LESSON 4: A Weighty DecisionTime: Three 45-minute classes
Lesson Overview
Another way to improve a vehicle's fuel efficiency is to decrease its weight. This can be done simply by removing excess weight from the vehicle—for example, boxes or luggage currently being stored in a car can be stored elsewhere. The greater challenge, however, is to continue to improve and to develop new lightweight materials to use in the manufacturing of vehicles. In Lesson 4, students will experiment with a variety of lightweight materials in order to determine how different materials affect a vehicle's fuel efficiency. They will then apply this knowledge to their own vehicle designs for the year 2020.
Lesson Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:- Explain the relationship between a vehicle's weight, fuel efficiency, and safety.
- Demonstrate the relationship between weight and fuel efficiency by constructing a model vehicle and conducting an experiment.
- Compare and contrast different lightweight materials that might be incorporated into vehicles.
Lesson Essential Questions
1. How does a vehicle's weight affect its fuel efficiency and safety?
2. How can the relationship between a vehicle's weight and fuel efficiency be tested?
3. What are some lightweight materials, and how do they differ from each other?
Videos & Interactives
Full Video Green Gadgets: Smart Car Examines the Smart Car, a gasoline-powered vehicle that can achieve between sixty-five and eighty miles per gallon.
