Tennis Anyone?

Build Materials (For each team)

Required Materials

• Pipe cleaners
• Bendable aluminum wire (craft or floral)
• Straws
• Paper towel tubes
• Paper clips
• Balloons
• Glue
• String
• Aluminum foil
• Plastic wrap

Testing Materials

• Ping pong ball covered in Velcro (hook and loop)
• Target board of cloth or Velcro with scoring boxes (example in Student Worksheets).

Design Challenge

You are part of a team of engineers who have been given the challenge of designing a tennis racquet that can consistently hit a ball to a target.

Criteria

• Racquet must be strong enough to stay together throughout the challenge.

Constraints

• Use only the materials provided.
• Teams may trade unlimited materials.

1. Break class into teams of 3-4.
2. Hand out the Tennis Anyone? worksheet, as well as some sheets of paper for sketching designs.
3. Discuss the topics in the Background Concepts Section. To introduce the lesson, consider asking the students how the tennis racquet has evolved over time. Ask them to think about how engineers incorporate newer materials or manufacturing processes to change and improve the performance or durability of a product.
   If time allows, have students review the resources on the history and manufacturing of tennis racquets on the International Tennis Federation website (http://www.itftennis.com/technical/rackets-and-strings/overview.aspx/)
4. Review the Engineering Design Process, Design Challenge, Criteria, Constraints and Materials.
5. Provide each team with their materials.
6. Explain that students must design a tennis racquet that can consistently hit a ball to a target.
7. Announce the amount of time they have to design and build (1 hour recommended).
8. Use a timer or an on-line stopwatch (count down feature) to ensure you keep on time. (www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch). Give students regular “time checks” so they stay on task. If they are struggling, ask questions that will lead them to a solution quicker.
9. Students meet and develop a plan for their tennis racquet. They agree on materials they will need, write/draw their plan, and present their plan to the class. Teams may trade unlimited materials with other teams to develop their ideal parts list.
10. Teams build their designs.
11. Teams test their racquet design by using the racquet to hit a ping pong ball covered in Velcro toward a target. The goal is to use the racquet to hit the ball in the bullseye (or as close to the center as possible). Each team member may try the racquet up to three times. The six highest scores will be used to determine the team score.  This way, if one team member has better aim than another, it will not matter.
    If the racquet falls apart during testing, each team should take the scores accumulated up until it was no longer usable and add zeros, if fewer than 6 scores were collected.
    Scoring:
    ● Center square = 10 points
    ● Next square out = 6 points
    ● Outer square = 2 points
12. Teams document their highest 6 scores and compare scores across teams.
13. As a class, discuss the student reflection questions.
14. For more content on the topic, see the “Digging Deeper” section.

Student Reflection (engineering notebook)

1. How similar was your original design to the actual racquet your team built?
2. If you found you needed to make changes during the construction phase, describe why your team decided to make revisions.
3. Did your racquet survive the testing phase? If not, what would you have done differently in design or building to ensure it would have survived?
4. At the end of the testing phase, did your racquet experience significant damage? If so, what type of reinforcement would you have incorporated if you did this challenge again?
5. After the testing phase, what features would you have incorporated into a new design? What other materials might you have used?
6. Which racquet that another team made was the most effective or interesting to you? Why?
7. Do you think that this activity was more rewarding to do as a team, or would you have preferred to work alone on it? Why?

The lesson can be done in as little as 1 class period for older students. However, to help students from feeling rushed and to ensure student success (especially for younger students), split the lesson into two periods giving students more time to brainstorm, test ideas and finalize their design. Conduct the testing and debrief in the next class period.

• Constraints: Limitations with material, time, size of team, etc.
• Criteria: Conditions that the design must satisfy like its overall size, etc.
• Engineers: Inventors and problem-solvers of the world. Twenty-five major specialties are recognized in engineering (see infographic).
• Engineering Design Process: Process engineers use to solve problems. 
• Engineering Habits of Mind (EHM): Six unique ways that engineers think.
• Iteration: Test & redesign is one iteration. Repeat (multiple iterations).
• Prototype: A working model of the solution to be tested.
• Racquet: A sports implement (usually consisting of a handle and an oval frame with a tightly interlaced network of strings) used to strike a ball.

Internet Connections

• International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum

Recommended Reading

• The Physics and Technology of Tennis (ISBN: 978- 0972275903)
• Technical Tennis: Racquets, Strings, Balls, Courts, Spin, and Bounce (ISBN: 978-0199557684)

Writing Activity

Write an essay or a paragraph about how the use of titanium has impacted the sports of golf, table tennis, and other sports. How has titanium use by engineers impacted other industries?

