Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios1].pdf · Name Design Team Date Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios Sheet Use a fraction to represent each pair of meshing

$Page 1: Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios1].pdf · Name Design Team Date Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios Sheet Use a fraction to represent each pair of meshing$
Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYThis activity offers an opportunity for students to use fraction multiplication tocalculate the overall gear ratio in a compound gear train. Students use fractions to represent each gear ratio in a gear train. The class reviews how to multiply fractions. Students multiply the gear ratio fractions to find the overall ratios forgear trains.

RATIONALE Students will engage in the following: • use fractions to represent ratios• multiply fractions to calculate compound gear train ratios

TIME2 class sessions

MATERIALS• for each student, one copy of the Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear

Ratios Sheet • if possible, gear materials from the kit for students to use as needed

Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios

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MAKINGCONNECTIONSThis activity should be done after theMeasuringPerformance:Compound Gear Trains activity.

Classroom Activity

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONShow the students a compound gear train built with the materials in the kit. Youcan select one from the Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios Sheet, ormake one up.

Ask students to state the ratios of the pairs of gears in this gear train. (Considerthat the axle with the 15-tooth gear on the left to be axle A, the driver axle.)

�

�

�

Write the ratios on the board in fraction form.The fraction form is sometimes used to express ratios, especially ratios that will

be multiplied to find an overall ratio.Show students how to multiply the numerators and the denominators to find

the overall gear ratio for the gear train.

� � �

�

Another way to think of this is the following:

� �1 rotation of C1 rotation of D

5 rotations of B1 rotation of C

3 rotations of A1 rotation of B

151

3�5�11�1�1

11

51

31

11

rotations of Crotations of D

51

rotations of Brotations of C

31

rotations of Arotations of B

Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios118

TEACHER TIP When

students multiplyseries of numbers,they often lose senseof the units, or, in thiscase, what the ratiorepresents. Be surestudents understandthe difference between1:3 and 3:1, and whatthis means in gearratios and other contexts.

TEACHER TIP Remind

students that the gearratio is the ratio ofturns, not the ratio ofgear teeth.

Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios 119

The rotations of B and of C divided by themselves equal 1, and therefore can beremoved from the numerators and denominators of the fractions:

�1

�1

therefore:

Ask students to explain what the fraction means as a gear ratio. Here are afew possible answers:• When the driver gear turns 15 times, the driven gear turns 1 time.

• The driven gear turns as fast as the driver gear.

• The driver gear turns 15 times faster than the driven gear.

• When the driver gear turns 1 time, the driven gear turns of a turn.

Draw this gear train on the board. The numbers on the gears represent the number of teeth on each of the gears.

Ask students: What is the gear ratio of gear A to gear B?There are several ways to find the gear ratio A:B. One way would be to turn the

gears to find how many times gear A must turn to turn gear B once. Gear A mustturn a little more than 2 times to turn gear B 1 time.

Another way to use fractions to represent turning ratios is to use the number ofteeth on the two meshing gears. The gear ratio A:B is equal to the number ofteeth on gear B divided by the number of teeth on gear A.

gear ratio A:B�

In this case, A:B =. Alert students that the numerator is the number of teeth

on gear B, not gear A. Gear ratiosdescribe turning relationships, not teeth relationships. When gear A turns 32times, gear B will turn 15 times.

Ask students to use fractions to find the gear ratio for this gear train:

3215

number of teeth on gear Bnumber of teeth on gear A

115

115

151

3�5�1 rotations of A1�1�1 rotations of D

rotations of Crotations of C

rotations of Brotations of B

15 32

A B

12 10

A B C

4530

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The numerator and denominator in these fractions are the number of teeth in the gears:

A:B�

B:C�

Ask students to simplify the fractions:

A:B�

B:C�

Ask students to multiply the fractions to find the gear train ratio:

� �

�

Gear ratios are often expressed in the form or . This ratio can be expressed

with a 1 in the denominator by dividing

the numerator by the denominator: 45 divided by 4 is 111/4 , or 11.25. The ratio for the gear train is 11.25:1. Studentsmay need more examples to understand how to do this.

Give each student a copy of the Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear RatiosSheet. Students use fractions to represent each gear ratio of each of the com-pound gear trains, then multiply the fractions to find the overall gear ratios.

FACILITATING STUDENT EXPLORATIONThe gears have numbers of teeth that are different than the numbers of teeth ofthe gears in the materials, so students will not be able to use the materials towork out the ratios. If students are having trouble, you may want to substituteproblems that use gears that have the familiar tooth numbers.

Help students with the fraction multiplication, and with reducing fractions tolowest terms. This may take time if students use a problem-solving approachrather than rules and algorithms. You may need to remind students to use thedriven gear teeth in the numerator and the driver teeth in the denominator. Theymay need to go back to turning meshing gear pairs to understand the meaning ofthe gear ratio formula.

Do students see the relevance of fractions as a way to express gear ratios? Howwell are students able to multiply fractions? Can students reduce fractions to lowest terms?

1n

n1

454

5�92�2

92

52

92

52

4510

3012


SHARING AND INTERPRETINGThis may be an opportunity for students to enhance their understanding of whatmultiplying fractions means.

Students may see that if gear B turns the amount of gear A and

gear C turns the amount of gear B then gear C turns of the amount of

gear A or the amount of gear A.19

13

13

13

13

Another way to discuss this is to consider the speed of the gears.

Students may see that if gear B reduces the rotational speed of gear A to ,

and gear C reduces the speed of gear B to , then the speed of gear C is

of , or the speed of gear A.

Homework Ideas

• Ask students to find the overall ratio of the current gear train on their vehicleby multiplying the fractions that represent the ratios of each meshing pair of gears.

• What different gear train ratios are possible using the three gear sizes suppliedwith the unit? (There are many!) Find the gear train ratios by multiplying thegear ratio fractions. Make a list of the different ratios you find.

• Use fraction multiplication to show why adding a simple gear between any twogears does not change the gear ratio of the two gears.

19

13

13

13

13

Notes

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Notes

Name �� Design Team �� Date ��

Multiplying Fractions toCalculate Gear RatiosSheetUse a fraction to represent each pair of meshing gears. Then multiply the fractions to find the gear ratiofor the gear train. The number on each gear is the number of teeth on the gear.

