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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Ethical Dilemma of Self Driving Cars

For Students 9th - 10th
Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can't completely avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Making a Car for Blind Drivers

For Students 9th - 10th
Using robotics, laser rangefinders, GPS and smart feedback tools, Dennis Hong is building a car for drivers who are blind. It's not a "self-driving" car, he's careful to note, but a car in which a non-sighted driver can determine speed,...
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Article
Curated OER

Kids Health: A Guide to Staying Safe in the Car and on the Bus

For Students 3rd - 5th
KidsHealth.org says that riding in cars and school buses comes with responsibility. You need to ride safely. Here you will learn the rules of car and bus safety, beginning with Seat Belt Basics.
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Handout
Science4Fun

Science4 Fun: Car

For Students K - 1st
Illustrated discussion of the first car in 1769, the first practical car by designer Karl Benz in 1885, and the invention of combustion engines.
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Activity
Other

Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum

For Students 9th - 10th
Automobiles that were part of Manitoba transportation history are offered on this website from the Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum in Elkhorn. There are pictures and descriptions, a history of the museum with a virtual tour and plenty...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Haynes Automobile

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection of early automobiles from the Smithsonian includes the Haynes automobile, made in 1894. Read about how this early car operated, see pictures of this display in the Smithsonian, and read brief biographies of the men who...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Automobile Choices and Alternative Fuels

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an activity in which students take the role of either a car seller or a car buyer to learn about transportation energy options. Car sellers are challenged to pitch to buyers about cars with a particular fuel type while car buyers...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Duryea Automobile

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Smithsonian collection of early automobiles. Read about the Duryea automobile and how it worked. Included are pictures of this early car and a brief description of its creators, the Duryea brothers.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Information About Tucker Automobiles

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information on the Tucker automobile which introduced many features that have since become widely used in modern cars. Production was shut down amidst the scandal of fraud allegations in 1949.
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Website
NBC

Science of Innovation: Self Driving Cars

For Students 9th - 10th
This tutorial includes a video filmed at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, computer scientist Sebastian Thrun and his team of software engineers are creating a fleet of self-driving cars. His innovative approach to...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Cars Went From Boxy to Curvy

For Students 9th - 10th
How does engineering relate to fashion? The big shift from boxy cars in the '80s to curvy cars in the '90s, explained by Vox. [4:00]
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: S Id.4 Do You Fit in This Car?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are tasked with solving a common issue for automobile manufacturers that require the students to use normal distribution as a model for data distribution. They will also use mean and standard deviation to figure out the problem....
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: The History of Automobiles: Comprehension Strategies

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson targets the history of the automobile in three major phases of its development.
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Website
The Henry Ford

The Henry Ford Showroom of Automotive History

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn about automotive history as you browse the collection of The Henry Ford Museum. Enter the showroom to see a complete profile on some of the most important cars ever made, from the 1896 quadricycle to the 1986 Taurus.
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Article
Other

Llnl:this Hybrid Vehicle Uses Hydrogen

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes hybrid vehicles and their contributions to increasing the efficiency of automobiles. Explains the challenges faced by the design team and shows a nice schematic. From a 1995 article.
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Website
Other

Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource explains the effects drowsiness has on operating a motor vehicle. Gives details on fatigue, risks, and it's biology.
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Article
Other

Econogics Co.: Are Electric Cars Coming Back?

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Econogics Co. provides an 1960 article from Saturday Evening Post, which touted electric cars even then. This is a long and interesting article (unfortunately no photos), which contrasts sharply with today's "future...
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Lesson Plan
HotChalk

Hot Chalk: Lesson Plans Page: Purchasing Your First Car

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This effective lesson plan has students searching the internet for an automobile which fits their specific criteria.
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Website
The Henry Ford

Henry Ford Museum: The 1896 Duryea: The First Production Automobile in America

For Students 9th - 10th
The Henry Ford Museum showcases the 1896 Duryea, one of America's first gasoline-powered automobiles.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Hybrid Automobiles

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Examine a car engine illustration to discover the relationship between a motor and a generator. List the pros and cons of hybrid cars, and create a poster on series hybrid cars, parallel hybrid cars or how hybrid cars are different from...
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Activity
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Future Car: Model Car Design 5 8

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Explore the fields of engineering and automobile design. Construct from a variety of materials a model of a vehicle that travels the greatest distance on balloon power.
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Website
Other

The Auto Channel

For Students 9th - 10th
Website contains the latest news, issues, road conditions, recalls, and reports for the car owner and auto industry.
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Website
Other

Motorline: Motorsport

For Students 9th - 10th
Austrian Racing site in German with many images that can be navigated by beginners. Numerous links to images, games, screen savers, motorcycles, Formula 1 racing (Formel 1) and cars in general (Autowelt).
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

Alex: "Ridin' Along in My Automobile"

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students will research prices of used cars to discover how automobiles lose their value over time. Students will create a chart to record their information, use their chart to graph their data, and find measures of central tendency of...