Design Must-Haves

6.B Apply scientific ideas, results from testing designs, and the interactions identified on system models to modify our designs in order to improve the flow of energy to food.

If you notice that students are struggling with finding ways to optimize and improve their designs, follow up with these students in Lesson 7 as they compare and discuss in groups the differences in designs. Ask students to think about how these differences in designs impact how energy is being transferred to the food. Students will have another opportunity in Lesson 9 to connect their final designs to the Energy Transfer Model. So you can take that opportunity to revisit this idea and ask the students how each of their different models is helping them plan and test their proposed designs.

Additional Lesson 6 Teacher Guidance

SUPPORTING STUDENTS IN MAKING CONNECTIONS IN MATH

• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3 Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
• CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3.A Make tables of equivalent ratios relating quantities with whole-number measurements, find missing values in the tables, and plot the pairs of values on the coordinate plane. Use tables to compare ratios.
• During this lesson and Lesson 9, students will scale up the amount of reactants to use in their homemade heaters but maintain the same proportion of reactants they found to be most efficient in previous testing.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.1 Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, "The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was 1 beak." "For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes."

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.RP.A.3.D Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing quantities.

During this lesson and Lesson 9, students will need to calculate the correct amounts of hydrated water beads and plain water to make “water bead soup” as a proxy for food in their prototype heaters. The ratio of water beads to plain water is 1:3 (1 part water beads to 3 parts water), and students will measure the beads and water in grams.