Lesson: EV3 - Robo-Science Accident Challenge

Overview: 
This lesson challenges students to solve a real world problem using pre-existing scientific knowledge and simulation data, as an engineer would be tasked to do. The goal of this lesson is for students to conduct an experiment and use data collected to propose a solution to a problem. Students will use LEGO Digital Designer and LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Education Kit to build model trucks and cars, which they will use to simulate vehicle collisions under varying conditions of speed and load (mass). This lesson will reinforce the scientific concepts of force, momentum, Newton’s Laws of Motion, kinetic and potential energy, and the Law of Conservation of Energy. The mathematical concept of scale factor is also involved.
Objectives: 

Students will be able to:

  1. Observe vehicle collisions and make generalizations based on these observations
  2. Identify important information in written and spoken accounts
  3. Interpret data tables
  4. Conduct a simulation using LEGO MINDTRORMS EV3
  5. Use background knowledge and experimental data to propose a solution to a problem
Primary Instructional Material: 
Additional Assessment: Extended: 
Education Level: 
Middle School
High School
Scope & Sequence: 
Science
Focus Subject: 
Computing / Computer Science
Engineering
Mathematics
Mixed
Robotics Hardware
Robotics Software
Science
HW Platform: 
EV3
SW Platform: 
EV3-G
Interactivity Style: 
Active