Alignment to Curriculum Frameworks

Note: Lesson plans in this series are aligned to one or more of the following sets of standards:  

• U.S. Science Education Standards (http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=4962)
• U.S. Next Generation Science Standards (http://www.nextgenscience.org/) 
• International Technology Education Association’s Standards for Technological Literacy (http://www.iteea.org/TAA/PDFs/xstnd.pdf)
• U.S. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’ Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (http://www.nctm.org/standards/content.aspx?id=16909)
• U.S. Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (http://www.corestandards.org/Math)
• Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science Standards (http://csta.acm.org/Curriculum/sub/K12Standards.html)

National Science Education Standards Grades K-4 (ages 4-9)

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science as Inquiry

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry 

CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science

As a result of the activities, all students should develop an understanding of

• Properties of objects and materials 
• Position and motion of objects 

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology 

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design 
• Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans 

CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science and technology in local challenges 

CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science as a human endeavor 

National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8 (ages 10-14)

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science as Inquiry

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry 

CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science

As a result of their activities, all students should develop an understanding of

• Properties and changes of properties in matter 
• Motions and forces 
• Transfer of energy 

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology

As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design 
• Understandings about science and technology 

CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science and technology in society 

National Science Education Standards Grades 5-8 (ages 10-14)

CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science as a human endeavor 
• Nature of science 
• History of science 

National Science Education Standards Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)

CONTENT STANDARD A: Science as Inquiry

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry 

CONTENT STANDARD B: Physical Science 

As a result of their activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Motions and forces 

CONTENT STANDARD E: Science and Technology

As a result of activities, all students should develop

• Abilities of technological design 
• Understandings about science and technology 

CONTENT STANDARD F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science and technology in local, national, and global challenges 

CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

As a result of activities, all students should develop understanding of

• Science as a human endeavor 
• Nature of scientific knowledge 
• Historical perspectives 

Next Generation Science Standards Grades 2-5 (Ages 7-11)

Matter and its Interactions 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• 2-PS1-2.  Analyze data obtained from testing different materials to determine which materials have the properties that are best suited for an intended purpose.

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions 

Students who demonstrate understanding can: 

• 3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object. 

Engineering Design 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• 3-5-ETS1-1.Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
• 3-5-ETS1-2.Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Next Generation Science Standards Grades 2-5 (Ages 7-11)

Engineering Design 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• 3-5-ETS1-3.Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.

Next Generation Science Standards Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-14)

Engineering Design 

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

• MS-ETS1-1.  Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
• MS-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

Standards for Technological Literacy – All Ages

The Nature of Technology

• Standard 1: Students will develop an understanding of the characteristics and scope of technology.
• Standard 3: Students will develop an understanding of relationships among technologies & the connections between technology & other fields of study.

Technology and Society

• Standard 4: Students will develop an understanding of the cultural, social, economic, and political effects of technology.
• Standard 6: Students will develop an understanding of the role of society in the development and use of technology.
• Standard 7: Students will develop an understanding of the influence of technology on history.

Design

• Standard 8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design.
• Standard 9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.
• Standard 10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem solving.

Abilities for a Technological World

• Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process.

The Designed World

• Standard 19: Students will develop an understanding of and be able to select and use manufacturing technologies.

Research and Planning

You are part of a team of engineers who have been given the challenge of designing a tennis racquet out of everyday materials that can consistently hit a ball to a target. Read the handouts provided to you by your teacher, and if you also have access to the internet visit the International Tennis Federation at www.itftennis.com/technical/equipment/rackets to gain more understanding about the history and design of tennis racquets.

Design Phase

You have been provided with many materials from which to design and build your own tennis racquet.  Your racquet must be strong enough to stay together throughout the challenge.  In the box below draw a diagram of your racquet and provide a list of the materials you plan to use.

Building Phase

Build your racquet according to your plan…but you may adjust it in the manufacturing process.  You may also request additional materials, or trade materials with other student teams.  If you make revisions to your design, consider why you are making a change.

Testing Phase

Try out your racquet!  You’ll use your racquet to hit a ping pong ball that has been covered in hook & loop or Velcro toward a target.  Your goal is to use your racquet to hit your ball in the bullseye (or as close to the center as possible for highest points).  Each member of your team may try the racquet up to three times — and the six highest scores will be used to determine your team score.  This way, if one team member has better aim than another, it will not matter.

During this phase, be sure to examine all the different designs of racquets created by all the teams in your class.  There is no right or wrong way to complete this challenge, and much can be learned by observing the engineering ideas of other teams.

Scoring

The center of the target is worth 10 points, the middle area is worth 6, and the outer area is worth 2.

Remember to only include your top six scores in the table below:

If your racquet falls apart during testing, you’ll take the scores you accumulated until it was unusable, and add zeros if fewer than six scores were achieved.

Reflection

Complete the reflection questions below:

1. How similar was your original design to the actual racquet your team built?

2. If you found you needed to make changes during the construction phase, describe why your team decided to make revisions.

3. Did your racquet survive the testing phase? If not, what would you have done differently in design or building to ensure it would have survived?

4. At the end of the testing phase, did your racquet experience significant damage? If so, what type of reinforcement would you have incorporated if you did this challenge again?

5. After the testing phase, what features would you have incorporated into a new design? What other materials might you have used?

6. Which racquet that another team made was the most effective or interesting to you? Why?

7. Do you think that this activity was more rewarding to do as a team, or would you have preferred to work alone on it? Why?

Lesson Plan Translation

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