KEEPING IT COOL
SLED Summer Institute 2014
Introduction to
Experimental Design and Engineering Design
Warming Water
Two friends put a bowl of very cold water outside on a
hot sunny day. The Sun warmed the water. They
wondered about the energy of the water. This is what
they thought:
Ted: “The very cold water had energy. The Sun
provided additional energy to warm the water.”
Anna: “The very cold water did not have energy.
The energy in the warm water came from
the Sun.”
Which friend has the best idea? Explain why you agree
with one friend and not the other.
Temperature, Heat, and Thermal Energy
Temperature is the measure of average kinetic energy of
the particles that make up the object, substance, or
material.
Heat is the amount of thermal energy that is transferred
between two objects.
Thermal energy is the amount of kinetic and potential
energy in an object or material.
Which has more thermal energy?
Children’s Alternative Conceptions about
Heat and Heat Transfer
1. Cold is a substance that moves.
2. Heat is a substance that rises.
3. Heat is a substance like a fluid, made of
4.
5.
6.
7.
particles.
Larger ice cubes are colder than smaller ones.
Metal is cold, plastic and wood are warmer.
Aluminum traps “coldness”; metals hold “cold”.
Sweaters warm things.
(Albert, 1978; Clough & Driver, 1985; Erickson, 1979; Erickson, 1980)
What elementary school students need to
know about heat?
Students can:
• Observe how heat spreads from one object
to another and can consider ways to
increase or decrease the spreading of heat.
• Wonder where the energy comes from that
makes things happen.
You are going on a field trip and must pack a
lunch to take with you. You put a bottle of
cold water in your lunch bag in the morning,
but when you opened your lunch later that
day the drink was warm!
What happened?
Guiding question
Which materials can keep a cup of cold
water cold?
Materials include:
• Aluminum foil
• Bubble wrap
• Wool felt
• Newspaper
Notebook entry
• Guiding question
• Prediction
• Procedure
• IV, DV, Control
• Data
• Results
• Conclusion
Word Bank
Heat
Cold(er)
Warm(er)
Temperature
Increase
Decrease
Transfer
Present results
• What were your team’s predictions?
• What were your team’s results?
• How can you explain your results?
Design Challenge
The Boiler Treat Company (BTC) has started an ice cream
flavor of the month club. Each month they will send club
members a cup of their latest flavor of ice cream. The ice
cream will be shipped overnight to the customer (taking up
to 24 hours). BTC would like you to design a way to
insulate a box that would keep the ice cream cups
(represented by ice cubes) from melting. Also, they would
like you to calculate the cost to insulate the box.
Design constraints include:
• The size of the box
• The materials available
Notebook Entry
• Problem (goal, criteria, constraints, client,
end user)
• Individual Plan
• Team Plan
• Data Table
• Results from testing with
an explanation
• Re-design
Word Bank
Heat
Cold(er)
Warm(er)
Temperature
Increase
Decrease
Transfer
Organizing your data
Description
A
B
C
D
Mass of two empty cups
Mass of two cups with ice
Mass of ice [B – A]
Mass of two cups with ice*
E Mass of remaining ice [D – A]
* Remove any water from cup(s)
Mass
(g)
Communicate Results
• Present your team plan
• Share results from performance testing
• Did your team meet the client’s needs?
• Based on what evidence?
• What is one strength of your design?
• What is one weakness of your design?
What is the Engineering Design Process?
Design is the approach engineers use to
solve engineering problems—generally, to
determine the best way to make a device or
process that serves a particular purpose.
• Design is not a linear, step-by-step
process.
• Design is an iterative process.
SLED Model for Engineering Design
IDENTIFY
PROBLEM
IMPROVE AND
RETEST
COMMUNICATE
RESULTS
SHARE AND
DEVELOP A
PLAN
CREATE AND
TEST
What is the problem?
What is the setting?
Who is the user or client?
What are the constraints?
IDENTIFY
PROBLEM
How will you improve
your solution?
What are the results from
your retest?
Which solution best
addressed the problem?
IMPROVE AND
RETEST
COMMUNICATE
RESULTS
GATHER
FEEDBACK
How did your model, prototype, or solution perform?
What were your results?
What feedback did your team receive?
How will you use this feedback to inform your model or
solution?
What kinds of scientific concepts could explain your results?
SHARE AND
DEVELOP A
PLAN
What are your ideas?
What are others’ ideas?
What materials will you
need?
What will your team
measure?
How might your
scientific knowledge
inform your design?
CREATE AND
TEST
How will your team create a prototype, model, or
solution?
Does your solution match the team’s plan?
How will you record results from testing?
What kinds of scientific concepts could explain
your results?
