DIRECTIONS Design/Build DO NOT BEGIN UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO

Transcription

1 DIRECTIONS Design/Build DO NOT BEGIN UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO 1. This packet contains instructions for the Design/Build portion of the competition and colored sketch paper to be used during the design phase. 2. Your team will have 10 minutes to brainstorm and sketch your design. You may not build during this portion of the competition. 3. All team members should contribute to the process of designing and building your solution. 4. Complete the team identification box at the top of data sheet provided. NOTE: Any sheets submitted without identifying school/team information will NOT be scored. 5. Teams are responsible for counting and recording the number of each item used: a signature verifying an accurate count is required. 6. A site volunteer will complete and sign the Design/Build Data Sheet that will be returned to TSA for scoring. 7. Data sheets are returned to the national TSA office for scoring. Failure to adhere to directions may disqualify your team from competition.

2 TEAMS Design/Build Challenge Design and Build a Support Tower The greening of engineering means new and innovative solutions to produce and deliver renewable power. One type of power is concentrated solar power: reflectors are positioned to direct light from the sun to a focal point; the focal point, typically high on a tower, becomes extremely hot, and this heat is used to generate power. While the design of the system of reflectors is important, your task is to design a tower to support the collector. Material List 50 plastic straws Straws must be 8.5 or less in length and have a diameter ranging from.20 to.25. If straws are wrapped separately, all wrapping must be removed prior to arriving at the competition. Wrapping may not be used in the build. 50 chenille stems/pipe cleaners (length = 12, diameter = 4 6 mm) 50 standard paper clips 50 jumbo paper clips 1 standard tennis ball 1 pair manual scissors (to cut straws the scissors may not be used as part of the tower) No other materials may be used in building the tower.

3 Challenge Using only the materials on the TEAMS Design/Build Materials List, your team will design and build a tower to hold the collector (represented by a tennis ball) as high as possible, using the least expensive set of materials possible. Your team should also build the tower prototype as quickly as possible. The tower must support the tennis ball unassisted: the ball is to be supported by the tower and the tower must be free-standing. In other words, the tower may not lean on or be supported by another structure or outside force. The tower must sit, unassisted, on the top of a table or the floor. The tower must be constructed using only use the materials specifically listed on the supply list. In addition to designing and building your straw tower, your team will be challenged to understand how decision making frameworks inform the engineering design process. These decision making frameworks will be used as your team determines how it will use its available resources to meet the challenge. Process Each team will be allowed 10 minutes for brainstorming and sketching of design ideas using the colored paper in the packet. During this time, no building is allowed. The paper may be used during the brainstorming and sketching phase only the paper may not be used in the construction of the tower. The remaining 45 minutes is used to build and test your design. When the tower is complete and supporting the tennis ball, a team member must write the time on the data sheet. No further contact with the tower is allowed. When a judge is available, they will measure the distance to the bottom of the tennis ball and verify the team entries on the data sheet. The tower must stand and support the ball without any contact until the height is measured. If the time limit is reached and the tennis ball is not supported, teams receive zero points for height.

4 Evaluation Criteria A design matrix (data sheet) will be used to evaluate your tower design process and performance. The data collected that will be used to judge the tower includes the following: Cost: Lower cost is better: 40% of your final score. The cost of production is always a factor when designing a product. Keeping your material cost low helps reduce production costs, therefore using only the materials needed to produce the most efficient design is best. Each item used in the design, the build or destroyed or modified along the way adds to the total cost. Height: Higher is better: 40% of your final score The height is measured from the surface upon which the tower sits (table top or floor) to the bottom of the tennis ball, to the nearest ½. Fastest build: Faster is better: 20% of your final score The number of minutes from the start to the completion time is the total time to build (in minutes). All data sheets will be returned to TSA. The data will be entered into a computerized scoring template to produce the score. Calculating Cost: You are realistically constrained to use only the allowable materials in your final tower. In addition, any materials damaged or modified during the design or build count toward the final cost of the arm: for example, bent paper clips or a straw that is cut, but not used, would both count as used materials. Each item has a specific cost, as shown in the following table. When your tower is complete, a member of your team will list the number of each item used on the official scoresheet (note: enter the number of items used, NOT the total cost). For example, if you use 4 straws, enter: 4 not 200.

5 Cost per item used: Straw 50 straws cost: 50 each Small paper clip 50 clips cost: 2 each Large paper clip 50 clips cost: 3 each Pipe cleaner 50 pipe cleaners cost: 20 each Note: teams may use scissors to cut their straws, but the scissors may not be used as part of the structure.