📏 I5 Wheels & Measuring

Gizmo Delivery Co. keeps parking its vans in the wrong spot. They need engineers who can make vehicles go an EXACT distance.

Inventors, Intermediate. Engineer Stamp: Precision Pilot.

Lessons

1. The crank cruiser: Turn a handle, the car drives. How far for one turn?
2. Propeller counter: Here the wheels drive the propeller. Can we count one to measure the other?
3. Big wheels, small wheels: Do big wheels go farther per turn? How much farther?
4. The pull-back speeder: This speeder has gears inside. Faster, but how far?
5. Design Day: Precision parking: The Gizmo van must park at the loading dock, not in the pond!
6. Showcase: Precision Parking Cup: Three tries each, measured to the centimetre. Closest average wins.

Design challenge

Build a vehicle that parks in a 10 cm box exactly 1 metre away.

Engineering ideas

• Axles & Wheels
• Gear Ratio: Fast or Slow
• Torque vs Speed

Standards: CCSS 4.MD.A.2, 3-5-ETS1-3