Lesson 20 of 84 · Engineering and Design
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopBiodiversity and Ecosystems
Engineering and Design.
🎯 Your mission
Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.
⚡ The twist
The first design always fails. That's the point.
Mind = Blown
🚀 The Saturn V rocket burned 20 tons of fuel per second at liftoff.
Make a hypothesis first
Guess: what's the weakest part of this build?
What You'll Learn
Biodiversity—the variety of life in an ecosystem—makes ecosystems more resilient. Loss of biodiversity from human activities threatens ecosystem stability worldwide.
Key Words
- criteria
- iteration
- wavelength
Materials Needed
- cups
- aluminum foil
- ruler
- markers
- popsicle sticks
Safety First
- Protect your work surface with newspaper or plastic.
Steps
Study the diagram and label the parts you recognize.
Build a simple seismograph using a pen, cup, string, and paper. Shake the table and record the marks. Can you detect bigger vs. smaller shakes?
Compare the before and after states.
Write your conclusion: did the results match your hypothesis? What would you change next time?
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What is refraction?
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.
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