Lesson 64 of 84 · Engineering and Design
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopBiodiversity and Ecosystems (Part 3)
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
- amplitude
- reflection
- refraction
Materials Needed
- scissors
- straws
- paper clips
Safety First
- Do not look directly at the sun or bright lights.
- Clean up spills immediately to prevent slipping.
- Use materials only as directed in the experiment.
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
Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life 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?”
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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