Challenge: to design a rubber band car out of simple materials that will travel a distance of at least 3 meters within a 1 meter wide track Piece of corrugated cardboard 4 plastic plates 4 rubber bands 3 unsharpened pencils 4 metal paperclips 16 thumbtacks Scissors Masking tape

No sling-shot cars!

RUBBER BAND RACERS

Partner-read “Student Reference Sheets” In groups, meet and develop a plan for your car

One “Student Worksheet” per group Use plain white paper to doodle/make sketches Draw agreed-upon design on “Student Worksheet”,

determine materials neededBe prepared to present your initial design to class on

Friday

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 1

Each team presents its initial design to class Feedback: Begin with “What I like about your design

is…” Pay attention to and learn from other teams to inform your

redesignTeams redesign to incorporate feedback Journal Entry

Sketch of your revised initial design, including labels for parts

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 2

Reconvene your group Share additional design ideas, research with your

teammates Decide on revised design

Journal entry Prompt: “What I am curious about this week in science is

how my team’s design for a rubber band racer will perform…” Title: Rubber Band Racer Design

Describe the design Sketch the diagram, label parts

Gallery Walk One member of each team remains at table Others visit other teams to learn from their design ideas Reconvene your group to share what you learned from other

teams

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 3

Only “A-seat” students get materials for their groups Fulfi ll your trading obligations – give away what you promised

you would give away, request the materials you were promised on Wednesday during ‘trading’ activity Notice variation in rubber bands; another opportunity to trade?

Build your rubber band racer as designed You will be reusing as much of the materials in your redesign,

so do not destroy your materials in this construction phase ! During construction you may decide you need additional

materials or that your design needs to change Designate 1 person in your group who will circulate amongst other

groups to see if he/she can locate and procure that additional material

In journals, make sure every one in group makes a new sketch and revises their materials list

Write your names somewhere on your car, put it in the area designated by block; write team initials on cups of extras

Finalizing construction tomorrow!

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 4 – CONSTRUCTION!

15 minutes: Final construction of racersTest it!

Must travel 3m within a 1m wide track Collect data (yes, use the stop watch on your phone),

calculate car’s speed (distance traveled per unit of time, or S=d/t)

Observe tests of other teams and how their different designs worked

Reconvene your team; evaluate your team’s results; redesign your racer; record it in each journal

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 5COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION & TEST

Rubber band car data

Distance traveled within track (m)

Time traveled within track (S)

Speed (m/S)

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Average

Reconvene your groupEvaluate your initial design by answering these

questions as a group Did you succeed in creating a rubber band car that traveled

3m within the track? If so, how far did it travel, and what made it succeed? If not, why did it fail?

What designs or methods did you see other teams try that you thought worked well?

To do it over again, how would your planned design change? Why? What would it look like? What materials would you use?

In your journals, write an entry responding to the “What I learned this week in science is…” using your answers to the above questions. Make a sketch.

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 6EVALUATE & REDESIGN

Take 15 minutes: To make final decisions with your group about your FINAL

design Write down those decisions and sketch of final design in

your journalBuild your racers! Round 2

Feel free to trade materials In Journals, make sure you have written down your final list

of materials If you have made any last-minute tweaks to your design as

you construct, be sure to document those changes in your journal

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 7

Build your racers! Round 2 Feel free to trade materials In Journals, make sure you have written down your final list

of materials If you have made any last-minute tweaks to your design as

you construct, be sure to document those changes in your journal

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 8

10 minutes: Final construction of racersTest it!

Must travel 3m within a 1m wide track Collect data (yes, use the stop watch on your phone),

calculate car’s speed (distance traveled per unit of time, or S=d/t)

Observe tests of other teams and how their different designs worked

Reconvene your team; begin to evaluate your team’s results

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 9TEST!

Rubber band car data

Distance traveled within track (m)

Time traveled within track (S)

Speed (m/S)

Test 1

Test 2

Test 3

Average

In groups, evaluate your team’s results by discussing answers to specific prompts

Proceed prompt by prompt First discuss your response with your group Write your response in your journal

Number your response based on the Prompt number Use complete sentences so the reader does not need to look up

the original prompts See handout for the prompts (page 16 of your science

binder) Decide who on your team will present each prompt – make it

as evenly distributed as possiblePick some one on your team to serve as the offi cial

artist; this person will draw a diagram of your final tested design

Be prepared to present the evaluation on Monday!

RUBBER BAND RACERS – DAY 10EVALUATE & COMMUNICATE

Using prompts on Evaluation handout (page 16 of your science binder), prepare a formal report that communicates your evaluation Times New Roman, 12 point font 1-inch margins, double-spaced

Be sure to use the rubric to guide your writing of each response Focus/topic sentence Specific examples Detailed explanations Concluding sentence

Work on this today and tomorrow in lab, due next Wed 10/29

Save on your Google Drive or on Copper Drive

RUBBER BAND RACERSEVALUATE & COMMUNICATE

Final report due Wed 10/29 at beginning of class. Five (5) points deducted from earned grade for every day

lateBefore turning it in, be sure you…

Look again at rubric and evaluate your draft; revise it! Proofread for spelling and grammar Include non-text requirements

Data tables (one for first model, one for second model) Plot graph Two diagrams (one of your final design, one of your ideal design)

To turn it in: Print it and bring it with you no later than 10/29; OR “Share it” through Google:

lisa.milligan@weymouthschools.org Separately, turn in your data tables, graph, and diagrams by

due date

RUBBER BAND RACERSCOMMUNICATE