Using plastic construction materials, weights, rubber bands, and propellers, students design and build vehicles. They test how fast the vehicles move and use their findings to redesign the vehicles to move more efficiently.
Cost analysis is one of the students design requirements.
As students design their vehicles, they intuitively apply concepts such as friction and kinetic and potential energy. They also explore the effect of gravity on motion. The unit concludes by challenging students to solve a design challenge and to present their findings to the class.