Quest: Ship Speed
6-Week Quest: "Wave Busters: Making Ships Faster!"
Overview:
Have you ever wondered what makes a ship slow down in water? This quest will teach you how waves created by a ship can hold it back—and how adding vertical plates to the ship's design might help it go faster! You'll become a ship engineer, learning how ships work, testing cool ideas, and building models to try out in water. Along the way, you’ll observe how waves form at the front (bow) and back (stern) of a ship and figure out how to manage them.
Week 1: How Ships Work
Objective: Learn how ships float, move, and deal with water resistance.
Activities:
- Ship Science: Learn about buoyancy (why ships float) and waves (what happens when a ship moves).
- Fun Demo: Push toy boats in water and watch how waves form at the front (bow) and back (stern).
- Journal Time: Write about what you notice when waves form around a moving ship.
Goal: Understand how ships create bow and stern waves and why those waves matter.
Week 2: The Problem With Waves
Objective: Find out how bow and stern waves make it harder for ships to go fast.
Activities:
- Experiment: Use a bowl of water to see what happens when you drag different shapes through it. Watch the bow and stern waves form!
- Real-Life Examples: Look at pictures and videos of ships. Can you spot the bow waves at the front and stern waves at the back?
- Team Talk: Why do you think these waves slow ships down?
Goal: Write down why bow and stern waves are a big problem for ship speed.
Week 3: The Idea of Vertical Plates
Objective: Discover how adding vertical plates to a ship might reduce the problem of bow and stern waves.
Activities:
- Cool Concept: Learn what vertical plates are and how they work to help a ship go faster by managing bow waves.
- Hands-On Design: Draw a ship with vertical plates. Where would you put them? Why?
- Class Share: Show your design and explain how the plates could help reduce the bow waves and the stern waves that follow.
Goal: Create a simple diagram showing how vertical plates work to manage bow and stern waves.
Week 4: Build It and Test It
Objective: Make small models of ships to test the idea of vertical plates and observe their effects on bow and stern waves.
Activities:
- Model-Making: Work in teams to build two mini ships—one with vertical plates and one without—using materials like cardboard, foam, or 3D printing.
- Testing Time: Use a tub or pool to pull the ships through water and carefully observe the bow and stern waves for each model.
- Data Detective: Record what happens to the waves. Do the vertical plates change the bow wave? Does that affect the stern wave?
Goal: Compare how the two models handle bow and stern waves and figure out if vertical plates make a difference.
Week 5: What We Learned
Objective: Understand why vertical plates might help ships go faster and how they affect bow and stern waves.
Activities:
- Class Chat: Talk about what your test showed. Did the plates change the bow waves? Did they affect the stern waves too?
- Guest Expert: Meet a ship engineer (or watch a video) to learn about real-world ship designs and how waves are managed.
- Creative Time: Imagine new ways to make ships even faster or better using vertical plates.
Goal: Create a poster explaining how vertical plates can manage bow and stern waves to help ships go faster.
Week 6: Future Ship Designers
Objective: Think about how this idea could be used to make ships of the future.
Activities:
- Team Brainstorm: Design a futuristic ship using what you’ve learned about bow and stern waves and vertical plates.
- Big Presentation: Show your design to the class and explain why it’s awesome.
- Reflection: Write about what you learned and what you’re still curious about.
Goal: Present your futuristic ship design and share your discoveries.
Final Challenge:
Put everything together in a “Ship Engineer Portfolio.” This will include your experiments, designs, and your big ideas for the future of ship speed! Share your work with parents, teachers, and maybe even a real engineer.
This quest will make you think like an inventor, test new ideas, and maybe even change how ships are designed one day! 🌊
