Grade 8 Engineering & Physics

32 of 36 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.

Unit 1: Physics of Motion

• MUST COVER 1.1 Motion Graphs: Galileo’s Ramps and Muybridge’s Horse · unit test
• MUST COVER 1.2 Momentum, Collisions and Crumple Zones · unit test
• MUST COVER 1.3 Circular Motion: Ferris’s Wheel and the Banked Curve · unit test
• MUST COVER 1.4 Energy Conservation and Roller-Coaster Design · unit test

Unit 2: Bridges

• MUST COVER 2.1 Load Paths and Design Codes: From Ashtabula to the Rulebook · unit test
• MUST COVER 2.2 Steel versus Concrete: Eads, Magnel and the Reinforced Beam · unit test
• MUST COVER 2.3 A Balsa Bridge Efficiency Competition: Whipple and the Method of Joints · unit test
• MUST COVER 2.4 Careers: The Civil Engineer, Bridge Inspection and the PE License · unit test

Unit 3: Architecture

• MUST COVER 3.1 Styles and Structure: From the Classical Orders to Gothic to Modern · unit test
• MUST COVER 3.2 From Drafting Board to CAD: Modeling a Building in Tinkercad · unit test
• MUST COVER 3.3 Building Codes and Fire Safety: Lessons from Chicago · unit test
• MUST COVER 3.4 The Burj Khalifa: Confusing the Wind · unit test

Unit 4: Electronics

• MUST COVER 4.1 Binary and Logic Gates: Boole, Shannon and the Relay · unit test
• MUST COVER 4.2 From the Transistor to the Integrated Circuit: Bell Labs and Beyond · unit test
• MUST COVER 4.3 Raspberry Pi Projects: Programming a Microcontroller · unit test
• MUST COVER 4.4 Sensors and Data Logging: From the Black Box to Your Phone · unit test

Unit 5: Utilities

• MUST COVER 5.1 Grid Reliability and the Great Blackouts · unit test
• MUST COVER 5.2 Water Systems: Head, Pressure and Pipe Flow · unit test
• MUST COVER 5.3 The Internet: Fiber, Packets and Data Centers · unit test
• MUST COVER 5.4 Infrastructure Careers: Lineworker, Water Operator and Engineer · unit test

Unit 6: Ships

• MUST COVER 6.1 Drag, Hull Speed and the Bulbous Bow: Froude’s Towing Tank · unit test
• MUST COVER 6.2 Propellers and Cavitation: Parsons and the Turbinia · unit test
• MUST COVER 6.3 Submarines and Pressure: The Trieste Reaches the Deepest Sea · unit test
• MUST COVER 6.4 Modern Shipbuilding: Liberty Ships, Brittle Steel and the Block Method · unit test

Unit 7: Flight and Space

• MUST COVER 7.1 Aircraft Design Trade-offs: Wing Loading from the Gossamer Albatross to the 747 · unit test
• MUST COVER 7.2 Helicopters: Sikorsky and the Rotating Wing · unit test
• MUST COVER 7.3 Rocketry and Orbits: Apollo and the Saturn V · unit test
• MUST COVER 7.4 Drones and FAA Rules: Four Rotors and a Feedback Loop · unit test

Unit 8: Capstone: The Engineer’s Calling

• MUST COVER 8.1 Engineering Ethics and Vocation: The Hyatt Regency Walkways · unit test
• MUST COVER 8.2 Project Management: Counting the Cost at Hoover Dam · unit test
• MUST COVER 8.3 A Capstone Design Project: From Problem to Prototype · unit test
• MUST COVER 8.4 The Engineering Fair and Presentation: Faraday’s Christmas Lectures · unit test

Unit 9: Toy Lab: The Physics of Play OPTIONAL unit

• OPTIONAL 9.1 The Gyroscope and Precession
• OPTIONAL 9.2 The Slinky Drop: Waves in Slow Motion
• OPTIONAL 9.3 RC Airplanes and Toy Drones: Flying from the Ground
• OPTIONAL 9.4 Capstone Toy: Invent, Prototype, Test and Pitch

From the course’s own 36-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.

Grading: Builds (fair testing, measurement and the improve round) 35%, Engineer’s notebook (predictions, data tables, graphs, calculations, conclusions) 20%, Unit reviews 20%, Portfolio builds and the capstone 25%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69. Below 60: redo the build or review with help.