Engineering Design Challenges — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Maya's tower fell after 5 seconds in trial 1, 8 in trial 2, 15 in trial 3. What is happening?
A) Her design is improving each trial
B) Her tower is getting shorter
C) She is using less tape
D) The wind is changing
Longer standing time across trials shows iteration is making the design stronger.
2. A bridge held 200g, 150g, then 250g. Which trial gave the best result?
A) Trial 1
B) Trial 3
C) Trial 2
D) All equal
Trial 3 supported 250g, the highest mass, showing it was the strongest design.
3. Sam's parachute fell too fast in trials 1 and 2. What change should he try next?
A) Smaller canopy
B) Heavier load
C) Make canopy bigger
D) Shorter strings
Larger canopies create more drag, so the parachute floats down slower and safer.
4. After adding more tape, a tower stopped wobbling. What did the tape change?
A) The cost
B) The color
C) The height
D) The stability
Tape held joints firmly, increasing stability so the tower stood without swaying.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. Doing the design steps over and over to improve is called iteration.
Iteration means cycling through design steps to fix flaws and reach better results.
2. If a tower keeps falling at the top, the structure is probably too weak there.
Weak top structure cannot resist swaying forces, so it bends and topples first.
3. Changing the budget rule from $5 to $3 is a new constraint on the project.
Lower budgets force engineers to drop expensive parts and find cheaper substitutes.
4. Engineers learn most from a failure because it shows what does not work.
Failures reveal weak points that engineers fix in the next improved trial.
5. If only the glue type changes between trials, glue is the independent variable.
Independent variables are the single thing engineers change to study the effect.