and lift your arm as high as possible. 

Example:

Thanks to Josh for pioneering this challenge for us as an example!  It look him several attempts. That's ok!  Engineering is all about trial and error, success and failure. 

Trial #1

Trial #2

Trial #3

Trial #4

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What you need to send to Ms. Dolan:

1.  Draw your design.  Label all the materials that you used.

2.  Describe your thinking process.  Be REALLY detailed.  Explain why you chose the materials you did.  Explain why you placed materials where you did.

3. Take a picture or video as you test your design, if possible.

4. Describe what happened when you tested your lander.  Be REALLY descriptive. 

5. Reflect:  Describe what went well.  Describe what didn't go well.  Describe what you would do differently if you were to try a new design. 

Click here for a PDF version of challenge, rules, and recording pages.

YOU HAVE UNTIL FRIDAY TO COMPLETE THIS TASK.

I'll will be sharing photos and videos with the class.  Please let me know if you don't want me to share your photo or video.