Gorham Middle School SAIL

  SAIL-math students are currently participating in a national math competition.  Teams are matched first by skill level so that the competition is even and then by common time availability so that teams can play live where possible. Data from the 2 Qualifying rounds are used to determine bracket assignments. The top 64 teams are assigned to the Title bracket. The remaining teams are then evenly placed in additional brackets based on team size, with all teams competing in a bracket. Within each bracket, teams are sorted by skill and seeded accordingly, following NCAA March Madness protocol. We have three teams competing in this bracket-style tournament: an 8th-grade, a 7th-grade, and a 6th-grade team. All teams just completed their first qualifying round.  Out of 48 middle school teams, the 8th grade is currently ranked 4th, the 7th grade is 18th, and the 6th grade is 27th. We have one more qualifying round to complete, and then it's our first bracket round! 

SAIL Math students used the engineering design process to design and build a vehicle to travel on a zip line to carry an elf stranded on a shelf. Students also learned about the forces acting on the elf, including center of gravity and friction.  Students then learned time of impact=   and applied it to the scenario of what if the elf had jumped from the top instead of using the zipline. How long would it take the elf to reach the bottom? Students calculated that it would take .983 seconds to reach the floor.   

 Students competed in the balloon-powered car challenge. They recorded the distance and time and find the average speed. Students weighted their car to find the mass and also used equations to find velocity, momentum, force, and acceleration. We created a chart to track the data.  The Winners: 8th-grade: Espresso Express ( 15 1/2 ft.)  7th-grade: Hiroshima 2.1  ( 23ft. Overall winners!)  6th-grade: Cookie Munster  (22ft).  We connected this project to industrial engineering and the engineering design process. Students had to brainstorm and work together to create a design, test that design, make observations, and make improvements.  

Mission: Build a balloon-powered car that will travel 5 feet.   STEM career connection: Industrial Engineer Last week students brainstormed, and this week, they started to design and build! Some groups even got the chance to test out their design and began making adjustments. Test → Evaluate → Improve Students will be given another design/build session next week, and then it will be time to compete!  .                             .      

 Greetings Everyone, This week SAIL-math students got a sneak peek at the projects we will be completing this year! Every month we will have a new theme and a new STEM project.  October Project: Students will use the engineer design process to build a balloon-powered car that can travel at least 5 ft.  STEM Career Connection: Industrial Engineer Industrial engineers determine the most effective way to use people, machines, materials, information, and energy to make a product or service. Math Connection: Students will apply equations to calculate velocity, mass, momentum, force, and acceleration.