BIG IDEA:
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
OVERVIEW:
In the United States, the federal government has mandated improved automobile fuel efficiency in the form of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). President Obama is currently in the process of revising this mandate to roughly double automakers' fleet-wide vehicle fuel economy averages to 54.5 mpg by 2025. Your knowledge of science and manufacturing will be critical to the ongoing success of a small automaker. You will need to research ways to increase fuel economy in vehicles through the use of lightweight materials for certain parts and areas of the automobile.
GOAL:
Your goal is to determine the best method(s) to increase gas mileage in an automobile company's fleet of cars. Your determinations, once accepted, will become part of a marketing campaign that will inform the public of the changes the company is making to help increase fuel mileage. These changes are in reaction to the need to become more environmentally responsive.
ROLE:
You have been hired as an engineer by an automobile maker to optimize fuel efficiency for all of the automobiles within the automobile maker's fleet.
AUDIENCE:
You will be presenting new concepts to engineers and administrators of the company that hired you. If your ideas are accepted, you will need to develop information to share with consumers who are concerned with changes that the automaker is making to increase fuel mileage in all automobiles within the fleet.
SITUATION:
In the United States, the federal government has mandated improved automobile fuel efficiency in the form of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). President Obama is currently in the process of revising this mandate to roughly double automaker's fleet-wide vehicle fuel economy averages to 54.5 mpg by 2025. Your knowledge of science and manufacturing will be critical to the ongoing success of a small automaker. You will need to research ways to increase fuel economy in vehicles through the use of lightweight materials for certain parts and areas of the automobile.
PRODUCTS:Technical Diagram
- Matter has observable physical properties and the potential to mix and form new materials.
- People acting individually and/or as groups influence the environment.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
- How do scientists identify and sort materials?
- How do humans influence the environment?
OVERVIEW:
In the United States, the federal government has mandated improved automobile fuel efficiency in the form of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). President Obama is currently in the process of revising this mandate to roughly double automakers' fleet-wide vehicle fuel economy averages to 54.5 mpg by 2025. Your knowledge of science and manufacturing will be critical to the ongoing success of a small automaker. You will need to research ways to increase fuel economy in vehicles through the use of lightweight materials for certain parts and areas of the automobile.
GOAL:
Your goal is to determine the best method(s) to increase gas mileage in an automobile company's fleet of cars. Your determinations, once accepted, will become part of a marketing campaign that will inform the public of the changes the company is making to help increase fuel mileage. These changes are in reaction to the need to become more environmentally responsive.
ROLE:
You have been hired as an engineer by an automobile maker to optimize fuel efficiency for all of the automobiles within the automobile maker's fleet.
AUDIENCE:
You will be presenting new concepts to engineers and administrators of the company that hired you. If your ideas are accepted, you will need to develop information to share with consumers who are concerned with changes that the automaker is making to increase fuel mileage in all automobiles within the fleet.
SITUATION:
In the United States, the federal government has mandated improved automobile fuel efficiency in the form of the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE). President Obama is currently in the process of revising this mandate to roughly double automaker's fleet-wide vehicle fuel economy averages to 54.5 mpg by 2025. Your knowledge of science and manufacturing will be critical to the ongoing success of a small automaker. You will need to research ways to increase fuel economy in vehicles through the use of lightweight materials for certain parts and areas of the automobile.
PRODUCTS:Technical Diagram
- Select a material or technology that has been identified or developed to make cars lighter. Create a diagram, flow chart, or other visual representation demonstrating the materials created to make the car lighters. Provide captions with the visual representation(s) describing how the material or technology works and how this improves fuel efficiency.