Here’s one way to solve these problems:

1.

2.


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1. Write a gear ratio fraction that represents each pair of meshing gears.

2. Simplify the fractions if you can.

3. Multiply the numerators and denominators.

4. Write the products.

5. Simplify the fraction if you can.

� � �

� � �

�

�

151

302

2�5�31�1�2

32

51

21

3020

5010

4020

10 20

30

40

20 10 20 30

40 50

1015 5030

10 10 40

40

(continued)

Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. ©

1996

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.


20 10 25 60

50 50

25 10 25 50

4060

25 20 10 40

40 50

25 10 20 50

60 60

20 20 20 50

50 50

Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYStudents have seen that different gear ratios produce different amounts of rim force. Students investigate properties of the three sizes of gears in the mate-rials kit. They investigate the relationship between the size of the gear and theamount of force at the rim.

Students measure the rim force transmitted by the three different size drivergears. Students mount each of the driver gears, in turn, on the motor shaft. Theyattach a string to the gear, which winds up on the gear as the motor turns.Students use a spring scale to measure the force each gear exerts on the string.They will find that the smaller the gear, the greater the force it exerts on the string.

RATIONALE Students will engage in the following: • investigate the abilities of gears of different sizes to transmit force from an axle• gain insight into the reasons that high and low gear ratios transmit greater and

smaller forces

TIME1–2 class sessions

MATERIALSfor each design team, the following materials from their vehicle materials kit:• the vehicle frame• 1 15-tooth gear• 1 45-tooth gear• 1 75-tooth gear

Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears

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MAKINGCONNECTIONSThis activity should be done after theMeasuringPerformance:Compound Gear Trains activity.

also for each design team:• access to a spring scale (several teams can share these)• a short piece of string (this can be the looped string used for the turning force

test in the Measuring Performance: Speed and Wheel Rim Force and MeasuringPerformance: Compound Gear Trains activities)

• a rubber band or tape to attach the string to the gears• a copy of the Measuring the Rim Force of Gears Table

PREPARATION FOR THE ACTIVITYPrepare the two investigation setups, described below, for the class demonstration.

Classroom Activity

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONBegin by discussing the difference between driver and driven gears. Ask studentsto describe what they know about driver gears and driven gears.• What does a driver gear do?• What makes a driver gear turn? Where does a driver gear get the force that

makes it turn?• What does a driven gear do?• What makes a driven gear turn? Where does a driven gear get the force that

makes it turn?

A driver gear transmits a force at its teeth to the driven gear. This force dependson the torque supplied by the motor and the radius of the gear. A driven geartransmits a torque to its axle, which depends on the force applied to its teeth andthe radius of the driven gear.

Tell students that they will measure and compare the rim forces of driver gearsof different sizes. This will help them better understand how the size of a gearaffects the size of the force it transmits.

The suggested setup of the driver-gear rim-force test is similar to the gear-train rim-force test students used in the Measuring Performance activities. Instead of the string winding onto the wheel, it winds onto a gear.

Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears126

Show students how to set up the driver gear investigation:Mount the motor near the center of the frame. Mount a 15-tooth gear on

the motor shaft. Attach one end of a short piece of string to the teeth of the 15-tooth gear. You can use tape, or tie the string to a small rubber band andwind the rubber band around the gear teeth. Attach the other end of the string to the spring scale. Hold the string so that it will wind onto the teeth of the 15-tooth gear when the motor is turned on.

Turn on the motor, guiding the string with your fingers so that it winds onto thegear teeth. When the motor stops, ask a student to read the force in newtonsindicated on the scale. (This is the maximum amount of rim force this gear cantransmit from the motor shaft to the string. When the motor is turning the forcewill be lower.)

Ask students to predict how the rim force of the 45-tooth gear and the 75-tooth gear will compare to the rim force of the 15-tooth gear. Students maypredict that the larger the gear, the greater the force.

Ask students to test their predictions by using this same procedure to measurethe forces transmitted by the 15-tooth gear, the 45-tooth gear, and the 75-toothgear. Remind students to use the Measuring the Rim Force of Gears Table torecord the force indicated on the scale.

Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears 127

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TEACHER TIP It may

be easier to wind thestring if two 15-toothgears are snappedtogether side by sideand wrapped with alayer of tape.

TEACHER TIP Remind

students to disconnectthe electricity as soonas they have read theforce on the scale.Leaving the electricityconnected while themotor cannot turn candamage the motor.

FACILITATING STUDENT EXPLORATIONHelp students set up the gears to do the investigations. Help them attach thestring so that it will wind evenly onto the gear without falling off.

SHARING AND INTERPRETING Discuss the students’ results for measuring the force of driver gears:• How do the force readings for the three gears compare?• Were your predictions correct?• Which gear transmits the most force to the scale?• Which gear transmits the least force to the scale?• Which gear would you use as a driver gear to transmit the greatest force to a

driven gear?

Students should find that the 15-tooth gear transmits the greatest force, and the75-tooth gear the least force. Students will probably get results close to these:

Interpreting DiscoveriesHelp students relate what they have learned from these tests to their previousobservations about the amounts of force transmitted by high-gear-ratio and low-gear-ratio gear trains. Ask students:• How have your ideas about rim force changed?• If you wanted to transmit the greatest amount of force from a driver gear to a

driven gear, which gears would you use?• If you wanted to transmit the smallest amount of force from a driver gear to a

driven gear, which gears would you use?

The 15-tooth gear transmits the greatest force as a driver gear. The 75-tooth gear transmits the greatest force as a driven gear on a compound gear train. Thiscombination of a 15-tooth driver gear and a 75-tooth driven gear transmits thegreatest amount of turning force of the single-gear pairs. This combination alsogives the highest gear ratio, 5:1, of the single-gear pairs.

Ask students: How do these results relate to what you know about the performance of high-gear-ratio gear trains?

As students have seen in the previous tests of gear train performance, highergear ratios yield greater wheel rim force and slower rotational speeds.


0.65 newtons (65 grams)



15-tooth

45-tooth

75-tooth

Driver Gear Approximate Force

The 75-tooth gear transmits the smallest force as a driver gear. The 15-toothgear transmits the smallest force as a driven gear. This combination of a 75-toothdriver gear and a 15-tooth driven gear transmits the smallest amount of force.This combination also gives the lowest gear ratio, 1:5, of the single-gear pairs.

