Engineering Design - Science Inquiry
Team Members ____________________________
_____________________________________________
Microscope Project
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Part I- Microscope Design
Problem: Design something, using only the supplies listed below, that lets you see small objects more
clearly.
Constraints:
Supplies:
 Two magnifying glasses
 Construction paper
 Clear tape
 Scissors
Brainstorming- Design Sketches:
(insert photos of your sketches here)
Trial I****Which sketch will you try first? Why? How did your team decide?
How effective was your design? Did you solve your problem? Is it possible that there is more than one
way to solve the problem? If so, how else could this problem be solved? (insert sketches if available).
Peer evaluation:
Rank your classmate’s design
Question
How effective was the design?
Did the team solve the problem?
Did they show other ways to
solve the problem?
Did they try other ways to solve
the problem?
Yes/Very (explain why)
No/Not so much (explain why)
Trial II****Which sketch did you try this time? Why? How did your team decide?
How effective was your design? Did you solve your problem? Was this design more or less effective than
the first? Why? How?
Peer evaluation:
Rank your classmate’s design
Question
Yes (explain why)
How effective was the design?
Did the team solve the problem?
Did they show other ways to
solve the problem?
Did they try other ways to solve
the problem?
Explain how your design works. What is the roll of each part?
No (explain why)
Part II- How Does It Work?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Have a team member hold up a sheet of newspaper so that it is at your eye level.
Stand about 1 yard (1 m) away from the newspaper.
Hold one magnifying lens in each hand.
Move the lens in your left hand in front of your left eye.
Close your right eye and look through the lens at the newspaper with your left eye.
Observe the letters as seen through the single lens.
Place the second lens directly in front the first lens.
Describe the letters as seen through two lenses.
9. Slowly move the second lens away from your eye and toward the newspaper until a clear image is
seen.
10. Describe the image seen through the separated lenses.
11. Continue to look at the newspaper while your teammate slowly moves the newspaper about 2
inches (5 cm) to the right.
12. Note the direction the paper appears to move when viewed through the lenses.
What is happening? Could what you just discovered impact your design from Part I? How? Why?
Trial III****Using the same supplies as in Part I, design something that will let you see small objects
more clearly.
How effective was your design? Did you solve your problem? Was this design more or less effective than
those from Parts I and II? Why/Why not? How?
Part III- Design Comparison
Which of your designs (from Parts I, II, and III) was the most effective? Why?
(Insert a figure of your most effective design below)
Now, compare the design idea described below, to your own design. What are the similarities? What are
the differences?
1. Wrap a stiff piece of paper such as a file
folder around the outside edge of a magnifying
lens.
2. Cut a slit in the paper for the handle of the
lens. Secure the paper to the lens with masking
tape, and then tape the sides of the paper
together to form a tube.
3. Cut a small window out of the bottom edge
of the tube beneath the handle to allow light to
enter.
4. On the side opposite the handle, cut out a
section that is just wide enough for the handle
of a second magnifying lens to slip through and
long enough for it to move up and down easily.
5. Place the second lens inside the tube so that
the lens handle sticks out.
6. Stand the paper tube on the object being
viewed.
7. Hold the upper handle to keep the model steady as you move the lower lens up and down to focus
(produce a sharp, clear image).
Now, build the design illustrated above.
What do you notice about the images produced? Answer the question and sketch an example below (or
sketch on a piece of paper and import the image).
Part IV- Microscope Magnification
Problem: Design a microscope with the greatest magnification possible.
Constraints:
Supplies:
 Two magnifying glasses
 Construction paper
 Clear tape
 Scissors
 Other lenses (possibly)
 Small, plastic ruler
Brainstorming. How can you change your design to increase magnification? Is that possible? How are
you going to quantify (measure with numbers) the strength of your microscope?
Evidence: How strong is your microscope? Use photographs, measurements, and mathematical
expressions to back up your claims.
Peer Evaluation:
Your design must be evaluated by another team. Show them your design sketches, actual model,
photographs, and calculations. Does it all “add up”?
Yes (explain why)
Design sketches match the model
Actual model is constructed
Photographs are present
Measurements are included
Calculations are clear and
accurate.
No (explain why not)
Final Report
Paragraph one: What is the problem that you were trying to solve? Why is this an important problem to
solve? Do some research. Give me some history. I want to know the key developments and the key
players (people). List your sources below.
Paragraph two: Reflect upon what you learned in part II. As well, take a look at the image in the
reference section. Explain how a microscope works. What is the function of each part. You may list the
functions using bullet points. However, the explanation needs to be in full sentences. You may need to do
a bit of research. List your sources below.
Paragraph three: How effective was each of your designs (you should have tried three)? Which worked
the best? Why do you think this is so? Why did you change your designs? How is “the first microscope
ever made” different from the microscopes that we use today? You will need to do some research to
answer this question. List your sources below.
Paragraph four: What was the greatest magnification that you were able to achieve with your design?
How do you know that you achieved this magnification? (In other words, prove it.) To increase the
magnification of your microscope, what would you have to do? What is the strongest (highest resolution)
we can currently achieve with a microscope? How does this type of microscope work? What can we see
with this type of microscope? Why would we want to see these things? You will need to do some
research. List your sources below.
Sources/References:
VanCleave, Janice. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. “Doubles: How do objects look through a compound
microscope?” http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/doubles/
Betsy, Dr. Tom and Keogh, Jim. 2005. Microbiology Demystified . McGraw-Hill Publishing
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Microscope
Engineering Design
Science Inquiry
Team Score
Self
Score
Meets Standard
(5 to 4)
Part I
All sections completed
(with high effort)
Part II
All
Most
Far Below
Standard
(1 to 0)
Some sections
completed (or
average to low
effort in the
section)
Some
Part III
All
Most
Some
Part IV
All
Most
Some
General
Formatting
-Appropriate page
breaks
-Appropriate file name
Most items followed
Some items
followed
Period_Microscope_Lastnames
-Correct spelling and
grammar
-Concluding paragraph
authors are clear
-Project is in student’s
science folder
-Project is completed
on time
Approaching
Standard
(3 to 2)
Most sections
completed (w/ high
to average effort)
Teacher
Score
Individual Score
Self
Score
Meets Standard
(10 to 9)
Paragraph #
________________
Paragraph #
_______________
-It is clear which
paragraph you wrote
-Thoroughly answers
all questions
-Research conducted
-Paragraph flows (has
a topic sentence,
supporting evidence,
transitions)
-It is clear which
paragraph you wrote
-Thoroughly answers
all questions
-Research conducted
-Paragraph flows (has
a topic sentence,
supporting evidence,
transitions)
Approaching
Standard
(8 to 7)
- More than one
item from the
“meets standard”
column was not
fully completed
Far Below
Standard
(6 or below)
-One or more
items from the
“meets standard”
column are not
fully completed
AND/OR are
missing.
- More than one
item from the
“meets standard”
column was not
fully completed
-One or more
items from the
“meets standard”
column are not
fully completed
AND/OR are
missing.
Teacher
Score