Ablative Shield Engineering -­‐ Parts 1 and 2 STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics STEM Classroom Series The STEM Classroom Series features lessons that promote understanding of STEM content knowledge, integrate STEM with non-­‐STEM subjects, and increase students’ exposure to STEM-­‐related career options. About This Segment Students in Britnie Powell’s 6th grade class are studying heat transfer. In these two segments, students engage in an engineering design challenge: each group will design an ablative shield that can withstand the heat of a blowtorch for three minutes so that a raw egg placed behind the shield isn’t scorched or cooked. Application activities (complete all that meet your goals for viewing this segment) A. Learn m ore about STEM education B. Replicate this activity • 1. In the table on the next page, identify the elements of effective instruction, as well as the elements of effective STEM instruction, that you observed in this activity. 1. What are the learning objectives you want your students to achieve? How would you modify the activity’s objectives, outlined in the activity plan below, for your own students and curriculum? What other objectives, if any, will you set? • 2. What content knowledge do you need to acquire or expand? In this activity students learn about heat transfer and thermal protection. To strengthen your background knowledge of related topics, visit the links in the Resources section of the activity plan. • 2. How could the teachers enhance or add to the elements of instruction in their activity? • • 3. How could the teachers enhance or add to the elements of STEM instruction? C. Infuse STEM principles into your own lessons 1. Apply the six questions in the “Replicate this lesson” activity to one of your own lessons. 2. Determine challenges you might face in applying these STEM concepts to your own lesson. How can you overcome these challenges? • 3. How will you create the time and space to engage students in this activity? How much time will this unit take to plan and carry out? How can you integrate its activities into the curriculum map for your students? 4. What materials and other resources do you need for this lesson? What resources are needed for this unit, including collaboration with other teachers and with administrators? See the Resources section. 5. How will you assess student learning? In addition to tallying activity points, the teacher assesses students’ written evaluation of their experiment, including what went well and what they could do better next time. How m ight a teacher formatively assess students during this task? 6. How can you promote a STEM focus in your instruction? Read through the “Elements of Effective STEM Instruction” text box on the next page. According to the list, what kinds of STEM experiences were students engaged in during this activity? What are some others that you could include? Guidebook – Ablative Shield Engineering -­‐ Parts 1 and 2 (cont.) Elements of Effective Instruction -
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High expectations for all students Rigorous content Authentic performance tasks Real-­‐time assessment adapted to student needs Student-­‐driven learning Strong relationships among students and between teacher and students Equitable, culturally relevant content and practices Evidence of 21st century skills, e.g. critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, creativity, communication Technology that enhances learning Cross-­‐curricular (interdisciplinary) integration Elements of Effective STEM Instruction In addition to the Elements of Effective Instruction left, effective STEM instruction can include: - Teachers who develop solid STEM-­‐related content knowledge - Hands-­‐on problem-­‐solving activities that have real-­‐world relevance - Integration of STEM into non-­‐STEM subjects, especially art and design - Use of industry-­‐standard software, tools, and procedures such as the engineering design cycle - Increased awareness of STEM fields and occupations, especially among underrepresented populations - Enthusiasm about further STEM-­‐related learning - Connections between in-­‐school and out-­‐of-­‐school learning opportunities - Industry and higher-­‐ed partnerships that encourage hands-­‐on student exploration of STEM-­‐related careers Sources: California Dept. of Education. (2015). Science, technology, engineering, & mathematics. Retrieved February 21st, 2015, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/stemintrod.asp President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). (2010). Prepare and inspire: K-­‐12 education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for America’s future. Retrieved from the Whitehouse.gov website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-stemed-report.pdf General STEM Information and Resources Utah STEM Action Center (n.d.). STEM Utah. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://stem.utah.gov/ California Department of Education (n.d.). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.cde.ca.gov/pd/ca/sc/stemintrod.asp National Education Association. (n.d.). The 10 best STEM resources: Science, technology, engineering & mathematics resources for preK-­‐12. Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/stem/ National Research Council. (2011). Successful K-­‐12 STEM Education: Identifying Effective Approaches in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.stemreports.com/wp-­‐
