Mayday on Mars

Duration: Five 50-minute sessions

Grade Levels: 4-8

Use line plots to compare the trajectories of balloon-powered Mars vehicles.
Resources

Lesson Plan PDF

Grade Levels: 4-8

Duration: Five 50-minute sessions

Objectives:

  • Build and test a device which uses stored energy in a balloon to reach a specified target.
  • Construct a line plot (dot plot) displaying a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit.
  • Look for recognizable patterns between test trials, as well as between groups.
  • Compare and contrast data sets from multiple groups in order to identify similarities and differences.

The Tech Challenge

This resource was developed to prepare students for the 2018 Tech Challenge. Each year The Tech Challenge invites teams of students in Grades 4-12 to use the engineering design process to solve a real-world problem.

Learn about this year's Tech Challenge.

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The Tech Academies

This activity was developed in partnership with educators from The Tech Academies Fellowship program. Tech Academy Fellows learn to be leaders of STEM education while designing and testing resources to be shared with other educators.