This is how I solved the driving question for the Ultimate Design Challenge Scimatics project. The driving question for this project is: How can the relationship between surface area and volume of 3D objects be used to describe, measure, and compare spatial relationships.
I will write the answer to this at the bottom of my post. For this project we had to design an object in Tinkercad as a group, and find the surface area and volume of that object.
Here is my heatsink that I made in Tinkercad, which is part of the motor kit our group made.
Here are the measurements of that heatsink.
Here is the expanded version of the heatsink.
This is my review and process of creating the motor kit and finding the surface area + volume.
I think that if I were to do it again then I would make the panels of the heatsink larger, as they were too small which resulted in my object not having maximum surface area.
I think that the final motor kit looks pretty cool, and I am proud of the final result.
The Curricular Competencies for this project are:
- Applying and innovating: Contribute to care for self, others, community, and world through personal or collaborative approaches.
This means that all class time is used efficiently for learning without distractions.
I think I did okay with this part of the Curricular Competencies, as I spent most of my time working on the main project, but sometimes I would get sidetracked and start making a different project in Tinkercad that was not part of this project.
2) Reasoning and Analyzing: Model mathematics in contextualized experiences
This means that A 3D object is designed using TinkerCad or other design software. The design is optimized for either maximum volume or maximum surface area. The design should include at least 10 basic 3D shapes and a model should also be built cooperatively for groups of 3.
I think I did okay with this part of the Curricular Competencies, because I spent a lot of time and effort on my Tinkercad project, but I did not achieve my goal of maximum surface area
3) Communicating and Representing: Explain and justify mathematical ideas and decisions
This means that The surface area and volume are measured, calculated, and compared for efficiency. These factors are explained in detail in a keynote presentation to the class.
For this Curricular Competency I measured my surface area and volume, but during the presentation I only showed my surface area and volume, and did not explain how I got the calculations.
The steps that I took to make this game were:
Milestone 1: For this milestone we decided on what we were going to make for our 3D model as a group
Milestone 2: For this milestone we built a prototype of our 3D model.
Milestone 3: For this milestone we calculated the volume and surface area of our 3d model
Milestone 4: For this milestone we got our model 3d printed
Milestone 5: For this milestone we presented our 3d model
Milestone 6: For this milestone we made the blog post which I am doing right now.
As the answer to the driving question, the relationship between surface area and volume of 3D objects can be used to describe, measure, and compare spatial relationships through math.
I learned a lot about how to find the volume and surface area of shapes
Here is a picture of the finished motor kit that we made as a group.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and have a great day.