content/uploads/2011/06/NRC_STEM_2.pdf PBS Teachers. (n.d.). STEM education resource center. Retrieved March 23, 2015, from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/stem/ STEM Education Coalition (n.d.). Home page. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.stemedcoalition.org/ Ablative Shield Engineering – Part 1 Activity Plan Teacher: Britnie Powell Grade/Content Area: 6th Science School: Salt Lake Center for Science Education, SLC, Utah Activity Duration: 2 hours Objective Students will apply their understanding of heat transfer to an engineering challenge in which they will design an ablative shield that can withstand the heat of blowtorch for three minutes. Key Concepts and Vocabulary (See below for online resources that support content knowledge) • Ablation, radiation, conduction, convection, heat transfer Standards • Investigate ablative thermal protection systems in action. • Record, evaluate, and communicate data. Assessment •
To begin with, each group received 100 credits (points) with which to purchase supplies. (See scoring sheet at the end of this document.) •
If the egg survived with no scorching and no cooking on the inside, the group was awarded 200 points. •
If the egg had light scorching and a minimal amount of cooking on the inside, the group was awarded 100 points. •
Significant scorching and cooking resulted in zero survival points. •
(Unused credit points x 2) + survival points = final score. Prior Knowledge Students should understand how heat energy is transferred through conduction, convection, and radiation. Students should also understand heat conductors and heat insulators. Materials • Ablative shield engineering challenge sheet Materials for ablative shields: • Spackle • Ablative shield score sheet • Lasagna noodles • Raw eggs – 1 per group • Steel wool • 2 propane tanks with igniters • Cotton balls • 2 pre-­‐fabricated test stands • Cork • Container for broken eggs • Timer • Safety goggles • Science journals and pencils • Cardstock • Graph paper • Acrylic yarn • Felt • Fabric • Aluminum foil • Aluminum mesh *The Ablative Shield Engineering Challenge has been detailed and laid out, step by step, at the end of this document. Activity Plan – Ablative Shield Engineering – Part 1 (cont.) Procedures 1. Open class with a discussion about heat transfer, thermal protection systems, and their use. 2. Hand out Ablative Shield Engineer Challenge instructions and score sheets. Review together as a class. 3. Give students time to brainstorm shield designs on their own. 4. Divide students into groups. Each student group must create a labeled sketch, agree upon a list of materials, and build their ablative shield. 5. Test ablative shields outside. Students record their observations of each test in their science journals. 6. After each shield has been tested, the class returns to the classroom and each group tallies the points they have earned. See the Assessment section on the previous page. Detailed notes for classroom discussion and instructions for the ablative shield activity, along with a score sheet, can be found at the end of this document. Resources to Support Content Knowledge Wisc-­‐online. (n.d.). Heat transfer: Conduction, convection, radiation. [Video file]. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from https://www.wisc-­‐online.com/learn/natural-­‐science/earth-­‐science/sce304/heat-­‐transfer-­‐conduction-­‐convection-­‐
radiation Outen, E. (2009, February 3). To the extreme: NASA tests heat shield materials. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/orion-­‐tps.html Related Video Lessons and Resources 9th–12th grade STEM: Investigating the efficiency of insulation. Edivate. https://www.pd360.com/#resources/videos/10772 11th–12th grade chemistry: Investigating thermodynamics 1: Melting ice. Edivate. https://www.pd360.com/#resources/videos/7669 11th–12th grade chemistry: Investigating thermodynamics 2: Burning marshmallows. Edivate. https://www.pd360.com/#resources/videos/7670 ©2016 School Improvement Network Ablative Shield Engineering – Part 2 Activity Plan Teacher: Britnie Powell Grade/Content Area: 6th Science School: Salt Lake Center for Science Education, SLC, Utah Activity Duration: 1.5 hours Objective • Students will evaluate the effectiveness of their shield and identify changes for the re-­‐design. • Students will work collaboratively to design and build a new shield. • Students will present their findings and conclusions to the class. Key Concepts and Vocabulary (See below for online resources that support content knowledge) Ablation, radiation, conduction, convection, heat