5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: BUILDING A SOLAR OVEN. Jill Cataldi

Transcription

1 5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: BUILDING A SOLAR OVEN Jill Cataldi

2 FEATURE // AROUND THE WORLD BY STEM AN INTERVIEW WITH A MISSION ENGINEER AT SOLAR IMPULSE SOLAR IMPULSE 2 FLYING OVER NAGANO MOUNTAIN REGION SOLAR IMPULSE ANDRÉ BORSCHBERG 16 EARLY FALL 2015 // STEMJOBS.COM

3 AROUND WORLD STEM AN INTERVIEW WITH A MISSION ENGINEER AT SOLAR IMPULSE. BY PAT SYLVES If you haven t heard of Solar Impulse by now, you ve probably been living under a rock or more specifically, under a rock without a smartphone. The Sweden-based aviation innovation company aims to achieve the first roundthe-world solar flight. Despite some technical setbacks, the team plans to launch their landmark flight in Solar Impulse wouldn t be possible without the hard work of the many engineers, scientists and numerous STEMgineers who support the organization. We sat down with Laila Fathi, a mission engineer at Solar Impulse, to learn more about the amazing things they are accomplishing and how she piloted her own STEM career. STEMJOBS.COM // EARLY FALL

4 SOLAR IMPULSE NAME: LAILA FATHI TITLE: MISSION ENGINEER EMPLOYER: SOLAR IMPULSE MAJOR: AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING STEM JOBS: Laila, how did you start your career at Solar Impulse? LAILA FATHI: I began by studying meteorology at the University of Vienna. After two years of studying, I heard of the possibility to study aeronautical engineering in another city in Austria. I applied and was accepted into the program in During my studies in Austria I visited the Paris Air Show in 2011, where Solar Impulse was one of the exhibitors. There I met two of the mission engineers working for Solar Impulse and immediately applied as an intern for the following year. I got the opportunity to join Solar Impulse in 2012 as an intern for the Morocco mission. After finishing my studies in 2014, I once again joined the team of Solar Impulse as a mission engineer for the round-the-world solar flight. SJ: What kind of career opportunities are provided at Solar Impulse? LF: There are different teams working for Solar Impulse. A technical team, located in Switzerland, focuses on building our solar powered aircraft. They include mechanical, electrical and structural engineers, as well as aerodynamic specialists. Mission Control is based out of Monaco, where mission engineers, meteorologists, mathematicians and a controller focus on mission planning and execution. In regards to the flight, we have two pilots, a logistics team, press team, media team and a ground crew operations team working hand in hand. SJ: What do you love about working with Solar Impulse? Any great memories that stick out in particular? LF: I really appreciate the spirit and the work environment of the Solar Impulse team. I like their vision of making the world a better place to live without exploiting their resources. I also really love airplanes: the aviation industry is creative, innovative and full of passion. At Solar Impulse I got the chance to combine my two passions: aviation and meteorology. Weather is paramount to flying Solar Impulse and I have the chance to learn a lot from our experienced team of meteorologists. Our Pacific flight, especially the moment when the pilot and the team decided to continue the flight from Japan to Hawaii (a 118-hour flight), was a great memory. SJ: What advice would you give to young women looking to pursue a similar career path? LF: It is important not to give yourself a border. If a girl is interested in the aviation industry, even if it s a male dominated career field, she should try and focus on her dream. Even if it gets hard, everything is possible. If you re interested in aeronautical engineering, start flying by yourself, no matter if that includes paragliding, gliding, flying model airplanes or even piloting small aircraft. This will give you a better understanding of engineering, motivate you in your studies and give you the chance to meet experienced people who are working, or used to work, in aeronautical engineering. 18 EARLY FALL 2015 // STEMJOBS.COM

5 5-E CLASSROOM STEM ACTIVITY: BUILDING A SOLAR OVEN Here are some ideas for how middle school teachers could use this story as a launching point for integrated STEM learning. Our activities follow the 5-E Learning Cycle Model. Part 1: Engage Teachers should read the STEM Jobs article about solar-powered projects that can be found at edu.stemjobs.com/teacher-resources for additional background and ideas about solar projects. Ask students, What does it mean for something to be solar powered? Have students read the STEM Jobs article on Solar Impulse. What are some items in everyday life that could be solar powered? Do you use anything that works on solar power? Part 2: Explore Show students a video about building a solar-powered oven out of a pizza box that can be found at edu.stemjobs.com/teacher-resources. The students will then split into groups to design and build their own solar-powered ovens. All students will work together on all aspects of the project, but each will have a specific title and primary role within the team. They will take into consideration the design shown in the video and try to improve on that by creating their own design. Would a different cardboard box work better? Can insulation be added? Can anything be substituted for the foil or plastic wrap? They will do research to better understand the scientific principles that go into building solar ovens, such as heat gain, heat loss, and heat storage. (Resources available at edu.stemjobs.com/teacher-resources). Engineer: The engineer of the group will be responsible for the design of the oven. What size? What materials will need to be used? What mathematical calculations would be necessary? Builder: The builder will work closely with the engineer to construct the solar oven design. The builder will put together the materials, contributed by all members of the team, to build the solar oven. Marketer: The marketer will be responsible for sharing the team s design and completed solar oven with the rest of the class. The marketer will need to be familiar with the design of the oven and ways in which the oven is expected to work. Reporter: The reporter will be responsible for putting together a brief, one-page report about the solar oven. The report will include information reflecting on how the team was able to work together to design and construct the solar oven, as well as any compiled research and calculations that went into building the oven. NOTES 1 STEMjobs.com Building a Solar Oven

6 Part 3: Explain Each group will have the opportunity to present their solar oven. They will explain the design and why they chose the certain features included in the design. They will explain any necessary calculations that led to the design of the solar oven and how the oven should be expected to work. Part 4: Elaborate Now that the students should have a better understanding of solar power, they will get back into their groups to discuss other items that can be solar powered. They should compile a list of 5-10 ideas and then choose one of those ideas to elaborate on. What benefits would there be to using solar power to power that particular item? Are there instances when solar powered items would not be beneficial? The groups should take just minutes to compile their list and their additional thoughts and information about a particular solar-powered item. Then the classroom floor can be opened for discussions about the various items. Part 5: Evaluate The solar ovens will be put to the test. Students will take their solar ovens to an outside location to test their capabilities. Each oven should be tested using the same task, such as melting cheese on nachos. Each group will take their turn (this can be done individually or all groups can try the experiment simultaneously, depending on time) melting cheese on nachos using their solar oven. Using a stopwatch, they will be able to time how long it takes for the cheese to melt fully over the nachos. The team with the best time wins. Back in the classroom, the students can discuss if the design they thought was best is the oven that turned out to actually have the best time. Did all the ovens work properly? Why or why not? Students will also submit the one-page report to go along with their project. NOTES 2 STEMjobs.com Building a Solar Oven

7 Next Generation Science Standards: 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-PS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer. Cross-Curricular Connections: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH Integrate visual information (e.g. in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.7/8.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacherled) with diverse partners on grade 7/8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Science 6.2.B design and implement experimental investigations by making observations, asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and using appropriate equipment and technology 6.7.B research and debate the advantages and disadvantages of using coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and solar resources 3 STEMjobs.com Building a Solar Oven