Gretchen Brinza
Email me!
  • Home
  • About Me
  • School
    • Louisville Middle School >
      • 2022-2023
      • 2021-2022 >
        • 6th Grade: Contact Forces/Collisions!
        • 8th: Patterns in Space and Sky
        • 6th: Bath Bombs
        • 8th: Climate--The Warming Arctic
        • 8th: Hail, Rain & Snow
        • 6th: Cups
        • 8th: Tsunami-Natural Hazards
        • 6th: One-Way Mirror
        • 8th: Mt. Everest & Other Mtns
    • Sauganash >
      • 2020-2021 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • Data in Science
          • Human Impact (+/-)
          • The Dead Raccoon
          • Clean/Dirty Water
          • Opening Routines
        • 6th Grade >
          • Healing
          • A Changing Landscape
          • Keeping Things Hot or Cold!?!?!
          • One-Way Mirror
          • Dogs (Well and Unwell)!
          • Opening Routines
      • 2019-2020 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • The Sky
          • Dead Raccoon
          • All Things Water!
        • 6th Grade >
          • Sick Dog
          • Mt. Everest
          • Cups
    • Alcott >
      • 2018-2019 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • Patterns in the Sky
          • Roadkill--Dead Stuff
          • Down the Drain...
        • 6th Grade >
          • Chickens!
          • Sounds From a Distance
          • Sick Dogs
          • Spooky ________!
      • 2017-2018 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • The Mystery Sun
          • Roadkill
          • Clean/Dirty Water
        • 6th Grade >
          • Changing Populations
          • Smelling Lots of Stuff
          • Seeing and Light
      • 2016-2017 >
        • 6th Grade >
          • Can I Believe My Eyes?
          • How Can I Smell Things From a Distance?
          • Where Have All the Creatures Gone?
        • 5th Grade >
          • Unknown Chemicals' Identities?
          • Data
          • Water Transformations
          • The Raccoon Mystery
        • Technology Integration
      • 2015-2016 >
        • 5th Grade >
          • Opening Procedures
          • Chemical Tests
          • Earth's Systems Science
          • Data (Moon, Daylight, Temp., Constellations)
          • Ships in a Field
          • Patterns
        • 6th Grade >
          • Opening Procedures
          • World of Wonder Projects
          • Can I Believe My Eyes?
          • How Can I Smell From a Distance?
          • Where Have All the Creatures Gone?
    • STEM Magnet Academy >
      • A Glimpse Into My Classroom
      • Fifth Grade >
        • 5th Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Environmental Engineering (Part II)
          • Aerospace Engineering
      • Fourth Grade >
        • 4th Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Environmental Engineering
          • Waves and their Applications for Information Transfer
        • 4th Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Environmental Engineering
          • Transportation Engineering
          • Biomedical Engineering
        • 4th Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Environmental Engineering
          • Transportation Engineering
          • Biomedical Engineering
      • Third Grade >
        • 3rd Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Forces and Interactions
        • 3rd Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Electrical Engineering
          • Acoustical Engineering
          • Optical Engineering
        • 3rd Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Acoustical Engineering
          • Electrical Engineering
          • Optical Engineering
      • Second Grade >
        • 2nd Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Geotechnical Engineering
          • Matter and Its Interactions!
        • 2nd Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Geotechnical Engineering
          • Ocean Engineering
          • Packaging Engineering
        • 2nd Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Geotechnical Engineering
          • Civil Engineering
          • Ocean Engineering
      • First Grade >
        • 1st Grade: 2014-2015 >
          • Optical Engineering
          • Sound
          • Plants--Structures and Processes
        • 1st Grade: 2013-2014 >
          • Materials Engineering
          • Mechanical Engineering
          • Agricultural Engineering
        • 1st Grade: 2012-2013 >
          • Mechanical Engineering
          • Materials Engineering
          • Agricultural Engineering
      • Kindergarten >
        • Engineers do what?
        • Forces and Interactions!
        • Earth and Human Activity
        • K: 2013-2014 >
          • Introduction to Engineering
          • Force and Motion
          • Fabric
        • K: 2012-2013 >
          • Introduction to Engineering
          • All About Fabric
          • Built By Nature
        • Check it out! >
          • Exciting News
          • National Engineers Week
          • Donations
          • Chicago Events
  • PAEMST
  • Other
    • STEM FAIR 2019
    • STEM Fair 2018
    • Tech-Class
    • Engineering Week
    • G.D.W.O.F.
    • MSU Urban STEM >
      • Summer Work >
        • Ultimate STEM
        • ImagineIT >
          • Phase 1
          • Phase 2
          • Phase 3
        • Deep Play
        • Quickfires
        • Reflections >
          • Summer
        • Cosmos
      • Fall Work >
        • Deep Play Group
        • ImagineIT >
          • Phase 4
          • Phase 5
          • Phase 6
      • Spring Work >
        • Leadership
        • ImagineIT

Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineers guarantee our safety as pedestrians and motorists.  They analyze data to maximize the efficiency of the transportation that moves us and the goods we depend on to live.