transfer Standards • Investigate ablative thermal protection systems in action. • Record, evaluate, and communicate data. Assessment Student groups create and give a presentation that summarizes their designs, the results, and their reflections. They also share their feelings about the engineering process, including what went well and what they’d like to do better next time. Prior Knowledge Students should understand how heat energy is transferred through conduction, convection, and radiation. Students should understand how ablative shield technology works. In the previous lesson, student groups have built and tested their own ablative shields. They will use their observations and experience to re-­‐design the shield and test it again. Materials • Ablative shield engineering challenge sheet Materials for ablative shields: • Spackle • Ablative shield score sheet • Lasagna noodles • Raw eggs – 1 per group • Steel wool • 2 propane tanks with igniters • Cotton balls • 2 pre-­‐fabricated test stands • Cork • Container for broken eggs • Timer • Safety goggles • Cardstock • Graph paper • Acrylic yarn • Felt • Science journals and pencils • Fabric • Post-­‐it notes and folders • Aluminum foil • Aluminum mesh *The Ablative Shield Engineering Challenge has been detailed and laid out, step by step, at the end of this document. Activity Plan – Ablative Shield Engineering – Part 2 (cont.) Procedures 1. Student groups discuss the results of their first test and evaluate the changes they’ll need to make for their second design. 2. Student groups collaborate to design and build their second shield. 3. Teacher and students test the shields outside as before. (See previous pages.) 4. The class returns to the classroom and student groups debrief, discussing what worked, what did not, the challenges they encountered, and what they would do differently in future engineering challenges. Students again tally their points. 5. Each group presents the conclusions of their debrief to the class. Detailed notes for classroom discussion and instructions for the ablative shield activity, along with a score sheet, can be found at the end of this document. Resources to Support Content Knowledge The Physics Classroom. (n.d.). Methods of heat transfer. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/thermalP/Lesson-­‐1/Methods-­‐of-­‐Heat-­‐Transfer Siemens Science Day. (n.d.). Hands-­‐on science activities. Retrieved March 22, 2016, from http://www.siemensscienceday.com/activities/hands-­‐on-­‐science-­‐activities.cfm Related Video Lessons and Resources 6th grade STEM: Collecting data about food waste at school. Edivate. https://www.pd360.com/#resources/videos/10420 6th grade STEM: Composting food waste in soda bottles. Edivate. https://www.pd360.com/#resources/videos/10417 ©2016 School Improvement Network Ablative Shielding Challenge adapted by Britnie Powell Overview As a culmination to the heat energy unit, students will use what they have learned in the Ablative Shielding Engineering Challenge. Students will work in teams to construct an ablation shield in order to prevent the cooking or scorching of an egg. Teams will spend points based on the materials they use in the construction of their shield and can earn points based on the effectiveness of their shield. Students will then debrief and discuss their designs, what they have learned, and what they would do in a re-­‐design. Research-­‐Based Model: John Dewey’s Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC) “We don’t learn from experience alone, we learning from thinking about our experiences.” • Briefing (Introduction) • Experience (Activity) • Reflection (What happened) • Debriefing (What does it mean? Why is it important?) • Application (How can we use it? What else do we need to understand?) Science Content Standards that apply • Utah Standard 6 Objective 1 o Students will investigate the movement of heat between objects by conduction, convection, and radiation. o Students will compare materials that conduct heat to materials that insulate the transfer of heat energy. o Students will design and conduct an investigation on the movement of heat energy. • Utah Intended Learning Outcomes for Sixth Grade Science o Use Science Process and Thinking Skills o Understand Science Concepts and Principles o Communicate Effectively Using Science Language and Reasoning • Engineering Standards -­‐ Specific engineering standards haven’t been released for 6th grade yet, but are due to roll out in the next few years. Students will be expected to engage in the engineering process (Identifying the problem/challenge, designing a prototype, testing a prototype, evaluating, re-­‐design, re-­‐test, etc.) Required Prior Knowledge Conduction: Heat travels through solids by conduction. Some objects are better conductors of heat than others. During the design challenge, more contact between objects means more heat transfer through conduction. One example of conduction is leaving a metal spoon in a pot of boiling soup; while initially cool to the touch, the handle