Building Solar Boats

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

Students will follow step-by-step instructions to build their solar boats. They will troubleshoot as necessary by making sure electricity flows into the motor to make the vehicles move by propeller or gears. Students will determine different data points that are useful in the determining the most effective design for a solar powered boat. Students will undergo the process of redesign, noting why they made changes to particular variables on their boat and noting how these changes played out.

Unit:
Solar Boats
Lesson Number:
7
Pedagogy & Practice:
Group Work/Collaboration,
Hands-on Materials
NGSS Science and Engineering Practices:
3: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
Relevant NGSS PE:
4-PS3-2,
4-PS3-4,
3-5-ETS1-1,
3-5-ETS1-2
Other Subjects Covered:
ELA: Informational Text
Estimated Activity Length:
1 hour
Files Associated with this Activity:
PDF icon AirBoat Assembly.pdf
PDF icon Lesson 7_Build Solar boats.pdf
PDF icon Speed Boat Assembly.pdf
PDF icon Surface Submarine Assembly.pdf
Description:

Students will follow step-by-step instructions to build their solar boats. They will troubleshoot as necessary by making sure electricity flows into the motor to make the vehicles move by propeller or gears. They will be using their planned investigations from the previous lesson in order to guide their process. While this involves the usage of instructions initially, students can be permitted to use a variety of other materials outside those listed in order to make improvements to their design and add a higher level of inquiry to the process. 

Other Material(s) Used:
Instructions sheets, solar boat kits (Sundance Solar), scissors, awl, 16-18 oz plastic bottles, 2-liter bottles, light source, large tub, water source