Home

10.  Wind Powered Cars

4/2/2013

 
With all the great work fourth graders have done in their transportation unit, there was one last challenge to try...to build a car powered by the wind.  Using only paper, straws, tape, paper clips and life-savers, fourth graders quickly discovered it was much more challenging to build a working car than they thought!  

We discussed what would make the cars travel farther, focusing on what would catch the most wind, and also on how to reduce the amount of friction their cars experienced.  We also realized the importance of planning out our designs, as there the materials were not given out in an unlimited supply.  These are REAL problems that engineers face daily in their work.  

9.  What story do the data tell us?

3/20/2013

 
Picture
Students are using the document camera to snap a picture of the data they collected. groups in the class.
After completing two scientific investigations with their maglev trains, fourth graders were able to see how collecting data allowed them to make practical decisions with their trains.  Data tells us a story, and we look for trends within the data to help us understand the question we are investigating.  

Sometimes, the data we get isn't what we expected, and fourth graders quickly learned that you can NEVER change the data.  They also learned about generating explanations for the inconsistencies in the data, laying the foundation for setting up a controlled experiment.  Way to go fourth grade!  

8.  Scientific Investigations!

3/6/2013

 
With a few more tweaks, almost everyone's prototype is up and running.  Fourth graders are now investigating different factors that may affect the Maglev's movement, such as how the starting height of the track will affect the distance it travels.  Using investigative questions, students are working in teams to gather data from their own designs.

7.  Carrying Passengers!

2/27/2013

 
Fourth graders are refining their designs to maximize the number of passengers their Maglevs can carry safely without falling off.  Who knew adding passengers could affect the train's movement so much?  ;-)

6.  Improving the Designs...

2/21/2013

 
So as the fourth graders followed their plans and tested their ideas, they quickly learned to evaluate what they had done and make changes.  Maybe they needed to change the width of their Maglev, the type of magnet they used, or the number of magnets on their train.  Even more important was making sure the "people" didn't fall off the train.  

5.  Testing our Maglev Transportation Systems

2/21/2013

 
Picture


Can you see the Maglev levitating on the track?  A fourth grader watches from the far end of the track to see just how successful his team's design was!  

Next goal...carry as many weights as possible on the Maglev!

4.  Planning into Action!

2/18/2013

 
Picture

Fourth graders are putting the Engineering Design Process into action!  Now that they've imagined all the possible designs for their own Maglev trains, they are working in teams to create a plan for their designs.  Knowing the criteria and constraints of the challenge, they are eager to begin creating their plans.  

3.  Brainstorming Possible Maglev Designs

2/13/2013

 
Now that fourth graders are magnet experts, they put their creative juices to work to imagine all the possibilities for a Maglev design.  Here are notebook samples of students in the "Imagine" stage of using the engineering design process.  Teams will soon plan out their finalized design before they create and test their prototype.  Their plan must be approved by head transportation engineer Mrs. Brinza!  

2.  Magnets and their Properties

1/31/2013

 
Picture


How can the Maglev move if it has no wheels?  

There's no better way to figure out how it moves than to see and use magnets in action.

Here, a group of fourth graders used the properties of magnets to get a "ping-pong magnetic sailboat" to move across a pond.

Students also experimented with changing the number, type, and arrangement of magnets.  They drew conclusions from their observations.  Next step...designing a Maglev!

1.  Meet Hikaru!

1/21/2013

 
Picture
Hikaru's family has slowly been losing customers at their toy store.  Why?

Because a bigger, better toy store has opened that is attracting all its old customers.

Learning about a unique field of engineering--transportation engineering, Hikaru is inspired to design a similar system to the magnetic operated trains in Japan for his parents' toy store.  The Maglev trains, which run on repelling magnets, can quite possibly re-attract old customers back into the shop.

Using the engineering design process and LOTS of creativity, Hikaru can hopefully keep his parents' toy store from closing!  

Key vocabulary:  transportation engineer, Maglev train, magnets, repel, attract, magnetic field, experiment, engineering design process



    Mrs. Brinza

    I love what I do. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. 

    Useful Links

    Magnet and compass

    Magnets and springs

    Magnetic Forces

    Magnetic quiz





    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly