Which Design Works Better? - 1st Grade Science

SECTION 1

🔍 What's Happening?

Anchoring Phenomenon

Imagine it is raining outside. You need to carry your library books home. But you don't have a bag!

Your teacher gives you two things to try. One is a paper bag. The other is a plastic bin with a lid. Which one will keep your books dry?

Two designs to keep books dry: a paper bag and a plastic bin with a lid, shown side by side in the rain.

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💭 Thinking Questions

What do you think will happen to each bag in the rain?
How could we find out which one works better?

SECTION 2

💡 Big Ideas

When we have a problem, we can think of more than one way to fix it. That means we make different designs.

But how do we know which design is best? We test them! Then we collect data. That means we write down or draw what happens.

Test Both Designs

To be fair, we test both designs the same way. We do the same thing to each one.

Collect Data

Data is what we find out. We can count things, measure, or draw what we see. Data helps us pick the best design!

SECTION 3

🔬 Let's Try It!

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🧪 LET'S TRY THIS!

Ramp Race: Which Ramp Rolls a Ball Farther?

Here is a fun test you can do! We will build two ramps and see which one makes a ball roll farther.

What you need:

A small ball (like a marble)
Two flat boards or big books
Something to prop one board higher (like a stack of blocks)
A ruler or string to measure

Steps:

Build Ramp A: Prop one end of a board on 2 blocks. That is a short ramp.
Build Ramp B: Prop the other board on 4 blocks. That is a tall ramp.
Roll the ball down Ramp A. Mark where it stops. Do it 3 times!
Roll the ball down Ramp B. Mark where it stops. Do it 3 times!

Write down how far the ball rolled each time. That is collecting data!

The taller ramp makes the ball roll farther!

SECTION 4

📊 What We Found Out

When we tested both ramps, we wrote down what happened. Look at our data!

Test	Ramp A (Short)	Ramp B (Tall)
Try 1	Rolled to the 🟡 mark	Rolled to the 🟢 mark (farther!)
Try 2	Rolled to the 🟡 mark	Rolled past the 🟢 mark
Try 3	Rolled to the 🟡 mark	Rolled to the 🟢 mark (farther!)

The data shows us that Ramp B made the ball go farther every time. We tested each ramp 3 times to be sure.

When we test more than once, we can trust our data more. If it happens the same way again and again, we know it is not just luck!

Simple bar chart showing Ramp A rolled a short distance while Ramp B rolled a longer distance.

This picture shows our data. The green bar is taller because the ball rolled farther with Ramp B. Data helps us see the answer clearly!

SECTION 5

🔎 Do You See the Pattern?

When you test two things, you can compare them. That means you look at how they are the same and how they are different.

Here is a pattern: When we test things carefully, the data helps us find the best choice. This works for lots of things!

Problem	Design A	Design B	How to Test
Keep books dry 📚	Paper bag	Plastic bin	Pour water, see which stays dry
Roll ball far ⚽	Short ramp	Tall ramp	Roll ball, measure how far
Keep an egg safe 🥚	Wrap in paper	Wrap in bubble wrap	Drop it, see if it breaks

See? Every time, we test both designs the same way. Then we look at the data. The pattern is: testing and comparing helps us find what works best.

SECTION 6

🌍 People Use This Every Day!

Real engineers test things all the time. An engineer is a person who solves problems by building and testing things.

When someone wants to make a new shoe, they don't just make one kind. They make two or three kinds. Then they test them! They check: Which shoe lasts longer? Which one is comfier?

When someone builds a new bridge for toy trains, they try different shapes. They put weight on each one and see which is strongest. The data tells them which bridge works best!

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🛠️ Your Turn: Design Challenge!

SECTION 7

📖 Words to Know

📖 Key Vocabulary

Design — A plan for how to make something. It is a way to solve a problem.

Test — To try something out to see how it works.

Data — What we find out when we test something. We can write it down, draw it, or count it.

Compare — To look at two things and see how they are the same and different.

Engineer — A person who solves problems by designing, building, and testing things.

SECTION 8

✏️ Show What You Know!

Question 1: Warm-Up

Two students each build a different paper boat. They want to find out which boat holds more pennies before sinking. What should they do to collect data about their designs?

A. Just look at the boats and pick the one that looks bigger.
B. Put pennies in each boat one at a time and count how many each boat holds before sinking.
C. Only test one boat and guess how the other boat would do.

Show answer

B is correct! To collect data, you need to test both designs the same way and record what happens. Counting the pennies each boat holds gives real data you can compare. A is wrong because just looking at a boat does not give you real test data — a bigger-looking boat might not actually hold more. C is wrong because you need to test both designs, not just one. Guessing is not the same as collecting data.

Question 2: Medium

A class tests two different sun shade designs to see which one keeps a spot cooler on a sunny day. They check the temperature under each shade every 10 minutes and write the numbers down. Why is writing down the temperatures important?

A. It helps them remember the data so they can compare the two designs fairly.
B. It makes the shade designs look more colorful.
C. It tells them what material the shades are made of.

Show answer

A is correct! Writing down data helps you remember what happened during the test so you can compare the two designs. Without recording, you might forget which shade was cooler. B is wrong because writing down numbers has nothing to do with how the shades look. C is wrong because recording temperatures does not tell you what materials were used — it tells you how well each design worked.

Question 3: Medium

Two groups of students build different ramps to help a toy car roll into a bucket. Group 1's car lands in the bucket 2 out of 5 times. Group 2's car lands in the bucket 4 out of 5 times. Based on this data, which design works better at solving the problem?

A. Group 1's ramp, because they tested it 5 times.
B. Both ramps work exactly the same.
C. Group 2's ramp, because the car landed in the bucket more times.

Show answer

C is correct! The data shows Group 2's car made it into the bucket 4 out of 5 times, which is more than Group 1's 2 out of 5 times. The design that solves the problem more often works better. A is wrong because even though Group 1 tested 5 times, their car only made it in 2 times, which is fewer than Group 2. B is wrong because the data clearly shows different results — 2 out of 5 is not the same as 4 out of 5.

Question 4: Challenge

Maya and Sam each design a different bag to carry library books without the books falling out. To be fair when collecting data, what should they do?

A. Put 3 books in Maya's bag but only 1 book in Sam's bag.
B. Put the same number of books in each bag and walk the same distance to see if the books stay inside.
C. Only test Sam's bag because it looks stronger.

Show answer

B is correct! A fair test means you test both designs the same way. Using the same number of books and walking the same distance lets you compare the bags fairly. A is wrong because putting different numbers of books in each bag makes the test unfair — the bag with more books has a harder job. C is wrong because you must test both designs to collect data and compare them. Skipping a design because of how it looks is not collecting data.

SECTION 9

🔮 What's Next?

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🔮 What's Next?