Ask students: How do these results relate to what you know about the performance of low-gear-ratio gear trains?

As students have seen in the previous tests, lower gear ratios yield smaller forces and higher rotational speeds.

Homework Idea

Ask students to make a graph of the driver-gear rim forces. Here is an example using the data given in the preceding section:


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◆

◆

◆

80706050403020100

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8force in newtons

num

ber o

f tee

th


Notes


Measuring the Rim Force of Gears Recording Table


GearRim Force of

a Driver Gear (newtons)

15-tooth

45-tooth

75-tooth

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Torque and Lever Arms

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYStudents continue to explore the concept of torque, the tendency of a force orforces to cause rotation. Torque is measured as the product of a force actingacross a lever arm. They measure the lever arms of the three gears, then multiplythe lever-arm values by the force values they gathered in the Measuring the RimForces of Individual Gears activity. They see that the product is very close for thethree gears, indicating that the torque transmitted by the motor is the same for allthree gears.

RATIONALE In the Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears activity, students measuredthe force at the teeth of individual gears. They discovered that the amount offorce at the rim of individual gears is related to the size of the gear.

In this activity students investigate why a gear’s size determines the amount offorce. They measure the radius of each of the three gear sizes. They are introducedto the concept of lever arm as a way to think about a gear as a lever whoselength is the radius of the gear. They multiply the lever arm lengths of each of thethree gears by the measured rim force of that gear. They see that the resultingnumber is close to the same value for the three gears. Students learn the name forthis constant turning force in the axle: torque. This is an important concept usedby scientists and engineers to discuss the turning force in any rotating object.

Torque is expressed as the product of the force and a lever arm in units ofgram meters or newton meters. Since the motor is supplying the same amount oftorque to each of the gears, it is the length of each gear’s lever arm that deter-mines the amount of force the gear is transmitting. The forces students measuredin the Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears activity are different, becausethe lever arms of the three gears are different lengths.


Torque and Lever Arms

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MAKINGCONNECTIONSThis activity should bedone after theMeasuring the RimForces of IndividualGears activity. Themathematics teachershould first read thatactivity and then con-sult with the scienceteacher about the stu-dents’ experience andunderstanding of theconcepts. The mathe-matics teacher will findthis information usefulwhen working withstudents on the mathe-matical relationshipbetween the rim forceand lever arm.

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MATERIALSfor each design team,• the recording table from the Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual

Gears activity• a copy of the Torque Calculation Table• 15-, 45-, and 75-tooth gears• rulers marked in millimeters

PREPARATION FOR THE ACTIVITYCopy this part of the Torque Calculation Table onto the chalkboard leaving theForce and Lever Arm columns blank. Students will fill in values during the activity.

Classroom Activity

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONBegin the activity with a discussion reviewing students’ observations and under-standings of the relationship between force and gear ratio. In previous activitiesstudents discovered that the amount of force at the wheel of their test vehiclesincreased as the gear ratio increased. In the Measuring the Rim Forces ofIndividual Gears activity, students discovered that the amount of force a geartransmits from an axle depends on the size of the gear. Smaller driver gears transmit more force from an axle than do larger driver gears. Conversely, largerdriven gears transmit more force to an axle than do smaller driven gears.

To review their explorations, ask students to use the data on the recordingtable from the Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gears activity, and then askthe following questions:• What relationships have you observed between force and the size of

individual gears?• What relationships have you observed between force and gear ratio?

In this activity students will continue to investigate the relationship between thesize of the gear and the amount of force it transmits.

Torque and Lever Arms134

Driver GearForce

(newtons)Lever Arm

(millimeters)Lever Arm(meters)

15

45

75

TEACHER TIP For a

more detailed explana-tion of torque, see theappendix Gears,Torque, andPerformance.

Torque and Lever Arms 135

Ask students to imagine a gear with a series of levers extending from the centerof the axle to the end of each gear tooth. Make a drawing on the chalkboard likethis to illustrate:

Ask students to imagine that this is a driver gear. As the axle turns, each levertransmits the force from the axle to the teeth of a driven gear. Now add a drivengear to the drawing as indicated below.

The distance along a lever that transmits force to or from an axle is called a lever arm.

In the case of gears, the lever arm is an imaginary arm extending from the centerof a gear out to the end of a gear tooth, as in the drawing. Each gear tooth actsas if it is at the end of a lever arm. Each driver-gear lever arm transmits the forcefrom the driver axle to a driver-gear tooth, pushing on a tooth of a lever arm ofthe driven gear. Each driven-gear lever arm transmits the force from the drivergear to the driven-gear axle.

The length of the arm affects the amount of force the gear transmits.The students will now calculate the torque of each gear. Pass out a copy of

the Torque Calculation Table to each design team. Then ask design teams to lookat the recording table from the Measuring the Rim Forces of Individual Gearsactivity. Have students copy the values of the force for each gear onto the TorqueCalculation Table.

Now have each design team use the millimeter rulers to measure the lever armdistance for each of the three gears. This measurement is the radius of the gear,that is, the distance from the center of the hole to the end of any tooth. Sincemillimeter units are so small, students may need help measuring the lever-armlength of the gears. Show them where to place the zero mark on the ruler on thegear. Then ask the design teams to fill in the lever-arm lengths for each gear onthe Torque Calculation Table.

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Lever Arms

Driver Gear Driven Gear

Lever Arm

When the design teams have finished, ask for the lengths they obtained. Sincemillimeter measurements are so small, the measurements may vary somewhat.You’ll need to ask the class to find a way to agree on one appropriate length foreach gear. Record each length on the table on the chalkboard. Then convert themillimeter measurements to meters. Record the values for the force measure-ments. Again, you may need to ask the class to agree on appropriate force values.The values should be close to the following:

Ask students to look for any relationships between the values in the table. Theymay notice that the values for the products of the force and lever arm are fairlyclose for each gear.

