Learning Goals
Students will be able to explain how wedges, wheels and axles, levers, inclined planes, screws, and pulleys change force, distance, or direction of motion using the principles of simple machines.
Students will be able to calculate the mechanical advantage of a selected simple machine using measured force, distance, radius, pitch, thickness, or supporting-rope data.
Students will be able to evaluate alternative marble-lift concepts against measurable criteria and constraints including 152 mm lift height, controlled capture, reliable return, safety, manufacturability, and mechanical advantage.
Students will be able to develop a safe CAD-informed mechanical or electromechanical system that lifts a 16.35 mm marble at least 152 mm and returns it reliably to its starting position.
Students will be able to analyze repeated trial data with an appropriate machine-learning model to predict marble-lift success from selected design variables and identify limitations in the prediction.
Students will be able to refine a marble-lift design using measured lift height, return reliability, collision behavior, model predictions, and peer or community-mentor feedback.
Students will be able to communicate engineering decisions, performance evidence, mechanical-advantage reasoning, limitations, team contributions, and personal growth to technical and public audiences.
Products
Individual Marble-Lift Engineering Design Notebook
Each student documents all six simple machines, multiple annotated concepts, a criteria-and-constraints decision matrix, CAD contribution, mechanical-advantage calculations, trial and machine-learning analysis, revision recommendations, and a reflection on learning and team contributions. The notebook supplies independently produced evidence that informs the team’s final design and public defense.
Functional Simple-Machine Marble Lift and Google Site Engineering Portfolio
Each team presents a safe, CAD-informed device that lifts a 16.35 mm marble at least 152 mm, captures it with minimized collision force, and reliably returns it to the start after data-driven revision. Its Google Site and Launch Pad demonstration document construction, project management, mechanical advantage, test and machine-learning evidence, real-world uses, tradeoffs, limitations, videos, and member reflections.
No rubric has been generated yet.