can burn you if the heat is allowed to travel up the length of the spoon. Convection: Heat moves through fluids through convection. “Fluids” are matter that conforms to the shape of its container (e.g., liquids and gases, like water or air). As the fluid warms, it expands; the same mass now takes up a greater volume, meaning it becomes less dense. The warmer, less dense material rises or floats to the top of the fluid and the denser, cooler fluid moves down to take its place. During the challenge, convection can help to carry heat away. Convection currents are responsible for weather patterns and how hot air balloons function. As a side note, convection cannot happen in microgravity. Without gravity nothing rises or sinks, regardless of relative density. Special fans are required to cool computer equipment and to warm food, as air of different temperatures will not circulate on its own. Radiation: Heat also travels in waves, or through radiation. Radiant energy (like from a radiator) is how energy from the sun warms the Earth, despite the 93 million miles of the vacuum of space that lie in between. • If you are near a hot object and you touch it and get burned, that is Conduction. • If you feel the warm air currents rising from it, that is Convection. • If you are near enough to the heat source to feel the warmth on your skin, even though the air is still, that is Radiation. Conductors: Materials that allow the transfer of heat to happen. Insulators: Materials that slow the transfer of heat. Materials for the Engineering Challenge 2 prefabricated test stands 2 propane tanks with igniters Eggs – 1 per group Aluminum mesh – large hole steel and aluminum screen Felt Cotton fabric and balls Aluminum foil Joint compound (spackle) Paper-­‐ poster board and thin Lasagna Cork Steel wool Timer Safety goggles Small bowls or plates Scissors Ruler Pencils Yarn Science lab journals
Resources • Reader on thermal protection systems – 1 copy per student. The reader covers the following: o Spacecraft travel at 17,500 mph. o When spacecraft reenters, it uses the air to help it slow down, which heats the air immediately around the orbiter to temperatures of in excel of 3,000 degrees F (hot enough to melt steel). o So what prevents the spacecraft from melting? Tiles! About 24,000 and NOMEX blankets – white blankets made of coated NOMEX felt that can protect up to temperatures of 700 degrees F. o The tiles come in three colors – each one withstanding differing amounts of heat. White tiles withstand heat up to about 1,200 degrees F, black tiles up to 2,300 F, and gray tiles up to about 3,600 F. Tiles are located on the spacecraft based on the amount of heat the area receives upon re-­‐entry. o The shuttle thermal protection system is reusable. The tiles are like marshmallows made of glass, sand, and air (a marshmallow is basically a ball of sugar puffed up with air). The thermal protection system tiles are similar; microscopic air pockets make the glass tile lighter than Styrofoam but highly resistant to heat. o In the Apollo era, capsules did not fly in the same way during return. This difference caused them to have to protect the interior of the command module from the extreme temperatures that would be encountered during a mission. The purpose of this heat shield was to protect the crew from the fiery heat of re-­‐entry—heat so intense that it melts most metals. The ablative material making up the shield is a phenolic epoxy resin, a type of reinforced plastic. This material turns white-­‐hot, chars, and then flakes away, taking the heat with it. The shield varied in thickness from ½ to 2 ¾ inches thick and weighed about 3,000 pounds. o Both of these thermal protection systems were effective, and their ideas can help you in today’s challenge. • Ablation Shield Score Sheet – 1 per team Engineering Challenge Design Challenge Students will design a Thermal Protection System using the materials available on the table. Present each material to the students. All materials should be cut to size, except the yarn. In order to be successful, students will need to apply what they have learned about conduction, convection, radiation, conductors, and insulators. Thermal Protection System Size Requirements Shields can be no thicker than a standard pencil (1/4”). Students can check the size of their shield by seeing if it will fit under a ruler placed across two parallel pencils lying flat on a table. Each shield will be secured to the test stand and a raw egg will be placed behind it on the stand. The shields will be subjected to 3 minutes of heat from the blowtorch. Eggs will then be removed from the stand and cracked to see how much cooking, if any, occurred. Scoring Build Credits: • The team that can build a working shield for the least expense (the “lowest bidder”) is at an advantage. • Teams will receive bonus points for any unused credits times 2 (If they used 75 points of their 100 build credits, they have 25 points left over. 25 unspent points x 2 = 50 unused credit bonus points.) Survival: • Award 200 points for survival if the inside is uncooked and the shell is unscorched. • Award 100 points if the shell is lightly scorched and/or the inside has a cooked mass smaller than your pinky fingernail. • Award 0 points if the shell is cracked or blackened or the egg has a cooked mass inside that is larger than your pinky fingernail. Objectives: Review and post objectives on board • You need to design, build, and test a Thermal Protection System. • You need to be able to justify your design using your understanding of the concepts learned throughout the heat transfer unit. • You need to observe and evaluate the effectiveness of your shield and identify changes you would make when re-­‐
