content-left-bg.png
content-right-bg.png

Solar Boats

WebPartZone1_1
PublishingPageContent

​​​​​​​

The Solar Boat Challenge is designed to engage students in a hands-on, inquiry-based learning experience, where they will develop their scientific inquiry skills while exploring a variety of scientific principles. Students will build their own solar-powered boats, developing hypotheses, experimenting with variables and testing how changes to individual factors can improve boat performance. Throughout the challenge, students will delve into concepts such as buoyancy, hydrodynamics, propulsion, solar energy, and electrical circuits. They will also explore forces, energy transfer, and the scientific principles behind motion, while investigating how these concepts are applied in real-world engineering contexts. At the culmination of the event, a race allows students to assess their design choices, where the team with the most scientifically sound boat will have the fastest performance. This challenge encourages critical thinking, scientific testing, and application of design principles to solve engineering problems.

Key Concepts:

  • Scientific Inquiry and Hypothesis Testing -  Test hypotheses to explore scientific principles and patterns.
  • Forces and Motion - Examine factors that affect motion and performance and influence boat speed.
  • Energy Transfer and Solar Power - Explore solar energy transfer & transformations to propel boats.
  • Engineering Design and Evaluation - Design, test, and use performance data to refine designs.
WebPartZone1_2

Year 7 Curriculum Links




Year 8 Curriculum Links




WebPartZone2_1
WebPartZone2_2
WebPartZone2_3
WebPartZone3_1
WebPartZone3_2
WebPartZone3_3
WebPartZone3_4
WebPartZone4_1
WebPartZone5_1
WebPartZone5_2
WebPartZone6_1
WebPartZone6_2
WebPartZone7_1
WebPartZone7_2
WebPartZone8_1
WebPartZone8_2
WebPartZone9_1
Last reviewed 09 December 2024
Last updated 09 December 2024