Educational Standards :

The activity addresses the following educational standards for middle school students:

Technology Standards

• Communication systems allow information to be transferred from human to human, human to machine, and machine to human (Information/Communication Technologies);
• The design of a message is influenced by such factors as the intended audience, medium, purpose, and nature of the message (Information/Communication Technologies);
• The use of symbols, measurements, and drawings promotes clear communication by providing a common language to express ideas (Information/Communication Technologies);
• Design involves a set of steps, which can be performed in different sequences and repeated as needed (Apply the Design Process);
• Brainstorming is a group problem-solving design process in which each person in the group presents his or her ideas in an open forum (Apply the Design Process);
• Modeling, testing, evaluating, and modifying are used to transform ideas into practical solutions (Apply the Design Process);
• Design instruments to gather data (Engineering Design);
• Use data collected to analyze and interpret trends in order to identify the positive or negative effects of a technology (Engineering Design);
• Interpret and evaluate the accuracy of the information obtained and determine if it is useful (Engineering Design);

Science (NSES) Standards

• Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry (Science as Inquiry)
• Understandings about scientific inquiry (Science as Inquiry)
• Motions and forces (Physical Science)
• Earth in the solar system (Earth and Space Science)
• Abilities of technological design (Science and Technology)
• Understanding about science and technology (Science and Technology)
• Science as a human endeavor (History and Nature of Science).

Mathematics (NCTM) Standards

• Understand patterns, relations, and functions (Algebra)
• Use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships (Algebra)
• Analyze change in various contexts (Algebra)
• Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and processes of measurement (Measurement)
• Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine measurements (Measurement)
• Build new mathematical knowledge through problem solving (Problem Solving)
• Solve problems that arise in mathematics and in other contexts (Problem Solving)
• Communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others (Communication)
• Analyze and evaluate the mathematical thinking and strategies of others (Communication)
• Create and use representation to organize, record, and communicate mathematical ideas (Representation)
• Use representations to model and interpret physical, social, and mathematical phenomena (Representation).