designing. Design Time (5-­‐10 min) Give students score sheet and a budget of 100 credits to purchase materials. They will be responsible for keeping track of what was spent on the score sheet. Leftover credits will apply to their score, but they should build with the intent of protecting the egg. Students need to work with their team to design their shield, talking about what materials they think they want to use and why. Teacher should circulate, answer questions, make sure students are on task, and ask students to justify why they are using certain materials in order to assess student understanding of heat transfer concepts, etc. Gathering Materials (5 min.) A representative from each group goes to the supplies table to gather the supplies for the design the group has already decided upon. In order to get supplies, the representative must have a labeled sketch and a price sheet (filled out) in his/her hand. Build Time (20 min.) Students need to work as a team to build their shield and be sure it meets the size requirements. Teacher should circulate, answer questions, make sure students are on task, and ask students to justify why they are using certain materials in order to assess student understanding of heat transfer concepts, etc. Once their shield is done, students need to record their work in their lab book. They need to draw a labeled diagram of their design and explain why they selected the materials they did. They also need to use vocabulary words from the word bank on the board in their justifications (conduction, radiation, convection, ablation, reflection, conductor, insulator, heat transfer). Test (approx. 3 min of test time per group plus 2 min for discussion of material choices and checking of egg status per team) Teacher should set up a perimeter of orange cones a few feet from the torch stand. Only the teacher should be allowed inside the perimeter. The teacher will conduct the test. Students will stand around the outside of the cones with their goggles on and take notes as each shield is tested, observing which materials worked well and which didn’t. Each shield is submitted to 3 minutes of heat from the blowtorch. When the egg cools, crack it open and check the interior. See above for scoring. Debrief (10 min.) Teacher assesses learning based on what students share. • Reflect: Have groups present how they built their shield. • Debrief: Discuss what worked and what did not and why. • Application: Discuss with group what you would do differently next time. Students need to record their conclusions in their lab book-­‐ what worked and what didn’t and why. They also need to include a labeled diagram of a re-­‐designed Thermal Protection System. Assessment: This entire challenge is an assessment. (Students are completing this challenge at the end of the unit.) Their designs and justifications for materials used will help the teacher assess what students understood from the unit. • Lab books and data sheets will be collected at the end of class for teacher to assess. • Debrief discussion will allow for the teacher to assess student learning. • During the design and build, the teacher will be asking students questions, and through those questions will be able to assess student understanding of content and objectives. Safety • Be sure to set up the orange cones to keep trainees back. • NEVER burn TPS indoors. References: USSRC Proprietary-­‐ http://spaceacademy4educators.wikispaces.com/Space+Academy+for+Educators+Content Boeing employees: Carista Brake and Jason Powell Melissa Snider Mary Mast From Julie Clift, Earth to Orbit http://edc.nasa.gov/ Jason Jirsa. Education Specialist, USSRC. 2005. jasonj@spacecamp.com Ablative Shield Scoring Sheet Team Name __________________________________________________________ Budget: 100 credits Supply Cost How many = Total Large aluminum mesh 30 x Spackle 30 x Lasagna noodles 30 x Cotton balls 30 x Steel wool 15 x Cork 15 x Cardstock paper 5 x Graph paper 5 x Acrylic yarn 5 x Felt 5 x Fabric 5 x Aluminum foil 5 x Total Credits Used: Survival points: 200 100 0 Unused credits x 2: Challenge total credits (points): No scorching on shell; no cooking on the inside Light scorching on shell; inside has cooked but cooked mass is less than the size of pinky fingernail Shell is cracked or blackened; inside has cooked and the cooked portion is larger than a pinky fingernail