Prototypes and Iteration

Lab Brief #5

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

The first design always fails. That's the point.

What you'll learn

A prototype is a rough first build whose job is to fail early and cheaply. Each test shows one weakness, you change one thing, and you test again. Engineers expect several rounds — a design that works first time usually was not tested hard enough.

Key words

prototype
An early, rough version built to be tested rather than used.
iteration
One cycle of build, test, improve.

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: what's the weakest part of this build?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

paper
tape
coins
ruler
two books

Get ready

⚠️ Safety first

Catch falling coins over the table so nobody's feet are underneath.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "prototype" and "iteration" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Build a paper bridge spanning 20 cm and load it with coins until it fails. Record the load, change exactly one thing, rebuild and retest. Do three iterations and graph load against iteration number.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

The purpose of a prototype is to:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Changing one thing between iterations lets you identify:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🚀 The Saturn V rocket burned 20 tons of fuel per second at liftoff.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Trade-offs in Design All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

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

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it 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?”

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