Lesson 10 of 10 · Engineering and Design
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopLitter That Never Leaves
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 apple core breaks down in weeks, a drinks can in decades, and a plastic bottle in centuries. Because the timescales differ so wildly, the same amount of litter causes very different amounts of long-term harm.
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Materials Needed
- six pots
- soil
- labels
- sample materials
- gloves
Safety First
- Wear gloves when burying and digging, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards.
- Do not bury anything sharp or anything belonging to someone else.
Steps
Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.
Bury six labelled samples — apple, paper, foil, plastic, cotton, polystyrene — in marked pots of damp soil. Dig them up after four weeks, photograph each and rank them by how much broke down.
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 2Which of these is biodegradable?
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?
Litter That Never Leaves
Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).
Full screen — no distractions
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