Engineering Air Cushion Protection Systems

Bell Ringer As you enter, get a note card and list some answers for this question: What technologies can you think of that have been invented to make people safer? Reminder: A technology is anything made to fulfill a human need or want.

As you watch this video, watch closely to see what a valuable role and airbag can play and how the airbag works.

Designing Air Cushions What can we learn from airbags? What are airbags? What is their function? How do they operate? What causes them to inflate?

How an Air Bag works

Blow it up! http://bit.ly/QHbarU

Criteria and Constraint Criteria: Your Air Cushion must. . . Produce a chemical reaction. Not overinflate or underinflate. Not leak. Protect a passenger from injury in a fall from a high structure. Constraint: You must . . . Use only materials provided by the teacher.

Think about it . . . What needs to happen to cause the air cushion to deploy? How can you accomplish that with the materials available? How far should the air cushion inflate and how will you measure this? What are the chances of stumbling onto the correct amount of baking soda to add by accident? What do we know from math that will allow you to determine the correct amount?

Designing an airbag Airbag overinflated: Airbag underinflated: Draw a sketch of an airbag that’s inflated enough to keep a cup with pennies from bouncing off, and to keep it from hitting the floor.

Line graph Bag diameter (cm) Amount of baking soda (g)

Exit Slip Write any question you have about today’s work on a notecard. If you have no questions, write one thing you learned today. Give your card to your teacher on the way out.

Day 2 Bell Ringer Your team is designing an air cushion to help to protect a person falling or jumping from a high structure from injury. What did you do on Day 1? What is the next thing you think your team will need to do?

Procedures Design 2 air cushions. One air cushion should be overinflated. The other should be underinflated. Use exactly 150 mL of acetic acid for each test. Vary the amount of sodium bicarbonate for each test. Examine your materials and design your air cushions. Measure the amount of inflation of each air cushion. Graph 2 data points and construct a line graph.

Make a Data Sheet

Team Exit Slip On a notecard write your team name and the estimated amount of baking soda you will use in creating your prototype air cushion. Give this card to your teacher on the way out.

Day 3 Bell Ringer Engineers use technology to solve practical problems in society. What practical problem in society is your team addressing in this engineering challenge? What kind of technology are you designing to solve this problem? Which part(s) of the Engineering Design Process will you be working on today? Write your answers on an index card.

Criteria and Constraint Criteria: Your Air Cushion must . . . Produce a chemical reaction. Not overinflate or underinflate. Not leak. Protect a passenger from injury in a fall from a high structure. Constraint: You must . . . Use only materials provided by the teacher.

Observation Sheet Amount of NaHCO3 (g) Circumference of bag (cm)

Day 3 Exit Slip What was the most important thing you learned from this lesson on designing an air cushion protection system?