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6th grade · Science · Unit 5 of 6

Engineering Design

Criteria, constraints, testing and improving.

What your child practices

Practices the engineering design process: defining a problem with criteria and constraints, comparing solutions, testing to find the best features, and improving a design step by step.

Maine Learning Results learning standard: MS-ETS1-1; MS-ETS1-2; MS-ETS1-3; MS-ETS1-4 · defining design problems, evaluating and testing solutions, and improving designs

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Criteria are what a solution must do to succeed. Constraints are limits.
  2. A decision matrix compares designs against the criteria.
  3. A trade-off is giving up some of one thing to get more of another.
  4. After a test fails, improve the design and test again.

Example: A cheaper filter cleans water less well. Choosing it means accepting a… what? You give up some cleaning to save money. Giving up one thing for another is a trade-off. Answer: a trade-off

Engineering Design in Maine

In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 5 of 6 in 6th grade Science, after Thermal Energy & Insulation and before Work, Energy & Efficiency.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Maine Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A model is useful because it…

    • lets you test ideas before building the real thing
    • is the final product
    • is always full size
    • never changes

  2. Question 2

    Which constraint might matter for a design used near Puget Sound?

    • It must be blue
    • It must be loud
    • It must not pollute the water
    • It must use the most plastic

  3. Question 3

    You may spend no more than $10. This is a…

    • constraint
    • criterion
    • hypothesis
    • result

  4. Question 4

    Which question defines a clear problem?

    • Is this fun?
    • What color is nice?
    • How can we keep a phone safe if dropped 2 m?
    • Who is tallest?

  5. Question 5

    A prototype is…

    • an early model used for testing
    • a drawing of a car
    • the final product
    • a list of rules

  6. Question 6

    In a decision matrix, Design X scores 18 and Design Y scores 12. Which better fits the criteria?

    • They tie
    • Neither can be judged
    • Design X
    • Design Y

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