Introduction

The whole point of this unit was to expand your thinking about what science is and how scientific thinking can be useful to you no matter what you do.

To that end, we are going to give you a problem to solve that requires you to come up with a solution and then analyze and reflect on your solution. It doesn’t matter if your solution doesn’t work, it matters how well you analyze why your solution failed.

Here is a link to a word document

Here is a link to a print version

Table of contents

1. Prompt
   1. Option 1
   2. Option 2
2. Assignment
   1. Proficiency Scale
3. Prep

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Prompt

You have been asked to build a structure that will hold the most weight. However, due to global warming, the only materials we have left to build with is spaghetti and tape! Your group will have to work together to design the best structure and then create a detailed design.

You only have:

• 100g of Spaghetti
• 200mm of masking tape

Option 1

With the materials provided, make a structure that can hold a 1kg 200mm off the table.

Option 2

With the materials provided, make a structure that can support a 1kg in the middle of a 200mm gap (see the example structure, the span is the gap between the two books).

Assignment

You have to present the results of your design so that they can be judged. A good presentation, can be in the form of your choosing, needs to contain accurate measurements, quality descriptions, and an analysis of how the structure did.

Proficiency Scale

Prep

• Materials provided
  • a
  • b
  • c
  • etc