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Introduction

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education provides students with the opportunity to participate in many themed hands-on activities, including those with connections to sports and games. Competitions involving robotics help students learn math, physics, and engineering by engaging in activities that are useful and enjoyable while providing them hands-on experiences in those key areas.

The following VEX STEM Lab helps to provide students a fun and relevant way of learning precision in measurement, conversion of units and scale. In “Robo Rally,” students will investigate these concepts by working as a team to design a race course using the engineering process and then building it in the classroom to scale in order to compete in a race using the robots.

Please keep this letter for your reference as your child works through the "Robo Rally” STEM Lab. It contains information that you can use to keep up to date on what your student is learning and spark discussions about STEM and Robotics.

Look Inside the STEM Lab

In this lab, students will have the opportunity to build a VEX V5 Speedbot as a team. After recording their reflections on the build in their engineering notebooks, they will then learn about the importance of scale in their creations. Students will design a race course, making sure that they use precise measurements and converting units as necessary. After discussing how these skills relate in the real world by viewing examples of famous world structures that are displayed as scaled-down images, students will then prepare for the Robo Rally Challenge. For this challenge, students will combine their race courses. Once built, teams will compete against each other to see who will maneuver through the joined course the fastest!.

Vocabulary

Proportion
When two ratios are equal.
Ratio
A mathematical comparison of two values.
Unit Ratio
A ratio with a denominator of 1.
Conversion Factor
An expression for the equal exchange between units.
Unit Conversion
The process of converting a measurement in one set of units to the same measurement in another set of units.
Scale
The relationship or ratio between a set distance on a map, model or drawing and the corresponding measurement on the actual object.
Scale Drawing
The drawing of an object that is proportional.
Engineering Notebook
A type of journal that the students will use to record their designs, ideas, and reflections as they move through the STEM Lab.
VEX V5 Speedbot
The robot build that is used for the STEM Lab. This robot is the result of the first hands-on lesson the students will accomplish. It is used to complete the rest of the STEM Lab activities.

Conversion Factors

Your student will be using the following conversions in the STEM Lab:

  • 1 meter = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters
  • 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters = 25.4 millimeters = 0.0254 meters
  • 1 yard = 3 feet = 36 inches = 914.4 millimeters
  • 1 kilogram = 100 grams
  • liter = .001 cubic meters

Real World Connection

Students will be introduced to many new concepts that will make connections to the world around them in this STEM Lab. Students will explore how vital converting units properly is in relation to designing skyscrapers and how knowing your "Robot Math" can mean the difference between a win and a loss in a robotic competition. They will also work as a team to find strategies that will lead to success in both creating and building using scale and proportional reasoning.

Guiding at Home Questions

  1. What was the hardest part of creating a design by scaling?
  2. In what situations at home do you think knowing how to convert units would be beneficial?
  3. What was the hardest part about combining your race course with another teams?

You can explore the STEM Lab at https://education.vex.com/.

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