Sum of Your Parts

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A group of 6 learners works together as a team with each learner performing a different role. Together, they need to maneuver a die through a maze. After accomplishing the task with all roles, one or more learners are taken from the team to see how that affects the team's performance. Use this activity to show how all parts of a system work together. When learners set up a free account at Kinetic City, they can answer bonus questions at the end of the activity as a quick assessment. As a larger assessment, learners can complete the Bug Blaster game after they've completed several activities.

Quick Guide

Preparation Time:
5 to 10 minutes
Learning Time:
10 to 30 minutes
Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per group of students
Age Range:
Ages 8 - 11
Resource Type:
Activity
Language:
English

Materials List (per group of students)

  • A drive tool (e.g. ruler, chopsticks)
  • A six-sided die
  • A roll of tape
  • A marker
  • A stopwatch or clock with second hand
  • Diagram of the Playing Field

Keywords

Subjects

  • Engineering and Technology
    • Engineering
  • The Nature of Technology
    • The Design Process
      • Problem Solving
      • Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Audience

To use this activity, learners need to:

  • see
  • read
  • use mouse
  • touch

Learning styles supported:

  • Involves teamwork and communication skills
  • Involves hands-on or lab activities

Other

Components that are part of this resource:

Includes assesments for student learning:

This resource is part of:

Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2009

Funding Source:

  • National Science Foundation