NI Action Packs

1. Discover Heat Transfer

Students observe heat transfer first-hand by using thermistors to measure heat conduction and radiation through real materials. By connecting this direct observation to everyday experiences such as ice melting, hot liquids steaming, and mobile devices overheating, students begin to notice heat transfer happening all around them.

With their curiosity ignited, students explore the laws of thermodynamics and the effects of material makeup and color on heat transfer to inform the engineering design application of their choosing. Just like aerospace engineers must account for the thermal properties of a spaceship's materials so that it can successfully survive the extreme temperatures of space, students must understand the thermal properties of the materials he or she chooses to use in the design application.

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2. Explore Power and Energy

Explore power and energy consumption in your own home and city and understand how renewable energy works together with fossil fuel to supply power to consumers. This NI Action Pack lesson leads you to use myDAQ and the myGrid NI miniSystem to measure energy used in a simulated electric smart grid.

Students connect their understanding of how energy, work, and time create power to the kind of power they use every day—electrical power. Students explore a power grid to see how enough electricity gets generated to power entire houses and  neighborhoods just like theirs. Students explore and research renewable energy to analyze its purposes and make judgments on its uses. Students simulate and then design a renewable energy solution to apply their knowledge of power, energy, and renewable energy.

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3. Understand Structures and Earthquakes

Forces within the Earth bend and strain the relatively thin crust we call home. When these forces cause the Earth's crust to bend until it snaps, this is called an earthquake. Earthquakes cause tremendous damage, and even death, if they occur where man-made structures have been built. Engineers, architects, and scientists must work together to understand the behaviors of earthquakes to construct buildings that can withstand these strains.

Using the engineering activities in this NI Action Pack, test and measure structures of various build specifications to gather data on which structural techniques are most earthquake-resistant. Test the effects of live loads and dead loads on structures, as well as the effects of earthquake magnitude. Then, apply you new knowledge of structures and earthquakes to design and create an earth-quake resistant structure to solve a problem of your choice.

Download Installer (127 MB)