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Science Launch G3 / Week 04 / Launch Lab
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Week 04 · Magnet Inventions

Launch Lab

Launch Lab: Magnet Latch
// Solving problems with magnets
⏱ about 15 min

Launch Lab: Magnet Latch

Rocket's toy box lid keeps flopping open. "Let's design a latch!" he says.

Raven lists the criteria. "It must stay shut, and it must open easily. What do you notice about magnets and steel?"

Nova hovers by the lid. "Think about where the magnet and the clip should meet," she says.

  1. Engineers say the problem clearly first.
  2. Criteria are what a design must do. Constraints are its limits.
  3. Engineers build, test three times and improve one change at a time.
  4. Magnet ideas help designs: close up is strongest, and opposite poles attract.
◇ MAGNET LATCH
Find a shoebox with a lid.
Problem: the lid flops open. It needs to stay shut.
Criteria: the lid stays shut when you tip the box gently. It opens with one finger.
Constraints: one magnet, steel paper clips, tape, 15 minutes.
Tape a paper clip inside the lid. Tape the magnet where the clip touches the box.
Test three times. Change one thing and test again.
Safety first
Use one large magnet, like a bar magnet or a big fridge magnet.
A grown-up keeps tiny magnets away from babies and toddlers.
Magnets and paper clips never go in your mouth.
For a grown-up
Ask: what did you notice? What would you change?
Ask: did the latch meet both criteria? Which constraint was hardest?
LAUNCH LAB CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The latch must open with one finger. Is that a criterion or a constraint?
Say the ____ first.
Things the design must do are ____.
Limits on the design are ____.
LATCH THINKING
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The lid opens too easily. What could you change?
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