Engineering and scientific investigation activities
Design a solution, make a fair test and decide what the evidence supports. Choose a question, read an explanation and try the model to see what changes.
Every activity includes five reading levels, word help, a checkpoint and links to its science sources. No login is needed.
Design, build, test
Set a goal, compare structures and explore gears and pulleys.
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What should a design achieve, and what limits it?
Can your shade meet both the goal and the budget? Cover at least three garden cells. Each cell of shade costs two tokens. A useful design must pass both checks.
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How can a bridge pass a load to its supports?
How does a bridge carry a load to its supports? Compare a bending beam with a triangular frame. Trace the load toward both supports; the diagram shows forces, not travelling material.
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When does a supported object tend to tip?
Can you make the tower stop tipping? Keep the combined weight line inside the green supporting base. Try changing the base before changing the upper load.
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How do gear teeth change turns and direction?
How many turns does the second gear make? Follow each red tooth marker. Touching external gears turn in opposite directions, and tooth counts set how far each turns.
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Why can more supporting rope reduce the pull?
What do you trade for an easier pulley pull? Lift the same load using one, two or four supporting rope strands. Compare the pulling force and the rope distance.
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Think like a scientist
Use sensors, control variables, measure carefully and read the evidence.
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How can a measurement guide a machine?
How does a heater know when to stop? Compare a heater using the measured temperature with one that always stays on. Watch the target and the on/off label.
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How can a comparison isolate one changed factor?
Is this a fair test of wheel size? The intended difference is wheel size. Check whether the ramps and masses also match before using the recorded result.
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How much can a ruler reading tell you?
Does sliding an object along a ruler change its length? Read the start and end, then subtract. Use the same object at zero and at a shifted start.
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What can repeated readings reveal?
Can close readings all be off target? Compare tightly grouped readings with a shifted tight group. Show the known reference before judging accuracy.
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Which claims does a graph actually support?
Can a graph look steeper without changing any data? Keep the same six points and change only the vertical-axis minimum. Check the numbers before judging the size of the change.
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Keep exploring
Read more in Technology encyclopedia articles, with reading controls on each article. For printable practice, explore Maths worksheets and answer guides.