Automobile Curriculum Activity

Victorian Curriculum Links

Science Understanding

Scientific understandings, discoveries and inventions are used to inform personal and community decisions and to solve problems that directly affect people’s lives (VCSSU073)

Science Inquiry Skills

With guidance, plan appropriate investigation types to answer questions or solve problems and use equipment, technologies and materials safely, identifying potential risks (VCSIS083)

Suggest improvements to the methods used to investigate a question or solve a problem (VCSIS087)

Communicate ideas and processes using evidence to develop explanations of events and phenomena and to identify simple cause-and-effect relationships (VCSIS088)

Activity Description

In small groups, students will imagine they are engineers and design a car of the future that serves the purpose of reducing fewer emissions into the atmosphere.

Key Learning Intentions

After this activity, students should be able to:

Explain that cars contribute to air pollution by emitting pollutants that impact both human and environmental health.
Explain that engineers help people by designing new cars that produce fewer emissions.
Describe why it is important for engineers to be able to present their ideas persuasively

Materials

Hand out (3 pages)

Butcher paper

Technology for research and presentation

Sketching tools – pencils, rulers, erasers

Instructions

Tune in

Engineers are working to make fantastic new cars that produce fewer emissions than older cars. This is important, because most cars give off pollutants that harm people, animals and even plants and buildings. Today you will get to experience what it might be like to be one of these engineers! And, since engineers need to effectively communicate their ideas, you will experience that aspect of engineering, also. Engineers must be able to present their ideas so that their bosses, other employees, and the people for whom they are making the invention, product or design can understand how it works. Engineers also often work in groups, and they need to be able to communicate well with the other people in their group, so that they all can work together to create amazing new technology.

Consider and discuss the following:

How can cars be improved? For example, they could be more environmentally friendly, or they could be safer.

What’s the problem and what are some solutions to the problem?

What sort of car they think they will be driving in 50 years’ time?

Think about safety, environmental impact, sustainability, power sources and innovation.

Activity

Students work in small teams to design a car of the future. They must write a brief of their design.

Sketch a detailed drawing of the car with labels to show its features. Use terms like chassis, wheels and axles. Make sure to include a labelled sketch from a couple of different angles (front, side and birds eye view).

Choose a body size, engine size, fuel type and accessories.

Students to use the handout to think about their design and answer the questions on their design in which they will also discuss during their presentation.

Students can then present their designs on Prezi/slides/any other and use their knowledge to persuade ‘the peer panel’ why their car of the future is the best.

Discussion and Assessment

Class Discussion and Worksheet: Ask students if they know about any current technology that is used in alternative vehicles or fuel. As a class, brainstorm different ideas of alternative vehicles that engineers have designed. Ask if anyone has seen or been in a hybrid or electric vehicle. Ask the students why these alternative methods are so important (they produce fewer emissions and require fewer fossil fuels).

Students present their final designs through Prezi / Slides