Tinkering with Tops

Student Worksheet:
Design a Spinning Top

You are a team of engineers who have been given the challenge to design a spinning top out of everyday items. The top needs to be able to spin for at least 10 seconds within a circle that is 30 cm in diameter. The top that can spin the longest in the circle is the winner.

 Planning Stage
Meet as a team and discuss the problem you need to solve. Then develop and agree on a design for your spinning top. You'll need to determine what materials you want to use.

Draw your design in the box below, and be sure to indicate the description and number of parts you plan to use. Present your design to the class. 

Design: 																																																																																																																																																																																															Materials Needed:

																																																																																				

																								

You may choose to revise your teams' plan after you receive feedback from class.

 Construction Phase
Build your top. Tips: You may want to experiment with different quantities of weights and the placement of those weights, as well as the distance between the body of the top and the point. During construction you may decide you need additional materials or that your design needs to change. This is ok – just make a new sketch and revise your materials list.
Tinkering with Tops

Student Worksheet:
Design a Spinning Top (continued)

 Testing Phase
Each team will test their top. You'll need to time your test to make sure your top can spin for at least 10 seconds within a circle that is 30 cm in diameter. Be sure to watch the tests of the other teams and observe how their different designs worked.

	Time Spun within 30 cm Circle	Total Time Spun	
Test 1	
		
Test 2

Test 3

Test 4 	
		
Average	

 Evaluation Phase
Evaluate your teams' results, complete the evaluation worksheet, and present your findings to the class.

Use this worksheet to evaluate your team's results in the Tinkering with Tops lesson:
1.	Did you succeed in creating a top that spun for at least 10 seconds within the 30 cm circle? If so, what was the maximum time it spun? If not, why did it fail?

2.	Did you decide to revise your original design or request additional materials while in the construction phase? Why?

3.	Did you negotiate any material trades with other teams? How did that process work for you?

Tinkering with Tops

Student Worksheet:
Design a Spinning Top (continued)

4.	If you could have had access to materials that were different than those provided, what would your team have requested? Why?

5.	Do you think that engineers have to adapt their original plans during the construction of systems or products? Why might they?

6.	If you had to do it all over again, how would your planned design change? Why?

7.	What designs or methods did you see other teams try that you thought worked well?

8.	Do you think you would have been able to complete this project easier if you were working alone? Explain…

9.	Can you devise a way to calculate the number of rotations your top made in 10 seconds?  If so how?

10.	 Why do you think the spinning top has been such a universal toy?