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DCI in Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science

Table 2.4 lists the core ideas in Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science, as well as the defining questions for each DCI. See the framework for more examples and grade band endpoints or the NGSS website for further information.

 
Table 2.4. Disciplinary Core Ideas in Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science
Core Idea Defining Question

ETS1:  Engineering Design

How do engineers solve problems?
ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem What is a design for?
What are the criteria and constraints of a successful solution?
ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions What is the process for developing potential design solutions?
ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution How can the various proposed design solutions be compared and improved?
ETS2: Links Among Engineering, Technology, Science, and Society How are engineering, technology, science, and society interconnected?
ETS2.A: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology What are the relationships among science, engineering, and technology?
ETS2.B: Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World How do science, engineering, and the technologies that result from them
affect the ways in which people live? How do they affect the natural world?
 

Disciplinary Core Ideas in Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science

Engineering and technology can be considered to be applications of scientific knowledge. The framework defines technology, engineering, and application of science as follows:

  • An application of science is the use of scientific knowledge for a specific purpose.
  • Technology is any modification of the natural world made to fulfill human needs or desires.
  • Engineering is a systematic approach to design, with a goal of meeting human needs or wants.

 

Engineering, technology, and applications of science are often interconnected. The process of engineering design can be used to create new technology or applications of science. New scientific discoveries and technologies often have an influence on society and the natural world. According to the framework, students must have an understanding not just of the facts of science, but of the processes of science and how science is utilized.

 

 

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Image caption

Fig. 2.24. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers replenishes an Atlantic City beach with sand dredged from the ocean after the beach was eroded by Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012.

Image copyright and source

Image courtesy by Rosanna Arias from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)


Marine and aquatic environments have long served as contexts for advances in engineering and technology. For example, from antiquity people have designed and built boats to navigate rivers and cross the ocean. In modern times, ocean engineers are designing solutions to harness the power of the ocean to generate electricity. Ocean engineers also design technologies that allow scientists to further explore the ocean. Technologies are developed to allow people to more efficiently extract resources from the ocean or to live more safely in coastal areas that are prone to natural hazards (Fig. 2.23). In many cases, there is a need to balance the needs of humans with issues of sustainability.

 

Activities and Special Features Aligned with ETS1.A: Defining and Delimiting an Engineering Problem

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  1. Physical > Atmospheric Effects > Ocean Surface Currents > Activity: Build a Drifter
  2. Physical > Waves > Wave and Wave Properties > Activity: Standing Waves
  3. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Weird Science: Giant Ships and Canals
  4. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Evaluating Cargo Transportation
  5. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Design a Ship
  6. Physical > Ocean Depths > Diving Technology > Practices of Science: Blue Water Diving
  7. Physical > Ocean Depths > Diving Technology > Activity: Dive Planning
  8. Physical > Ocean Depths > Diving Technology > Question Set: Diving Technology

 

Activities and Special Features Aligned with ETS1.B: Developing Possible Solutions

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  1. Physical > Atmospheric Effects > Ocean Surface Currents > Activity: Build a Drifter
  2. Physical > Coastal Interactions > Beaches and Sand > Activity: Coastal Engineering
  3. Physical > Tides > Tide Patterns and Currents > Climate Connection: Tidal Power
  4. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Wayfinding and Navigation > Traditional Ways of Knowing: Polynesian Stick Charts
  5. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Question Set: Transportation and Ship Design
  6. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Ship Stability
  7. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Evaluating Cargo Transportation
  8. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Design a Ship
  9. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Ship Speed and Efficiency

 

Activities and Special Features Aligned with ETS1.C: Optimizing the Design Solution

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  1. Physical > Density Effects > Measuring Salinity > Activity: Measuring Salinity
  2. Physical > Atmospheric Effects > Ocean Surface Currents > Activity: Build a Drifter
  3. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Design a Ship
  4. Physical > Ocean Depths > Light in the Ocean > Practices of Science: Underwater Photography and Videography
  5. Biological > Mammals > Structure and Function > Activity: Measuring Whale Dimensions

 

Activities and Special Features Aligned with ETS2.A: Interdependence of Science, Engineering, and Technology

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  1. Physical > Density Effects > Density, Temperature, and Salinity > Weird Science: Floating Aircraft Carriers
  2. Physical > Density Effects > Measuring Salinity > Weird Science: Hydrometers and Specific Gravity
  3. Physical > Navigation and Transportation > Transportation and Ship Design > Activity: Design a Ship

 

Activities and Special Features Aligned with ETS2.B: Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World

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  1. Physical > Atmospheric Effects > Wind Systems > Weird Science: Equator Mythology
  2. Physical > Ocean Floor > Seafloor Features and Mapping the Seafloor > Question Set: Using Technology to Map the Ocean Floor
  3. Chemical > Matter > Composing and Decomposing Matter > Weird Science: John Dalton, Atomic Theory and Color Blindness
  4. Chemical > Chemistry and Seawater > The Salty Sea > Traditional Ways of Knowing: Salt Harvesting
  5. Chemical > Chemistry and Seawater > Ionic Compounds > Weird Science: Salt Fortification and Additives
  6. Chemical > Chemistry and Seawater > Ionic Compounds > Compare-Contrast-Connect: The Role of Salt in Human History

Exploring Our Fluid Earth, a product of the Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG), College of Education. University of Hawaii, 2011. This document may be freely reproduced and distributed for non-profit educational purposes.