Evaluate competing solutions to a given design problem using a decision matrix to determine how well each meets the criteria and constraints of the problem. Use a model of each solution to evaluate how variations in one or more design features, including size, shape, weight, or cost, may affect the function or effectiveness of the solution.
In this unit, students explore several phenomena that relate to cooking. In this lesson, students evaluate chemical reactions, and use that knowledge to engineer a prototype that transfers energy by chemical processes. This page showcases key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students focus on interactions between the hydrosphere and the geosphere as they explore the phenomena of groundwater in human development. For this lesson, they engineer a water filtration device to treat samples of simulated polluted stormwater runoff. This page highlights key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore the relationship between the phenomena of forces and motion and how energy is converted from one form to another in an energy system. In this lesson, students design a vehicle that can travel over a surface on a cushion of air. This page highlights key parts of this lesson.
In this unit, students explore how communication systems transmit information from one person or place to another. In this lesson, students use what they know about the science phenomena of electromagnets and magnetic fields to design a speaker, a common decoding device in many audio technologies. This page highlights key components of this lesson.
In this unit, students focus on the Earth-Sun-moon system to explore how gravity pulls objects including satellites into orbit. In this lesson, students engineer an insulating solution for a prototype satellite that minimizes the amount of thermal energy transferred into or out of it.
In this unit, students build on their scientific knowledge about matter, energy, and heat transfer to explore the phenomena of weather and climate. They investigate how the sun powers the global water cycle, which in turn has very local impacts that affect the phenomena of regional climates around the world. They then use that knowledge to figure out and design a technology that solves the problem of drought-related water shortages.
In this unit, students explore how engineers and architects design structures that help human populations survive and thrive in their environment. Students take on the challenges of civil engineers as they design different types of bridges to discover a design that can carry the maximum load. This page highlights the components of this lesson.
In this unit, students apply what they have previously learned about forces, motion, and matter to the solar system, focusing on the phenomena of gravity’s role in the universe. In this lesson, students engineer a solution to collisions between moving objects in space. This page is a high-level extract of this lesson.
In this unit, students evaluate how Earth is heated unevenly by investigating how the angle that the sun’s rays hit Earth affects temperatures at different locations. In this lesson, students use their scientific knowledge of phenomena related to global warming and climate to engineer a model greenhouse that reaches a specific temperature. This pages provides a snapshot of this lesson.
Standards citation: NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.