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

Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Ari's team must keep a playground slide cool on sunny days. What is the first step of the engineering design process?

   • Define the problem: its criteria and constraints
   • Build the final shade right away
   • Test a shade before drawing any plan
   • Pick the prettiest color for the shade before anything else
2. 2.

   Define (done), brainstorm (done), and two empty boxes. After brainstorming three shade ideas, what should Bo's team do next?

   • Choose a promising idea and build a model to test
   • Throw out the ideas and start over
   • Skip testing and install one
   • Stop here, since the first idea is good enough to build
3. 3.

   Marked and an arrow to the next box. A test shows the model shade tips over in strong wind. Which step comes next for Kira's team?

   • Improve the design and test it again
   • Install it anyway
   • Paint it so it looks sturdier in the wind
   • Give up on shades altogether
4. 4.

   Paper bridge across a 30 cm gap; hold pennies; use no more than 4 sheets of paper. Jun's class is building paper bridges across a 30 cm gap. Which one is a constraint?

   • Hold as many pennies as possible on top
   • Be strong in the middle
   • Stay level across the gap
   • Use no more than 4 sheets of paper
5. 5.

   Lunch cooler; keep a drink cold for 4 hours; fit in a backpack; use class craft supplies; finish by Friday. Luz's team designs a lunch cooler with class craft supplies. Which one is a criterion?

   • Be finished by Friday
   • Use class craft supplies
   • Keep a drink cold for 4 hours
   • Fit inside a backpack
6. 6.

   Garden-water filter; make muddy water clearer; work quickly; use only classroom materials. Milo's class designs a filter to clean muddy water for watering the garden. Which one is a constraint?

   • Let water through the filter quickly
   • Use only classroom materials
   • Catch the sand
   • Make the water clearer

7. Read this first

   Decision matrix (model data), scores 1 to 3

   Design A, strength 3, uses little paper 1, easy to build 2; Design B, 2, 3, 3; Design C, 3, 2, 1.

8. 7.

   Noah's team scored three bridge designs from 1 (low) to 3 (high). Which design has the highest total?

   • Design B, with 8 points
   • Design A, the strongest
   • They tie, so any one will do
   • Design C, also top for strength
9. 8.

   Using the same matrix, which design is best at using little paper, by Pia's reading?

   • Design A, since strength matters most
   • Design B, scoring 3
   • Design A, scoring 1
   • Design C, the strongest one

10. Cooler tests (model data)

    Trial	Result
    1	cold after 4 hours
    2	not yet tested
    3	not yet tested

11. 9.

    Tala's team tests their cooler once, and the drink stays cold. What should they do next?

    • Switch to a different cooler design instead
    • Call it done after one test
    • Change three things at once and test
    • Test it several more times to be sure
12. 10.

    Table, Repeated trials (model data), with columns Trial 1, Trial 2, Trial 3. Why do engineers repeat tests on the same design, as Zee explains?

    • Because first tests do not count
    • One test could be a fluke; repeats show if results hold
    • To use up the extra materials
    • One test is plenty; repeats waste time