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Lesson 42 of 84 · Engineering and Design

Experiment30 XP🛠️ Engineer Shop

What Is an Experiment? (Part 3)

🧪Lab Brief #42

Engineering and Design.

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Every solution creates a new problem. That's good — that's the next project.

🤯

Mind = Blown

🌉 The Eiffel Tower can grow 6 inches taller in summer because metal expands when hot.

🔮

Make a hypothesis first

Predict: which design will hold the most weight?

What You'll Learn

An experiment is a test to find out if something is true. You can do experiments at home!

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Materials Needed

  • cups
  • aluminum foil
  • ruler
  • markers
  • popsicle sticks

Safety First

  • Do not taste any materials.
  • Wear safety goggles when mixing liquids.

Steps

Step 1Read

Look at the new words. Can you say each one?

Step 2Do

Design a boat from foil that can hold the most pennies without sinking.

Step 3Observe

Use your senses to describe what you notice.

Step 4Record

Write 1-2 sentences about what happened.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What is the first step when solving a problem?

🌍

Where you see this in real life

Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.

🏆

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Find something that's broken at home and try to figure out *why* it broke.

👨‍👩‍👧

For the dinner table

What's something around the house you'd redesign — and how?

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

🌡️Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

🖨️

Checkout complete lesson on Engineering and Design for 2nd Grade

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What Is an Experiment? (Part 3) — Engineering and Design | 2nd Grade Science | LittleActivity