Now copy the Force � Lever column heading in the Torque Calculation Tableonto the chalkboard. Ask students to find the product of the force and lever armfor each gear. When students have finished their calculations, write the productsin the last column in the table. The products should be close to the following:


Driver GearForce

(newtons)Lever Arm


Force � LeverArm

(newton meters)

15

45

75

.65 9 .009 .0058

.25 24 .024 .0060

.15 39 .039 .0058

Driver GearForce

(newtons)Lever Arm


15

45

75

.65 9 .009

.25 24 .024

.15 39 .039


SHARING AND INTERPRETING Ask students the following questions:• Why do you think the products of the turning force and lever arm for each of

the three gears are fairly close?• What do you think this product is a measure of?

The product of the force and the lever-arm length is called torque. Write the wordtorque on the chalkboard. Ask students if they have heard of this term.

Explain to students that torque is a measure of the tendency to turn in an axle.Torque can be transmitted from the axle of a driver gear, through the force on thegear’s teeth, to the axle of a driven gear. Point out the transmission of the forceand torque using the drawings of the gear trains on the chalkboard. Since weknow that the length of the lever arm in a gear is a factor in determining torque,different gear ratios must affect the torque being transmitted from gear to gear.

A is the radius of the driver gearB is the radius of the driven gearF is the force at the rim of the gear. These forces are equal and opposite.

F�A�T1 T1 is the torque at the axle of the driver gearF�B�T2 T2 is the torque at the axle of the driven gear

As students have seen in the previous activity, the size of the gear affects theamount of force at the rim of the gear. The force that students measured was theforce at the end of a lever arm connected to an axle. If the lever-arm length istaken into account in the turning force measurements, then the torque in the axlecan be determined.

Point out that the units of the torque measurements that students calculatedin this activity are called newton meters because the measurement multiplies theforce in newtons by the length of the lever arm in meters. You may also wish topoint out that in the United States, torque is often measured in inch-pounds orfoot-pounds. Scientists often use gram centimeters or dyne centimeters.

Homework Ideas

Students can measure the torque of other rotating objects at home. You maywish to let students borrow the spring scales for their explorations.

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A

Driver Gear

Driven Gear

Driver Gear

Driven Gear

T1

B A

F

F

T1 T2B


Notes



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DriverGear

Force(newtons)

Lever Arm(millimeters)

Lever Arm(meters)

Force �Lever Arm

(newton meters)

75

45

15

Torque Calculation Table


What We’ve LearnedAbout Gears

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYIn a discussion, students review what they have learned about gears that will helpthem design their toy. They review the ideas about gears they had at the start ofthe unit and reflect on how their ideas have changed. Students begin to considerhow their understanding of gears might be applied to their toy designs.

RATIONALE Students review and assess their knowledge about the characteristics of gear trains

TIME1 class session

MATERIALS• large sheets of paper to record students’ ideas• the list or chart of students’ ideas about gears from the What We Know About

Gears activity

Classroom Activity

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONDisplay the chart of students’ ideas about gears that was recorded in the What WeKnow About Gears activity. Ask students to comment on the ideas they had at thebeginning of the unit. Which ideas do you still think are true? Are there ideas thatyou have changed as a result of your work with gears?

Ask students about new ideas they have about gears as a result of their experiences in the unit. What are some of your new ideas about gear trains thatmight help you design a successful gear-driven toy?

Record students’ ideas on large sheets of paper. You may want to use an ideaweb format like the one suggested in the What We Know About Gears activity. Try to help students begin to consider how their understanding might be appliedto their toy designs. Students will use these ideas in the Analysis activity in theAnalyze, Design, Build and Test Phase.

What We’ve Learned About Gears

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MAKINGCONNECTIONSThis activity should bedone after the Torqueand Lever Arms activity.

Here are some suggested areas students can start thinking about:• gear ratio• rim force• rotational speed• how compound gears work• how to build a high-gear-ratio gear train using compound gears• how to build a low-gear-ratio gear train• torque• the relationship between gear ratio and torque• the relationship between gear ratio and speed

Encourage all students to participate in sharing their ideas about gears.

Homework Idea

Ask students to write a short paper summarizing what they have learned aboutgears and how they might use that information in their toy designs.

What We’ve Learned About Gears142

Notes

Exploring Body Materials

BUILDKNOWLEDGE

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Exploring Body Materials

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYIn this activity students investigate and evaluate possible toy body materials. They explore ways to combine materials to create a body that appeals to customers and is sturdy.

Depending on the materials you make available to students, they may examineposter board, foam core, art paste, papier-mâché, aluminum foil, plastic wrap,paper straws, and craft sticks as body materials. Students may try cutting, shaping,and fastening the materials together to assess what will work best. After studentshave experimented with materials, they will need to decide what materials theywill use to build their toy body. You may want to decide as a class on one or morematerials to use, or allow design teams to choose from a variety of materials.

RATIONALE Experimenting with materials provides students with an understanding of howmaterials can be cut, shaped, and assembled. Deciding what materials are to beused is a major design factor affecting the efficiency and stability of the toy. All manufacturers of toys must make the same decisions when getting ready toconstruct a body.

Students will engage in the following:• learn about the importance of materials in creating an aesthetic design• explore the strengths of materials for construction


MATERIALS• posterboard, foam core, cardboard, newspaper, aluminum foil, plastic wrap,

two-liter plastic bottles, paper straws, craft sticks, white glue, art paste, scotchtape, masking tape, staples, paper cups, paper clips, fine sand paper

• for each design team, one copy of the Materials Testing Table

PREPARATION FOR THE ACTIVITYDecide which materials you will make available to the design teams. Make thesematerials available in the classroom.

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Classroom Activity

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONTell students that in this activity they will evaluate several materials for making abody for their toy.

Students begin this activity by obtaining sample pieces of posterboard, cardboard, newspaper, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, plastic from a two-liter bottle,paper straws, and craft sticks.

Distribute a copy of the Materials Testing Table to each design team. Ask thedesign teams to cut a sample of each material 1/2 inch by three inches. Studentswill perform three tests: a rigidity test, a bending test, and an assembly test.

Before students begin testing, ask several questions to help them think aboutwhich materials might be best for creating the toy body:• What kinds of characteristics might you look for in a body material?• What material appears to be most rigid?• What material bends the easiest and seems strong?• What materials glue together the best?• What materials tape together the best?• What materials do you believe have the best appearance?

First the students will test the materials for rigidity. Ask students: Why mightrigidity be important in a body material?

Ask the students to hold the materials straight in front of them with one hand.Then they should use the Materials Testing Table to record which materials bentand which did not bend. You should inform students that rigid materials are better for body construction than very flexible materials.

