Engineering Design Process Part 3: Test Your Solution

Introduce students to the third step of the engineering design process with this helpful template! Designed for middle school learners, this worksheet builds upon the work students did on the Engineering Design Part 2 worksheet by guiding them through the third step of the engineering design process: test your solution. This two-page worksheet features guiding questions that will help young engineers build, test, and modify the prototype solution they designed in part 2. At the end of the worksheet, learners will reflect on the process and evaluate which prototype best meets the criteria of the project. Students should think of how to test their solution using available tools. Some examples include:

• Filling a basin with water and observing how an aluminum foil boat responds to a disturbance in the water.
• Measuring the initial and final temperature of a hot liquid in a cup after a certain period of time.
• Setting a model home on a table and observing how the model responds when the table shakes.