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Lesson 45 of 84 · Engineering and Design

Experiment30 XP🛠️ Engineer Shop

How to Compare Things (Part 3)

🧪Lab Brief #45

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

Comparing means looking at two or more things and finding what is the same and what is different.

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Materials Needed

  • popsicle sticks
  • pennies
  • plastic wrap
  • cardboard

Safety First

  • Clean up spills immediately to prevent slipping.

Steps

Step 1Read

Talk about what you already know about Engineering and Design.

Step 2Do

Design a container that keeps an ice cube from melting for as long as possible.

Step 3Observe

Compare what happened to what you predicted.

Step 4Record

Tell the class one thing you learned today.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

What should you do if your experiment doesn't work?

🌍

Where you see this in real life

Your phone, your bike, your shoes — all designed with this idea.

🏆

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Build something — anything — out of stuff in your recycling bin.

👨‍👩‍👧

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

Get the full Engineering and Design track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

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How to Compare Things (Part 3) — Engineering and Design | 2nd Grade Science | LittleActivity