Tinkering with Tops

Build Materials

Optional Materials (Trading/Table of Possibilities)

• Sharpened pencils
• pens
• toothpicks
• cds/dvds
• coffee stirrers
• marbles
• paper plates
• plastic lids
• pennies
• metal washers
• string
• clay

Testing Materials

• Stopwatch or timer

Materials

• Stopwatch or timer
• Ruler/Tape Measure

Process

Teams test their designs by having each team spin their top within the circle and time how long their top can spin within the circle before stopping. Each team should test their top 4 times and document the amount of time their top could spin for each test. Teams should calculate the average amount of time their top could spin across all 4 tests.

Design Challenge

You are a team of engineers working together to design and build a spinning top out of everyday materials. The top must be designed to spin for at least 10 seconds within a circle 30 cm in diameter.

Criteria 

• Top designed to spin for at least 10 seconds within a circle 30 cm in diameter.

Constraints

• Use only the materials provided
• Can trade unlimited materials with other teams

1. Divide the class into teams of 2-3.
2. Hand out the Design a Spinning Top worksheet, as well as some sheets of paper for sketching designs. 
3. Discuss the topics in the Background Concepts Section. Have students visit Wikipedia Gyroscopic Effect (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope) to learn about gyroscopes.
4. Review the Engineering Design Process, Design Challenge, Criteria, Constraints and Materials. 
5. Instruct students to start brainstorming and sketching their designs. Before they start brainstorming as them to consider:
   • Experimenting with different quantities of weights and the placement of those weights.
   • How the distance between the body of the top and the point affects the design.

    

6. Provide each team with the materials. They may select materials from the table of possibilities. 
7. Explain that teams must develop a spinning top that is designed to spin for 10 seconds within a circle 30 cm in diameter.
8. Announce the amount of time they have to design and build (1 hour recommended). 
9. 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. 
10. Teams meet and develop a plan for their spinning top. They select the materials they would like to use from the table of possibilities. Teams may trade unlimited materials with other teams to develop their ideal parts list.
11. Teams build their designs. 
12. Teams test their designs by spinning their top within the circle and time how long their top can spin within the circle before stopping. Each team should test their top 4 times and document the amount of time their top could spin for each test. 
13. Teams then calculate the average amount of time their top could spin across all 4 tests. 
14. As a class, discuss the student reflection questions.
15. For more content on the topic, see the “Digging Deeper” section.

Student Reflection (engineering notebook)

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?
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?

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.

Internet Connections

• Wikipedia Gyroscopic Effect
• Spinning Top & Yo-Yo Museum 

Recommended Reading

• Tops: Making the Universal Toy (ISBN: 978-1933502175)
• The Top-Universal Toy, Enduring Pastime (ISBN: 978-0517504161)
• The Little Book of Tops: Tricks, Lore, and More/Book and Top (ISBN 978-1561383108)

Writing Activity 

Write a paragraph or essay describing how engineering is applied in the toy industry.

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 

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

• Motions and forces 

CONTENT STANDARD G: History and Nature of Science

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

• 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 

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

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

• Historical perspectives 

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

Matter and its Interactions

• 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.
• 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-ETS1-2 Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (ages 11 – 14)

Measurement Standard

-Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements. 

• solve simple problems involving rates and derived measurements for such attributes as velocity and density. 

Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (ages 14 – 18)

Measurement Standard

– Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements.

• analyze precision, accuracy, and approximate error in measurement situations.

Common Core State Standards for School Mathematics Grades 3-8 (ages 8-14)

Measurement and data

• Measure and estimate lengths in standard units.
• CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.A.1 Measure the length of an object by selecting and using appropriate tools such as rulers, yardsticks, meter sticks, and measuring tapes.
• CCSS.Math.Content.2.MD.A.3 Estimate lengths using units of inches, feet, centimeters, and meters.

Standards for Technological Literacy – All Ages

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.

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