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Summary

Materials Needed

The following is a list of all the materials that are needed to complete the VEX GO Lab. These materials include student facing materials as well as teacher facilitation materials. It is recommended that you assign two students to each VEX GO Kit.

In some Labs, links to teaching resources in a slideshow format have been included. These slides can help provide context and inspiration for your students. Teachers will be guided in how to implement the slides with suggestions throughout the lab. All slides are editable, and can be projected for students or used as a teacher resource. To edit the Google Slides, make a copy into your personal Drive and edit as needed.

Other editable documents have been included to assist in implementing the Labs in a small group format. Print the worksheets as is or copy and edit those documents to suit the needs of your classroom. Example Data Collection sheet setups have been included for certain experiments as well as the original blank copy. While they offer suggestions for setup, these documents are all editable to best suit your classroom and the needs of your students.

Materials Purpose Recommendation

VEX GO Kit

For students to build the Unpowered Super Car and obtain the parts needed to build the ramp.

 1 per group

Pre-built Unpowered Super Car (optional)

For teacher demonstration during the Engage section.

 1 for teacher demonstration

Lab 1 Image Slideshow Google / .docx / .pdf

For teacher and student reference: how to build a ramp.

 1 for teacher facilitation

Unpowered Super Car Build Instructions (PDF) or Unpowered Super Car Build Instructions (3D)

For students to build the Unpowered Super Car.

 1 per group

Robotics Roles & Routines Google / .docx / .pdf

Editable Google Doc for organizing group work and best practices for using the VEX GO Kit.

 1 per group

Data Collection Sheet (Google / .docx / .pdf ) or Lab 1 Data Collection Example (Google / .docx / .pdf )

Editable Google Doc for students to record data during the Play section.

 1 per group

Ruler/ Measuring Tape

For students to measure the distance traveled by their Unpowered Super Car.

 1 per group

Masking tape

For students to mark the distance traveled by their Unpowered Super Car.

 1 roll per group

VEX GO Tile

For students to build a ramp.

 1 per group

Pencils

For students to record data, document design ideas and fill out the Robotics Roles & Routines worksheets.

 1 per student

Pin Tool

To help remove pins or pry beams apart.

 1 per group

Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! PDF Book (optional)

 To read with students to introduce them to VEX GO through a story and introductory build. 1 for demonstration purposes

Get Ready...Get VEX...GO! Teacher's Guide (optional)

Google Doc / .pptx / .pdf

For additional prompts when introducing students to VEX GO with the PDF Book. 1 for teacher use

Engage

Begin the lab by engaging with the students.

  1. Hook

    Ask students if they have ever been on a slide at a playground. What happens when they sit at the top? What made you go down the slide? Forces! Gravity brought you down the slide. 

    Show a pre-built Unpowered Super Car, and ask how they could measure how far it moves.
     

  2. Leading Question

    How do forces affect how far our car is going to travel? 

  3. Build Unpowered Super Car

Play

Allow students to explore the concepts introduced.

Part 1

Students will take turns pushing their Unpowered Super Car on a flat surface and measuring the distance the car travels.  Each member of the group will push while the other members measure and record the distances on the Data Collection Sheet. Students will make predictions based on their observations.

Mid-Play Break

How were the pushes different? How did the force of the push affect the distance travelled?

Part 2

Students will experiment with gravitational forces by using a ramp to move the car rather than pushing. Students will measure the distances traveled by the car at different ramp angles.

Share

Allow students to discuss and display their learning.

Discussion Prompts

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