Solar Boat Science Investigation

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Intended Grade Level(s):
4-6
Energy Content:
Electrical Energy,
Solar Photovoltaic
Learning Goal(s):

Students will design an investigation to test three models of solar vehicles. Students will justify which materials will be used in their construction. Students will be able to support their design with reasoning. Students will determine different methods of collecting data from their experiment relating to three types of solar boats.

Unit:
Solar Boats
Lesson Number:
6
Pedagogy & Practice:
Engineering Design,
Establishing a Culture of Science,
Hands-on Materials
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices:
1: Asking Questions and Defining Problems,
3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Relevant NGSS PE:
3-5-ETS1-1,
3-5-ETS1-2,
3-5-ETS1-3
Other Subjects Covered:
ELA: Vocabulary Development
Estimated Activity Length:
50 min
Files Associated with this Activity:
PDF icon Lesson 6_ Create a Science Investigation.pdf
PDF icon Lesson 6_Planning an Investigation.pdf
Description:

Design a science investigation to test a solar speedboat, airboat, and surface submarine. Students will use the “Planning an Investigation Template” in order to determine their motivations for designing a solar boat, make predictions about the outcomes with this design, plan the construction by determining materials to be used in the design, diagram their plans, outline a step-by-step testing method, record data, and write a conclusion based on the data that they collected in their process. 

Other Material(s) Used:
Science Investigation Worksheet