The next test is a bending test. Now the students should attempt to bend eachmaterial to form a right angle. As each material is bent, the students should markthe results on the Materials Testing Table. This test will help design teams under-stand which materials are flexible and which will break when they are bent. Those materials that can be bent and formed in various shapes will assist in shaping the body. The ability of materials to bend and return to their original shape iscalled elasticity.

The last test is an assembly exercise. Students should cut eight pieces of eachmaterial 1/2 inch by 3 inches. Then the design teams should use four different fas-tening techniques to assemble the materials.

Have students use glue, masking tape, scotch tape, and staples to fasten twopieces of like materials together. If the two materials join together, studentsshould check this type of fastening technique on the Materials Testing Table. Ifthe technique does not join the materials, students should leave the space blank. For example, newspaper glued to newspaper will bond very well; but aluminumfoil will not glue well to itself.

As students conduct the material test, they will learn about the strength and nature of the materials. They will also learn the best techniques for assembling materials.

Exploring Body Materials144

Exploring Body Materials 145

Next, have design teams investigate papier-mâché as a body material. Havestudents cut five pieces of newspaper 3 by 6 inches. Next, put a small amount ofglue (1 tablespoon) in the bottom of a paper cup. Add a small amount of water tomake the glue into a slurry. Then coat each piece of paper by dipping it in theglue mixture. Place the coated strips on a piece of plain white paper. Place onepiece on top of the other. After the five pieces are pressed together, bend thepapier-mâché at a right angle. Let the papier-mâché dry for 24 hours. After thepapier-mâché has dried, students should sand it with fine sand paper.

Ask students: What happened to the paper as a result of papier-mâché? Did the sandpaper make the paper surface smooth?

You may want to decide as a class which materials you will use to construct the toy bodies. You may also want to allow students to choose from a variety ofmaterials. You can ask design teams to make a list of materials they will need toconstruct the body of their toy.

FACILITATING STUDENT EXPLORATIONThe design teams need to understand that this activity is exploratory. The materials used in the experiments will not necessarily be part of their toy.However, the knowledge they gain from performing the material tests will be used to construct their toy body.

As design teams complete their Materials Testing Tables, encourage them to tryassembling unlike materials. For example, will aluminum foil glue to newspaper?

SHARING AND INTERPRETINGAsk students to present their Materials Testing Tables in class. Design teams mayfind that other teams discovered different characteristics of materials. Ask thedesign teams to post their results on a bulletin board so that everyone can see them.

Notes

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Exploring Body Materials146

Notes


Materials Testing Table

Exploring Body Materials 147

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Material

Rigidity Test Bending Test Assembly Test

poster board

cardboard

newspaper

aluminum foil

plastic wrap

plastic

paper straws

craft sticks

foam core

paper towels

papier-mâché

Bent Did Not Bend Bent Broke Glue Tape


Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYStudents will learn how to gather preliminary information about the potentialcustomers by interviewing children in the target age-group or parents with children in the target age-group. Students will be given sample interview forms,which they will have the opportunity to customize or use as a model to createtheir own. Students will discuss the various ways that information about the customers can be used to inform the development of a product. And, they willlearn how to conduct an interview that will give them information about the buying preferences of the customers. The information students gather in theinterviews will inform the surveys they will conduct later in the ConsumerResearch: Conducting a Survey activity.

RATIONALEMost new products are the solution to a problem or meet a specific need. Many of the students will want to design a toy that they would like to make orhave. It is important for students to think about who the customer is and whatthe customer may want. During the Set Goals phase, students discussed the many potential customers that may be interested in their designed toys, includingtarget-age children, parents, toy store owners, and MTI. Each of these customersmay have a very different set of needs for a toy. Designers and engineers can findout some of this information by conducting interviews with people who representthe customers. Over the next few days, the students will interview specific customers—in this case, the actual consumers of potential toys. Consumers arepersons who buy or use certain goods or services. In this activity, the consumersare the children who may play with the toy, as well as the parents who may purchase the toy.

Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews

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MAKINGCONNECTIONSOther teachers in the team should alsobe aware of what students are doing in this activity, sincestudents will use theirconsumer researchfindings to informtheir toy designs, aswell as their proposalsand presentations toMobility Toys. In theConsumer Research:What We’ve LearnedAbout the Consumersactivity, students willorganize, calculate and analyze their survey data in themathematics class.

Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews150

Collecting, organizing, and analyzing data are important elements of building a good sense of number and how representations of numbers are used to help us think about information—particularly vast quantities of information. Theseactivities will work better if students have had prior experience collecting andusing data. (See the Resources section in the Appendices for suggested data collection resources.)

In this activity students begin to understand the following:• the relationship between customer demand and product development• how interviews are designed to gather information about the customer• the many different ways that information can be used to inform the

development of a product, including its appearance and performance, as well as the presentation and marketing of a product

• how to conduct an interview


MATERIALS• for each student, one copy of the Customer Interview Sheet: Parent and

Customer Interview Sheet: Child • large sheets of paper to record students’ interview responses• (optional) crayons or markers and blank paper if students are

interviewing children

PREPARATION FOR THE ACTIVITYEach student will need to conduct at least one interview, which will give eachdesign team at least three to four interviews, depending on the size of the designteam. Decide whether students will interview children in the target age-group (6 to 10 years old) or parents of children in the target age-group. Class discussions and analysis will be much easier to manage if all of the students interview both parents and children. This will also give students a larger pool ofresponses to help design their survey questions in the Consumer Research:Conducting a Survey activity.

If students are interviewing children in the target age-group, they may be ableto interview younger siblings, relatives, or neighbors. Or, if there is a youngerclassroom in the school, you may want to arrange to have students visit the classand interview the children.

If students are interviewing parents, in most cases the students will be able tointerview their own parents, relatives, or neighbors. If this is not possible, you maywant to arrange to have the students interview adults from the school staff whoare parents of children in the target age-group.

Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews 151

Classroom Activity

INTRODUCING THE ACTIVITYStudents should understand that in order to design a moving toy that appeals to their customers, they need to find out more information about their customers’preferences. One way to gather preliminary information about the customers is tointerview them. You may need to remind students that the RFP requires that theydesign a moving toy that appeals to boys and girls aged 6 to 10.

