Introduction
 You have been hired as a mechanical engineer to work
as team member for a company called Matercraft
Watersports Design, MWD. This company
manufactures a variety of different boat designs. In a
recent partnership with the town of Blacksburg, MWD
has acquired an abundance of recycled materials. They
are starting a new project in which these
recycled materials will be used for an
innovative boat design.
Challenge
 Your task is to use the technological design process to
invent a scale model of a self-propelled boat that can
transport materials back and forth from Conrad
Brother’s Marina to Rockhouse Marina.
Rock House Marina
Conrad Brother’s Marina
Materials
 Recycled Soda bottles (a variety of sizes and shapes)
 Recycled Styrofoam
 Recycled Plastic Containers
 Old CDs
 Rubber bands
 Ping-pong ball (to transport only)
 Hot Glue
 Scissors
Limitations
 The boat must transport a ping-pong ball a distance of





five feet in at least 30 seconds.
Your boat cannot be any longer than 10 inches.
The boat can only have one propeller.
Your boat can only be created from the materials
listed. Not all of the materials have to be used.
The ping pong ball cannot get wet.
Only one large rubber band can be used to spin the
propeller.
5 feet
Start
Finish
Related CTE Competencies: 8464
Applying the Design Process
•
038
039
Demonstrate safe use of tools and equipment.
Use measuring tools.
•
040
Evaluate a product in relation to the goal of design and potential improvement.
•
041
Design an improvement for an existing product.
•
042
Produce a model or prototype of an innovation design.
•
Designing Potential Products
•
043
Research technological systems and their related inventions.
•
044
Gather information about a potential invention or innovation.
•
045
Illustrate best ideas for developing an invention or an innovation.
•
047
Develop a plan to create a model of an invention or an innovation.
•
048
Prepare drawings to support the production of the invention or innovation
model.
•
049
Evaluate progress of the invention or innovation model.
•
050
Construct a model or a prototype.
•
051
Evaluate the model through assessment or the prototype through testing.
STEM
 Science: Matter, gravity, buoyancy, and density
 Technology: Choice of materials to solve a problem
“Technology is how humans modify the world around them to meet their
needs and wants or to solve practical problems”
ITEA’s Standards for Technology Literacy
 Engineering: Design of boat
 Math: Calculate speed (distance/time)
Self-Propelled Boat Examples
Self-Propelled Boat Examples
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVVtWFG8IIs&fea
ture=player_detailpage
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQLm6JY0pt0&fea
ture=player_detailpage