Supersonic Spies
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Student Handout |
Race to be First!
Your company is hoping that the machine you're designing will be the first of
its kind. While surfing the Internet late one night, you come across a Web site
for a competitor designing a similar product. Anticipating the near completion
of its product, the company launched a marketing campaign to lure new
customers. The Web site describes the machine and includes drawings. You
realize there is enough information for you to finish your own version. If
you're successful, you'll complete your machine first and corner the market!
Part I
Review the information on the Welcome to the Spin Inc. Web Site! student handout.
Use the chart to record how you think the materials are used in the machine and
how the machine works. Now use what you know to build a working model of the machine.
Questions
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
What pieces of information were most helpful in building the machine? Which
pieces of information were least helpful? Compare your team's model with other models in the class. Note any places
where your team interpreted information differently from other teams. Explain
the differences in interpretations and how that may have affected your final
design.
Part II
You did it! You completed your machine first and it's a #1 seller. But it's not
over yet. To stay in front of your competitors, you need to improve the
design. Think about what kinds of changes you might make. What if you changed
the size of the machine or the diameter of the straw? How could you change the
machine so that it lifts the paper cup faster or slower? How might you change
the design to lift more weight?
Sketch the parts you would change on a separate piece of paper and predict how your change would
affect your machine. Then build and test your new model.
Questions
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
What did you change from your original model? How did the change affect your new model? What else would you change? Why?
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