Essential Features of Design-based
Instruction
1. Client-driven and goal-oriented
2. Constraints
3. Authentic and has a social context
4. Use of materials, tools, and equipment that are
familiar to students
5. Allows for many different possible solutions
that require students to use evidence to
explain their solutions
6. Solutions include either an artifact or process
7. Promotes student-centered, collaborative
learning
Today’s Big Ideas
• Heat transfers in predictable ways.
• Heat transfers from areas of high temperatures to
areas of lower temperature.
• Insulators slow down the rate of heat transfer.
• Materials affect the rate of heat transfer.
• Different materials vary in their ability to reduce
heat transfer.
• Materials can be used in conjunction with one
another to affect the rate of heat transfer.
Today’s Science Content
• Heat
• Temperature
• Heat transfer
• Insulator
Deconstructing Today’s Lesson
• To what extent did we engage in practices
similar to the work of a scientist?
• To what extent did we engage in practices
similar to the work of an engineer?
Instructional Activities
Engineering Design
(Engineering Practices)
Experimental Design
(Science Practices)
• Guiding question
• Developed an
•
•
•
•
experimental procedure
Identified variables
(independent and
dependent)
Gathered, organized, and
presented data
Analyzed and interpreted
the data
Made claims based on
evidence
•
•
•
•
•
•
Identified the problem
Goal-oriented
Worked within constraints
Set criteria
Brainstormed solutions
Developed an individual and
team plan
• Constructed, tested, and
analyzed the performance of
your prototype
• Communicated results
• Re-designed
Heat Transfer Assessment
1. You pick up a can of soda off of the countertop. The
countertop underneath the can feels colder than the rest
of the counter. Which explanation do you think is the
best?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The cold has been transferred from the soda to the
counter.
There is no heat energy left in the counter beneath
the can.
Some heat has been transferred from the counter to
the soda.
The heat beneath the can moves away into other
parts of the countertop.
Answer
1. You pick up a can of soda off of the countertop. The
countertop underneath the can feels colder than the rest
of the counter. Which explanation do you think is the
best?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The cold has been transferred from the soda to the
counter.
There is no heat energy left in the counter beneath
the can.
Some heat has been transferred from the
counter to the soda.
The heat beneath the can moves away into other
parts of the countertop.
2. After cooking an egg in boiling water, you cool the egg
by putting it into a bowl of cold water. Which of the
following explains the egg’s cooling process?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Temperature is transferred from the egg to the
water.
Cold moves from the water into the egg.
Energy is transferred from the water to the egg.
Energy is transferred from the egg to the water.
Answer
2. After cooking an egg in boiling water, you cool the egg
by putting it into a bowl of cold water. Which of the
following explains the egg’s cooling process?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Temperature is transferred from the egg to the
water.
Cold moves from the water into the egg.
Energy is transferred from the water to the egg.
Energy is transferred from the egg to the water.
27
3. Why do we wear sweaters in cold weather?
A.
B.
C.
D.
To keep cold out.
To generate heat.
To reduce heat loss.
All of the above.
28
Answer
3. Why do we wear sweaters in cold weather?
A.
B.
C.
D.
To keep cold out.
To generate heat.
To reduce heat loss.
All of the above.
4. Amy wraps her dolls in blankets but can’t understand
why they don’t warm up. Why don’t they warm up?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The blankets she uses are probably poor insulators.
The blankets she uses are probably poor
conductors.
The dolls are made of materials which don’t hold
heat well.
None of the above.
Answer
4. Amy wraps her dolls in blankets but can’t understand
why they don’t warm up. Why don’t they warm up?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The blankets she uses are probably poor insulators.
The blankets she uses are probably poor
conductors.
The dolls are made of materials which don’t hold
heat well.
None of the above.
5. As water in a freezer turns into ice,
A.
B.
C.
D.
The water absorbs energy from the air in the
freezer.
The water absorbs the coldness from the air
in the freezer.
The freezer air absorbs heat from the water.
The water neither absorbs nor releases
energy
Answer
5. As water in a freezer turns into ice,
A.
B.
C.
D.
The water absorbs energy from the air in the
freezer.
The water absorbs the coldness from the air
in the freezer.
The freezer air absorbs heat from the water.
The water neither absorbs nor releases
energy
6. You have a can of soda in your lunchbox that you want
to keep cold. Which material will work best to keep it
cold?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Aluminum foil wrapped around the soda because
metals transfer heat energy easily.
A paper towel wrapped around the soda because
paper soaks up the moisture.
Wax paper wrapped around the soda because wax
paper traps the moisture.
Your wool sweater wrapped around the soda
because wool traps air.
Answer
6. You have a can of soda in your lunchbox that you want
to keep cold. Which material will work best to keep it
cold?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Aluminum foil wrapped around the soda because
metals transfer heat energy easily.
A paper towel wrapped around the soda because
paper soaks up the moisture.
Wax paper wrapped around the soda because wax
paper traps the moisture.
Your wool sweater wrapped around the soda
because wool traps air.