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Prepare for the Strike Challenge

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The preparation stage will familiarize students with the challenge field for the Strike Challenge and provide them with the opportunity to practice their measuring skills. If you are concerned about saving classroom time, set up the challenge field ahead of time. It is important to review the constraints and measurements of the field and explain what will be expected of them in this challenge.

A diagram of a rectangular course measuring 3 meters in length and 1 meter in width. The course is divided into three sections: a Robot start zone on the left, a Collision zone in the center with a green Ball placement line, and a Ball only zone on the right. The Ball only zone contains 10 circle symbols representing pins arranged in a triangular formation. The course layout also includes measurements indicating the size of each zone, with both the robot start zone and the collision zone marked as half a meter long.
Layout of the Strike Challenge field with dimensions

Prepare for the Strike Challenge

In this challenge, you will program your robot to collide with a ball to compete in bowling! To successfully complete this challenge, you need to create a project that transfers energy from your moving robot to a ball in order to knock down multiple pins. The project is only allowed to drive the robot forward using one instruction for setting the drive velocity and one instruction for driving for a distance. The project should stop the robot just after it comes in contact with the ball.

You can create a new project or use the Momentum project you created in the Exploring Velocity activity. While testing different velocities, record your data in the new table on the next page or in the table from the Exploring Velocity activity.

Consider what you've learned about the momentum of objects and the transfer of energy during collisions. Plan not only for the collision of the robot with the ball but also with the collision of the ball with the pins.

To complete the challenge you will need:

  • 3m x 1m open area
  • Tape (to create your bowling lane)
  • Ball (the size and shape of a soccer ball)
  • Paper (to roll up for creating bowling pins)

Teacher Tips icon Teacher Tips

  • Mark the locations of the pins with tape to maintain consistency of their placement on the field.

  • Print out the Strike Challenge table (Google / .pdf) for data collection, or students can recreate the table in their engineering notebooks.

  • Print out copies of the Strike Challenge (Google / .docx / .pdf) and bowling rules for student reference.

  • Refer students to the Exploring Velocity page if they need guidance when making changes and adjustments to their projects.

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