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Unit 3: Week 4: Activity 1
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Introduction: What materials come into your neighborhood, what leave it and how is it carried out? Understanding the cycle of materials helps us figure out where and why traffic is so bad, what is transported efficiently, what inefficiently, and what gets recycled.
Materials:
Moving
Materials Around the Neighborhood
Classroom Management:
This activity has two parts, and they can be done on separate days. The first is an overview of the function of transportation around the neighborhood, and the second is a hands-on activity of building a motor. If they are done on the same day, the survey can be treated as warm-up or motivator. You might decide to focus on the school, and have students survey school personnel for "imports" and "exports" that make up the school economy.
Activity Steps:
1. Brainstorm about moving materials:
What materials move around your neighborhood? Fill out the Moving Materials Around the Neighborhood form.
2. Enter the results in the Neighborhood database.
3. Build a motor
You can build a simple motor with very few parts.
- Try Building an Electric Motor found at http://www.meceng.uct.ac.za/~mec104w/projects/electricmotors/electricm otors.html
- or you can obtain a ElectroLab kit from http://www.smarterkids.com/product.asp?sku=02427
- or even a boat operated by an Electric Motor MiniLab (pictured below) at http://www.science-store.com/technology/electricity/te220.htm
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Extensions:
You can extend this survey to your house. Keep a log of what comes into and what leaves your house, and how it gets there. Post whatever you learn on your Neighborhood site.
Research the milestones in the development of motors.
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