Explain that the interviews will help them collect some initial information from a small sample of customers. Later, they will use the information from theinterview to conduct a survey with a larger sample of customers.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONClass DiscussionDepending on whether students will be interviewing parents or children, distributethe Customer Interview Sheet: Child or the Customer Interview Sheet: Parent.Both interview forms ask essentially the same questions, but in language appro-priate for parents or children. After students have had a few minutes to read theinterview sheet, discuss it with them. Design teams could confer about or writeresponses to these questions before examining them as a class. You may want torecord the class’s responses on the large sheets of paper so that you can refer backto this discussion later when students analyze the interview and survey data in theConsumer Research: What We’ve Learned About the Consumers activity.• Have you ever been interviewed before? What was it for? What kinds of

questions were you asked?• What kinds of things will we learn about the customers from this interview?• Why would we want to know this information? How might this information

help us design a moving toy?

Students should begin to understand that information about the customers canbe used in a variety of ways. Students may say that the information will help themmake decisions about the designs of their moving toys, such as the appearance of the body and the performance. While some information will directly influencetheir moving toy designs, other information will give them a more general understanding of who their customers are. Some of the ways students can useinformation about the customers are listed below. Students may have additionalsuggestions.• To directly inform decisions about the appearance of the toy, such as the color

or the shape of the body• To directly inform decisions about the performance of the toy, such as whether

it can go fast or climb a steep hill• To inform the presentation of the moving toy to Mobility Toys, for example,

to impress Mobility Toys, Inc. with their general knowledge about the customers

• To inform the marketing of their product to the target audience, for example,the advertising or packaging

Ask students: How are the interview questions worded?Students might point out that the wording of the child interview questions is

approriate for children, and that the parent questions are written in languagesuitable for adults.

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VOLUNTEER TIP Youmay want toask a volun-teer who works in consumer marketing tocome in to talk withyour students aboutdesigning and conducting interviews.The volunteer couldoffer students someinterviewing tips and could help thempractice their interviewing skills. The volunteer couldalso share examples ofinterviews he or shehas conducted.

Customizing the Interview SheetAfter students have discussed the interview sheet, they should have the opportunity to customize it. The sample interview is fairly generic and leavesplenty of room for students to add their own questions. Ask design teams to thinkabout what else they would like to know about the customers, and have themwrite one or two questions in the Additional Questions space on the interviewsheet. Students may want to write rough drafts on a separate sheet of paperbefore copying them onto the interview sheet.

If you decide to have students create their own interview, rather than customize the sample provided, make sure that students keep in mind the variouspurposes for collecting information, including to inform the appearance and performance of the toy, the presentation of the toy to Mobility Toys, and the marketing of the toy to the customers. In addition, students should consider the RFP requirements. For example, it might not be a good idea to eliminate thequestion about whether children want a car that can go up a steep hill or go fast,since this is a major design decision specified by the RFP.

Whether you decide to have students customize the sample interview sheet orcreate their own interview, all of the design teams should ask the same set ofbasic questions, with the exception of the one or two additional questions thateach design team writes. Asking the same interview questions will give students a larger pool of responses from which to design the survey questions in the next activity.

Some students will want to ask fantastical questions, which may not give theminformation that they can directly incorporate into their designs. For example, in field test sites, students asked, “Would you like your car to be able to changecolors or glow in the dark?” and “Would your car be able to fly?” When they addquestions, students should be encouraged to think about how they might use the information they gather, but they should also feel free to ask imaginativequestions. They may feel frustrated if they think their customers want somethingthey can’t design, but they may still be able to think of creative ways to incorporate the information. For example, students could decide to put glow-in-the dark stickers on their car. It’s also important for students to realizethat not all of the information they gather will end up being useful.

Conducting the InterviewExplain to students that they need to ask a parent or child who might be willingto be interviewed. The interview should take only about 10 minutes, dependingon how many questions your class has selected. If this time isn’t convenient, students should try to arrange another time.

Review the information on the interview sheet and make sure students understand what information they are supposed to collect. Explain that they eachneed to ask these specific questions. Point out the “example follow-up questions”and explain that students can use these if the parent or child does not understandthe question or cannot think of a response. Students should also notice that somequestions are followed by “If so . . .” or “If not . . .” questions. They should askthese, depending on how the parent or child answered the previous question.

If the students own a tape recorder, suggest that they use it to record the interview. They should ask permission of the interviewee first. Whether they use atape recorder or not, they should still write down the customer’s responses on theinterview sheet.


TEACHER TIP Some of

the questions writtenby students in fieldtest sites included:“What animals or people would you likeyour car to look like?”and “Would you likedolls or toys to be able to sit in the car? If so, how many?”


If you have time in class, you may want to allow students some time to prac-tice conducting the interview. Students should understand that interviewing is askill which takes time and experience to develop. For practice, they can interviewa classmate.

Before they conduct the interview, ask students to predict what they think thecustomers will say. This will help them to identify any surprising results later.

SHARING AND INTERPRETINGBefore pooling students’ interview results, you may want to spend a few minutesreflecting on the interviewing process. What was the most challenging thingabout conducting an interview? What was the most fun or interesting part ofconducting an interview?

Students need to pool their responses to the interview questions so that theycan use the class’s responses to design survey questions in the ConsumerResearch: Conducting a Survey activity. You can write each interview question ona piece of chart paper, and post them around the room, and then have studentsrotate around the room to fill in their responses. Or, if class time is short, you or avolunteer or aide can collect the interview sheets and compile the responses foreach question and then display the responses on poster board for each question,or make copies of the compiled responses and distribute the information as aresource for each design team. It is not necessary to pool the results from thedesign teams’ additional questions, since most likely each design team asked different questions.

Ask students to think about some of the following questions. Do they knowany new information about parents or children as customers? Were there someresponses that surprised them? Is there still information that they don’t know?Were any of the questions difficult for the customers to answer? If any childrendescribed or drew pictures of their dream cars, what might the dream cars tell usabout the customers?

Students may want to jump to decisions about the implications of the interview data on their moving toy designs. Although it’s good for them to beginthinking about this, remind them that the interview data are only preliminary, andthey still need to conduct a survey with a larger sample of customers.

