The engineering design process: goals, limits, testing and choosing

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Design A is strong but uses lots of paper. Design B uses little paper but is weaker. What might Esme's team try next?

   • Designs cannot be mixed; choose just one
   • Combine A's folded beam with B's light layout, then test
   • Pick A, since strength is what counts
   • Pick B, since it uses the least paper, and skip any testing
2. 2.

   Filter X makes the clearest water but works slowly. Filter Y works fast but leaves water cloudy. What should Jun suggest?

   • Mixing designs breaks the rules
   • Use both filters and skip testing
   • Keep X, since clear water matters more than anything else
   • Try X's fine sand under Y's gravel and test the mix
3. 3.

   Cooler 1 keeps drinks cold longest; cooler 2 is the lightest. A new design puts cooler 1's foam lining in cooler 2's shell. What must happen next, says Kira?

   • Nothing; combining makes success certain
   • Throw it out, since mixed designs cannot work
   • Test the new design several times
   • Test it once, then finish
4. 4.

   Luz's friend says engineers should build the final product first and fix problems later. Which response is best?

   • Agree: testing wastes time
   • Agree: one try is usually right the first time around
   • Disagree: engineers stop at drawings
   • Disagree: define the problem and test models first
5. 5.

   Decision matrix with cost as one column among several criteria. A classmate says the cheapest design is always the best one. Milo checks the design matrix. Which response is best?

   • Agree: cost is the only thing that matters
   • Disagree: the best design meets all criteria within the constraints
   • Agree: cheap designs need no testing
   • Disagree: the most expensive design is always best
6. 6.

   Two columns, criteria and constraints, with "budget" not yet sorted. Noah's cousin says a budget is a criterion, just like strength. Which response is best?

   • Agree: criteria and constraints mean the same
   • Agree: everything in a plan is a criterion
   • Disagree: a budget is a constraint, a limit to stay within
   • Disagree: budgets do not matter when engineers design things
7. 7.

   Decision matrix with one column labeled ×2. Why might a design team count one criterion double, as Ren explains?

   • So the team can skip testing
   • It matters most to the people using the design
   • To make the numbers look bigger
   • Because constraints count double in a decision matrix
8. 8.

   Limit: 10 kg. The shade that blocks the most sun weighs 14 kg, but the poles can hold no more than 10 kg. What trade-off should Tala's team make?

   • Choose whichever color looks nicest
   • Pick the lighter shade that blocks a little less sun
   • Give up on shade
   • Use the heavy shade anyway and hope the poles can hold it
9. 9.

   Two coolers side by side with four plan cards. To compare two coolers fairly, which test plan does Zee choose?

   • Test one cooler in the sun and one in the shade
   • Same drinks, start temperature and spot; three trials each
   • Build a third cooler before testing these
   • Test each cooler just once
10. 10.

    To test which wing shape flies farther, what should Bo do?

    • Pick the coolest-looking plane
    • Use different paper for each plane
    • Throw each plane several times the same way, indoors
    • Throw each plane once