Solve the Problem

Introduction

Welcome! You are an engineer who works to solve problems! Society benefits when engineers like you apply scientific discoveries to design materials and processes that develop into enabling technologies. Basically, an engineer uses knowledge and tools that we already have to make new inventions that will help people! For example, the Wright brothers were engineers who used their brain and materials they already had to create the first airplane. Airplanes are something we use everyday so that invention helped people a lot. That's what you will do today as an engineer!

Task

Here is your task:

1: You will select a tool, technology, or invention that was used to solve a human problem. You will do this five times.

2: You will think of two tools, technologies, or inventions that have helped solve a human problem.

3: You will be given three problems. You can choose one of these to solve with a tool, technology, or invention that you created. 

Process

Let's start from the beginning! Answer the following questions about five different things created by engineers. Use the links below if you need help.

https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001016.htm

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-telephone-alexander-graham-bell-1991380

http://www.women-inventors.com/Mary-Anderson.asp

https://www.livescience.com/43424-who-invented-the-light-bulb.html

https://forgottennewsmakers.com/2010/04/20/josephine-cochrane-1839-1913-invented-the-dishwasher/

**Tip: Sometimes a group of engineers working for one company create the tool. It is okay to use the group name if you cannot find one person's name. For example, it is okay to say Apple created the iPhone.

1. The Internet

  • Who created it?

 

  • When was it created?

 

  • What kind of problems has it solved?

 

2. The Telephone

  • Who created it?

 

  • When was it created?

 

  • What kind of problems has it solved?

 

3. The Windshield Wiper

  • Who created it?

 

  • When was it created?

 

  • What kind of problems has it solved?

 

4. The Lightbulb

  • Who created it?

 

  • When was it created?

 

  • What kind of problems has it solved?

 

5. The Dishwasher

  • Who created it?

 

  • When was it created?

 

  • What kind of problems has it solved?

 

 

Time for step 2! Think of two other inventions that engineers created to help solve problems. 

1. What invention helped solve human problems? What problem did it solve?

 

 

 

2. What invention helped solve human problems? What problem did it solve?

 

 

 

Step 3 is to choose one of the following problems and create a new way to solve that problem. Write a short paragraph describing your new invention and draw a picture of it. You do not have to have all of the answers to creating your invention yet. Be creative and use your imagination, but also be realistic. Good luck!

** You DO NOT have to solve all three problems.Choose ONE.

1. Every time I go to the grocery store, I have to ask someone to hand me the items I need from the top shelf. I do not want to bother other shoppers and I do not want to climb up the shelves. Think of a new invention that will help me get my items from the top shelf.

2. When my dad goes to work, he spends his day hand writing court records. He is not allowed to use a laptop. When he comes home, his hands are so tired and sore that he cannot play with me and my siblings. What is something new that he could use to keep his hands from being sore at work?

3. My mother works in the middle of the night so I have to take care of my two younger siblings. My sister is in kindergarten and has to be woken up every four hours to take diabetes medicine. My baby brother has to be fed his bottle every two hours. It is all up to me to take care of them, but I need sleep too! What is a new invention I could use to make sure they are cared for without losing too much of my sleep?

**Tip: Remember that you are working to solve a problem. Explain in your paragraph what your invention ism how it works, and how it solves the problem. 

 

Evaluation

Part 1

Student did not complete the work and most of the answers were incorrect.

Student completed the work but many answers are incorrect.

Student completed the work with minimal errors and showed good understanding.

Student completed the work with little to no errors and great understanding.

Part 2

Student did not complete the work and most of the answers were incorrect.

Student completed the work but many answers are incorrect.

Student completed the work with minimal errors and showed good understanding.

Student completed the work with little to no errors and great understanding.

Part 3

Student did not complete the work and what was completed did not make sense.

Student completed the work but the paragraph was difficult to understand.

Student completed the work with minimal errors and showed good understanding.

Student completed the work with little to no errors and great understanding of the subject going above and beyond in his or her writing.

Conclusion

Good job, engineers! All great inventions started with a problem. Next time you run into a problem, think of ways you can solve it! Engineers can be kids or adults. Engineers can speak any language. Engineers can be boys or girls. The possibilities are endless! You can be a great engineer too and make a difference for everybody.

If you want to know how to become an engineer here is all you need:

A brain.

Credits

Teacher Page

Hi, Teachers! You can use this webquest to teach students about engineers and the science behind inventions.

Below are the Tennessee state standards that support this webquest:

  • SPI 0507.Inq.1 Explore different scientific phenomena by asking questions, making logical predictions, planning investigations, and recording data. Identify specific investigations that could be used to answer a particular question and identify reasons for this choice.
  • SPI 0507.Inq.2 Select and use appropriate tools and simple equipment to conduct an investigation. 

Here are a few questions you can ask students to further their learning:

  • What problems do you have that need a solution?
  • Can kids become engineers too?
  • What materials do you have in your desk that you could use to create something?
  • If you were inventing something, name one person you would want to work with. 
  • How are engineers changing the world?
  • Why should we all strive to solve problems instead of leaving them the way they are?

Here are some books that will aide in learning:

  • "Marvelous Mattie" by Emily Arnold McCully
  • "The Boy who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth" by Kathleen Krull
  • "The Usborne Book of Inventors" by Patricia Fara and Struan Reid
  • "Inventor McGregor" by Kathleen T. Pelley
  • "Girls Think of Everything" by Catharine Temmish
  • "Robert Cade: Gatorade Inventor" by Joanne Mattern
  • "Imaginative Inventions" by Charise Mericle Harper
  • "The Hole Story of the Doughnut" by Pat Miller

Enjoy this webquest with your class!