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TEACHER TIP In one

field test site, studentswere surprised by theresults of their inter-views. “We thoughtthat they would likeweapons on their cars,but they didn’t. Andthat for logos on theircars they would likeanimals, but theywanted sports logos.”


Notes


Customer InterviewSheet: Child

IntroductionIntroduce yourself to the child and explain, “For a school project, I am designing a toy on wheels forchildren aged 6 to 10. I’d like to ask you some questions that will help me understand what kind of toyyou and other children your age would like.”

If you have a tape recorder, ask the child if it’s OK to record the interview so that you can remembereverything he or she says.

Child Information

Age: �� Sex: ��

Interview Questions

1. Did you get a new toy on wheels in the last year? If so, how many and what kind? (If the childsays no, skip to question #4.)

��

��

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2. Who bought this toy/toys for you?

��

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3. How did you learn about this toy/toys? (Example follow-up questions: From an advertisement? From another adult? From other children?)

��

��

��

4. If you were going to get a new toy on wheels, what shape would you like it to be? (Example follow-up questions: A person? An animal? An old-fashioned car? A race car?)

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5. What colors would you like your toy to be?

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6. What kinds of designs would you like to have on your toy? (Example follow-up questions: A logo?Your name? Animal designs?)

��

��

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7. Would you rather have a toy that can go fast or one that can climb up a steep hill? What else wouldyou like your toy to do?

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8. (optional) Could you please describe your dream toy on wheels? What would it look like? What couldit do? (If the child prefers, she or he can draw their dream toy on wheels.)

��

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Additional Questions

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Thank YouWhen you have finished the interview, tell the child, “Thank you very much for your time. This information will be very useful.”


Customer InterviewSheet: Parent

IntroductionIntroduce yourself to the parent and explain, “For a school project, I am a member of a design teamthat is designing a toy on wheels for children aged 6 to 10. I’d like to ask you some questions that willhelp me understand the preferences of children in this age-group and their parents.”

If you have a tape recorder, ask the parent if it’s OK to record the interview so that you can remembereverything he or she says.

Parent or Guardian Information

Age: �� Sex: ��

Ages and genders of children: ��

Interview Questions

1. Did any of your children get a new toy on wheels in the last year? If so, how many and what kind?(If the parent says no, skip to question #4.)

��

��

��

2. Who bought this toy/toys for your child?

��

��

3. How did you or your child learn about this toy/toys? (Example follow-up questions: From a print orTV advertisement? From another adult? From other children?)

��

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��

4. If you were going to buy a new toy on wheels for your child, what shape do you think your childwould like it to be? (Example follow-up questions: A person? An animal? An old-fashioned car? A race car?)

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5. What colors do you think your child would like the toy to be?

��

��

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6. What kinds of designs do you think your child would like to have on a toy on wheels? (Example follow-up questions: A logo? Your name? Animal designs?)

��

��

��

7. Do you think your child would rather have a toy that can go fast or one that can climb up a steephill? What else would your child like a toy to do?

��

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8. If you were going to buy a new toy on wheels for your child, what would be its most important features or characteristics?

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Thank YouWhen you have finished the interview, tell the parent, “Thank you very much for your time. This information will be very useful.”

Consumer Research: Conducting a Survey

Introduction

WHAT STUDENTS DO IN THIS ACTIVITYStudents will learn how to find out more information about the potential customers using a market survey that is given to children in the target age-groupor parents with children in the target age-group. They will use the informationthey collected in the Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews activity to revisethe sample survey provided. Students will learn how to write good questions thatwill give them information about the buying preferences of parents, and they willlearn how to conduct a survey.

RATIONALEIn a previous activity, students developed questions to interview children or parents about their moving toy preferences. Interviews with a few individuals will often provide some insight about the customers. However, to make generalassumptions about the buying habits of a group of people many consumerresearchers use a marketing survey to get very specific information efficiently from a large number of people. They often use the questions and answers from individual interviews to create the specific items on a survey.

In this activity, students begin to understand the following:• the relationship between customer demand and product development• how surveys are designed to gather information about the customers• how to conduct a survey


MATERIALS• Customer Survey Sheet: Parent or Customer Survey Sheet: Child • completed Customer Interview Sheets and compiled class responses from the

Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews activity

Consumer Research: Conducting a Survey

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MAKINGCONNECTIONSOther teachers in the team should alsobe aware of what students are doing inthis activity, since students will use theirconsumer researchfindings to informtheir toy designs, aswell as their proposalsand presentations. In the ConsumerResearch: What We’veLearned About theConsumers activity,students will organize,calculate and analyzetheir survey data inthe mathematics class.

PREPARATION FOR THE ACTIVITYIf students interviewed children in the target age-group for the ConsumerResearch: Conducting Interviews activity, they should also survey children. If theyinterviewed parents, they should survey parents. This will enable them to use theinterview responses to inform the survey questions.

Students should have their completed interview sheets and the compiled classresponses from the Consumer Research: Conducting Interviews activity. You maywant to keep the chart paper with the compiled responses posted or copy theresponses onto paper and give each team a copy. In addition, each student shouldhave a copy of the Customer Survey Sheet: Parent or Customer Survey Sheet:Child, depending on whether they will be conducting the survey with parents orchildren. (Later, when students conduct the survey, they will need several copies of the survey sheet. Now, however, they will be revising it, so each student needsonly one copy.)

Classroom Activity

INTRODUCING THE ACTIVITYThe answers students received from the interviews with parents in the ConsumerResearch: Conducting Interviews activity probably produced lots of useful information. Point out to the students that the information may not necessarilybe true for most of the parents within the target group. Students may notice, forexample, that individual students got very different responses to the interviewquestions. One way to efficiently find out information from a large target group is to develop a survey for distribution to a larger number of people. Remind students that the responses to the interview questions from the ConsumerResearch: Conducting Interviews activity will help shape the survey questionnaire.They should also know that they will eventually use the survey responses to helpmake decisions about their moving toys.

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTIONClass DiscussionDistribute the Customer Survey Sheet: Parent or Customer Survey Sheet: Child.Similar to the interview sheets, both surveys ask essentially the same questions,but in language appropriate for parents or children. After students have had a fewminutes to review the Survey, discuss it with them. Ask students: Have you or yourparents or friends ever been asked to fill out a survey? What was it for? How arethe Survey questions different from the interview questions?

