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Matter Lab 6-8 / Week 12 / Bench Day
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Week 12 · Design at the Bench

Bench Day

Bench Day: Present your design
// Criteria, constraints, build, test, improve, report
⏱ about 20 min

Bench Day: Present Your Design

Saturday, the whole family gathers at the Bench. Rocket's cup sits in the middle with his report beside it.

"Problem first," Raven whispers. Rocket clears his throat. "Keep warm water warmer than a plain cup for ten minutes."

He walks through the plan, the build, the two tests. "Control dropped 8. Prototype 2 dropped 3."

A grown-up asks, "What would you change next?" Rocket does not rush. "A thicker lid. Most heat left from the top."

Nova hovers above the report, her light steady. "That is a conclusion," she says. "Not a guess."

Raven closes the Bench Log. "What do you notice? Twelve weeks, and the Bench is still a kitchen table."

"Best lab there is," Rocket says.

  1. Criteria are the goals a design must meet. Constraints are the limits it must stay inside, including scientific principles.
  2. Heat moves from warmer objects to cooler ones until they reach thermal equilibrium. A device can slow this, never reverse it.
  3. Some reactions release heat and others absorb it. Baking soda and vinegar make carbon dioxide gas, so fizzing mixtures are never sealed.
  4. A fair test changes one thing, keeps the rest the same and compares to a control. A design is tested, then modified on the results.
  5. Water has a very high specific heat, 4.18 joules per gram per degree Celsius, compared with metals.
  6. The Matter Lab report has seven parts: problem, science, plan, build, test, improve, conclusion.
◇ FAMILY DESIGN REVIEW
Present your device and report to your family. Read the problem first, then the data, then the conclusion.
Each family member asks one question that starts with "How do you know..." Answer with a number or a named source.
Together, score the device against each criterion you wrote on Monday: met, almost or not yet.
Finish by having a family member suggest a third round change. Write it in the Bench Log, even if you never build it.
For a grown-up
If the family wants a live demonstration, a grown-up pours the warm tap water and fizzing mixtures stay open. Nothing hotter than tap water.
Ask "How do you know?" at least once. That question is the whole course in three words.
The engineering facts this week come from nextgenscience.org, and the heat facts from NASA Glenn Research Center and chem.libretexts.org.
Safety first
Any demonstration follows Wednesday's rules: warm tap water poured by a grown-up, fizz never sealed, glasses on for fizz.
Nothing is tasted or smelled up close. Wash hands and wipe the Bench when the review ends.
THINK IT THROUGH
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
A family member asks "How do you know your cup worked?" What is the best answer?
Rocket says most heat left from the top. Which part of the design cycle is his thicker lid idea?
A design is tested and then modified on the basis of what? Type one word.
WHY THIS EXERCISEThis is the sentence from the standard that your whole week followed.
Bench Day checkTrue or false?
A good answer to "how do you know" includes a number or a named source.?
A device that met only some criteria has nothing to teach.?
Fizzing mixtures stay open during any demonstration.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEPresenting data honestly, including what fell short, is what makes a report trustworthy.
Draw the Bench on day one of the course and the Bench today. Show what changed, including the Bench Log.
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