Lesson 8 of 8 · Engineering and Design
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopWhere Our Rubbish Goes
Engineering and Design.
🎯 Your mission
Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.
⚡ The twist
Constraints make you more creative, not less.
Mind = Blown
🌉 The Eiffel Tower can grow 6 inches taller in summer because metal expands when hot.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you test: how many tries until it works?
What You'll Learn
Most household waste is buried in landfill, where it breaks down slowly or not at all. Sorting waste at the point it is thrown away is what makes recycling possible, because mixed waste is far harder to separate later.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Materials Needed
- kitchen scale
- gloves
- graph paper
Safety First
- Wear gloves to sort waste and wash hands thoroughly afterwards.
- Do not handle sharp objects, broken glass or food waste.
Steps
Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.
Weigh one day of your classroom bin, sorted into paper, plastic, food and other. Draw a bar chart of the four masses and write one action that would cut the largest category.
Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.
Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 2Most household waste that is not recycled goes to:
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 this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Ready?
Where Our Rubbish Goes
Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.
Full screen — no distractions
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