Students may offer other differences, but they should notice that the surveyquestions are similar to the interview questions, but with preset answer choicesinstead of open-ended questions.

Ask students: Why do you think the survey questions are designed this way?How will the survey data compare to the interview data?

Consumer Research: Conducting a Survey160

Consumer Research: Conducting a Survey 161

Again, encourage students to offer other explanations, but some reasons include:• The survey is easier and quicker for customers to complete and for consumer

researchers to conduct. Therefore, they can collect more data.• The survey allows researchers to offer specific choices and see which ones most

customers prefer.• Researchers can translate data into numbers, for example, the percentage of

children who prefer black toys.

Revising and Customizing the SurveyThe following activity description assumes that individual design teams will beallowed to customize their surveys and, therefore, that all of the design teams willnot be using the same survey. If you decide to have all the design teams conductthe same survey, you can have them work in their teams to revise the survey, andthen have the class decide which questions to include in the survey. In order to do this, the design teams may need to rewrite the questions to be consistent.However, keep in mind that it may not be as interesting for the students becausethey may have specific survey questions or answer choices they want to pursue,and because all the design teams will be relying on the same results to informdecisions about their moving toys.

Students should work in their design teams to revise the survey. Below aresome revisions that students will need to make. Depending on how much priorexperience your students have had conducting surveys, they may also want tosuggest additional revisions. Students should keep in mind the RFP requirementsand that the goal of the survey is to help them gather information that willinform the appearance and performance of their moving toy, as well as the presentation of the toy to Mobility Toys, Inc. and the marketing of the toy to customers. Depending on how many revisions students make to the survey, they will probably need to rewrite the survey on a clean sheet of paper and haveseveral copies made.

Students need to use the class’s compiled interview responses to revise theanswer choices to the survey questions. The answer choices in the survey areplaceholders only. For example, the question in the parent survey, “What colors do you think your child would like a moving toy to be?” includes five possiblecolors: black, red, gold, purple, and blue. Students should use the class’s compiledinterview responses to revise these color choices. For example, students may wantto include the most popular colors from the interview as choices in the survey. Or, they may want to see if an unpopular color is more popular when they samplea larger number of customers.

Students need to decide whether or not they wish to keep the additional questions they added to the interview. If so, they should use their team’s interviewresponses to turn them into survey questions. For these questions, design teamswill not be able to draw on the class’s compiled responses, since each design teamadded its own additional questions. They can refer to the responses on theirCustomer Interview Sheets, and they can use the survey questions as models tohelp them write any additional questions they wish to include.

As in the interview activity, students may want to include fantastical answerchoices or questions, for example, asking customers if they would like an underwater toy, or one that changes colors. As long as students are aware thatthey will need to think about how they will use such information, they should beencouraged to be imaginative.

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Conducting the SurveyEach student will need to survey 3 to 4 children in the target age-group or parents of children in the target age-group, giving each design team approximately 9 to 12 surveys, depending on the size of the design teams.Suggest that they survey people they know, or adults or children from an areathat they consider safe or familiar, such as their neighborhood, school or commu-nity center, or parents’ workplace.

Remind students that, just as in the interviews, they need to be polite whenasking the survey questions. They should begin by introducing themselves, andthen briefly describe what the survey is being used for. If students are surveyingadults, they can give the survey to the adults and ask them to complete it. If theyare surveying children, they may need to read the questions to the children andrecord their responses.

If time allows, students may want a chance to practice conducting the surveywith a classmate. This will also allow them to “pilot” the survey and make anyfinal revisions, for example, clarifying the wording of the questions.

Give the students a target date for completing and returning the surveys.Students should save all of their completed surveys for the next activity,

Consumer Research: What We’ve Learned About the Consumers.

SHARING AND INTERPRETINGStudents will have an opportunity to discuss their survey findings in ConsumerResearch: What We’ve Learned About the Consumers activity, but you may wish to have them discuss what they’ve learned about creating and conducting surveys.How did conducting a survey compare to conducting an interview? Were anyquestions difficult for the parents or children to answer? What kinds of things do you need to think about when designing a survey?

Homework Idea

This activity can be repeated with other customers. For example, students maywant to create interview and survey questions that will provide information abouttoy stores.


Customer Survey Sheet:ParentFor a school project, we are designing a toy on wheels that will appeal to boys and girls aged 6 to 10.The following questions will help us understand the preferences of children in this age-group and of their parents. Please indicate your responses by checking the appropriate boxes or filling in the information requested.

Background1. What is your gender? Male �� Female ��

2a. How many children do you have between the ages of 6 and 10?

Number of 6-to10-year-old boys ��

Number of 6-to10-year-old girls ��

2b. If you have more than one 6-to10-year-old child, please answer the following questions with justone of your children in mind. Which child will you be talking about?

Age and gender of child ��

3. Did your child get a new toy on wheels in the last year? Yes �� No ��

If yes, how many? ��

4. If you answered no to question #3, please skip to question #7. If you answered yes, what kind oftoy or toys did your child get? (Check all that apply.)

A matchbox car �� A truck �� A remote control car ��

Other (please explain) ��

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5. Who bought this toy or toys for your child? (Check all that apply.)

You �� A relative �� A friend ��


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6. How did you or your child learn about this toy or toys? (Check all that apply.)

A print or TV advertisement �� Another adult �� Another child ��


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1996

Toy Preferences7. If you were going to buy a new toy on wheels for your child, what shape do you think your child

would like it to be? (Check one space only.)

An animal or bird �� A superhero �� A race car �� A truck ��


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8. What colors do you think your child would like a toy on wheels to be? (Check one or two spaces only.)

Black �� Red �� Gold �� Purple �� Blue ��

9. What kinds of designs do you think your child would like to have on a toy on wheels? (Check one space only.)

Child’s name �� Sports team logo �� Animal designs �� Stripes ��

10. What would your child like a toy to do? (Check one space only.)

Go fast �� Climb up a steep hill ��

11. If you were going to buy a new toy on wheels, what would be the most important features/characteristics you would consider? (Check one space only.)

Appearance �� Safety �� Cost ��


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Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this survey.


Documents

Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios1].pdf · Name Design Team Date Multiplying Fractions to Calculate Gear Ratios Sheet Use a fraction to represent each pair of meshing