Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do Car Engines Work?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students perform an experiment which simulates what happens inside an internal combustion engine. They explain how the chemical reaction they witnessed is similar to what happens inside the car engine.
Lesson Plan
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education

STEM: Lou-Vee Air Car

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A comprehensive lesson on acceleration awaits your physicists and engineers! Two YouTube videos pique their interest, then sample F=ma problems are worked and graphed. The highlight of the lesson is the building of a Lou-Vee air car!...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Car Engines

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students create piston systems and explore the conversion of linear to rotary motion that propels a car. In this motion lesson, students build and test a model piston/crankshift system and discover why there is a maximum limit to how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Car Races: Build and retrofit for speed

For Teachers 6th - 9th
If you have solar car kits for your junior high schoolers, they can experiment with photovoltaic cell angle, light intensity, and aerodynamic design to discover what makes their car move more quickly. This is a classic activity to use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering How a Car Works

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explain the four stroke process in internal combustion engines. In this physics instructional activity, students role play this process and present their reenactment in class. They draw and label the diagram of an internal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Little Engine that Could Mini Unit Plan

For Teachers Pre-K - K
The best part about teaching little ones is setting up fun, thematic learning stations. Here is a full day of activities that all relate to the story, The Little Engine that Could. Included are six different activities that cover...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Solar Car Series: Angle/Energy Amount

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...
Lesson Plan
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Science 4 Inquiry

Levitation Engineers: Exploring Forces

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Levitation tricks have been documented from the early 1900s, so how do they do it? Scholars learn about the force of magnetism in an attractive resource. They watch videos and design experiments to understand the strength and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building a Car: Mechanical Engineering

For Teachers K
Students use common materials to build a car. In this car building mechanical engineering lesson, students build a car using a milk cartoon and plastic wheels. They discuss what mechanical engineers do and what makes a car run.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton Rocket Car

For Teachers K - 5th
Students observe a demonstration of Newton's third law of motion using a small wooden car. They discuss Newton's third law of motion and what happens to motion if the mass or acceleration is increased, construct their car, and record...
Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Drive it Green

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Explore and brainstorm innovations for cars with a STEM activity that asks scholars to weigh different options when considering when buying a car. They research the fuel efficiency and carbon emissions for various options, and then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Don't Crack Humpty

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate the engineering design process and the relationship between distance, time, and speed. Using a generic car base, small groups design a device that will protect an egg on or in the car as it is rolled down a ramp at...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Cars Work

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers summarize the steps in the four stroke internal combustion engine. In this physics instructional activity, students act out the process while being videotaped. They simulate energy conversion using potato gun.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rubber Band Racers

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students create rubber band band powered cars. In this engineering lesson, students are given common materials in order to create their own car. They measure distance and speed of different designs. 
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Wind Tunnel Testing

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
One of the factors that automotive engineers must consider is wind drag. The less wind drag, the more efficient the car will be. They perform many tests in wind tunnels, then refine their designs and test again. Using simple materials,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

So You Want To Be A Mythbuster?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers recognize the parts used to construct a car.  In this mythbuster lesson, students will use the scientific method to complete an experiment with student constructed cars to bust a myth. Middle schoolers will reflect...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ethanol

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Pupils explore how to fuel cars with corn and then test different items to explore the process of fermentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Want to Drag?!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students use the Metric system and engineering software to design a scale model car. In this scale model car making lesson, students design a scale model car using computer software, the Metric system, and properties of aerodynamics....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Racing with the Sun - Creating a Solar Car

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use a purchased kit to build a solar powered car. They connect a solar photovoltaic panel to a motor which runs the car forward and backward. They determine how to wire the car to move in both directions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Make a Solar Car

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students transform a car that they have built out of K'NEX into a solar car. Students add one or two solar cells to the car to power a DC motor then connect the motor to the car and come up with a method to drive the car. This is the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newton's Laws

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students experiment with and analyze moving objects and explain their motion in relation to Newton's Laws of Motion. Students then work with partners to design and construct cars that are powered by balloons.
Worksheet
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Texas State Energy Conservation Office

Investigation: Acceleration

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Take a look at acceleration within the context of automotive technology. They vary the mass on a toy car and run it down a ramp, exploring Newton's second law of motion. Though this is a classic lab activity, you will appreciate the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Bridge is for Crossing

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students examine the bridges of Washington State. They focus on the suspension bridge between Tacoma and Gig Harbor. They see how three different types of bridges work by rotating students through bridge stations.
Lesson Plan
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Federal Reserve Bank

Purchasing a Vehicle

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Start your engines! Prevent negative car buying experiences by arming pupils with information. Prepare your young drivers to make informed decisions when they are ready to purchase a car. All aspects are considered from the type of car...

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