This module is designed to help Scouts BSA explore how engineering affects your life each day.
Whoosh!
Requirements last updated 2022-05-26. There are broken links and outdated information in places and formatting may not match between two Nova awards because the requirements are preserved to match the original state from Scouting America. Where available, the related counselor notes have been included along with the requirements.
1.
Choose A or B or C and complete ALL the requirements.
A.
Watch about three hours total of engineering-related shows or
documentaries that involve motion or motion-inspired technology.
Then do the following:
1.
Make a list of at least five questions or ideas from the
show(s) you watched.
2.
Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.
Some examples include - but are not limited to - shows found on
PBS ("NOVA"), Discovery Channel, Science Channel, National
Geographic Channel, TED Talks (online videos), and the
History Channel. You may choose to watch a live performance
or movie at a science museum instead of watching a media
production. You may watch online productions with your
counselor's approval and under your parent's or guardian's
supervision. One example is the NOVA Lever, an Obelisk page
on ancient Egypt and the use of levers, available at
https://tpt.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/phy03.sci.phys.energy.vegypt/raising-an-obelisk-an-engineering-puzzle/?student=true&focus=true
B.
Read (about three hours total) about motion or motion-inspired
technology. Then do the following:
1.
Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from each
article.
2.
Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor.
Examples of magazines include - but are not limited to - Odyssey,
Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, Science Illustrated,
Discover, Air & Space, Popular Astronomy, Astronomy, Science
News, Sky & Telescope, Natural History, Robot, Servo, Nuts
and Volts, and Scientific American.
C.
Do a combination of reading and watching (about three hours total).
Then do the following:
1.
Make a list of at least two questions or ideas from each
article or show.
2.
Discuss two of the questions or ideas with your counselor
2.
Complete ONE merit badge from the following list. (Choose one you have
not already used for another Nova award.) After completion, discuss with
your counselor how the merit badge you earned uses engineering.
3.
Do ALL the following.
A.
Make a list or drawing of the six simple machines.
B.
Be able to tell your counselor the name of each machine and how each machine works.
Helpful Links
"Six Simple Machines":
https://www.constructionknowledge.net/
https://www.livescience.com/49106-simple-machines.html
https://www.teachengineering.org/populartopics/simplemachines
A lever is a rigid bar that turns around a fulcrum or fixed point.
The force - a push or a pull that is applied to the lever - is called
the effort. The farther the effort is from the fulcrum, the easier
it is to use the lever. What the lever moves is called the load or
the resistance. Levers can change the direction of motion, make it
easier to move something, or cause something to move a greater
distance. There are three classes, or types, of levers.
Class 1 lever - The fulcrum is located between the effort and the
load. The direction the load moves is opposite the direction of the
effort. Depending on where the fulcrum is placed, a class 1 lever
can either move the load more easily or move the load a greater
distance. Examples of class 1 levers include seesaws, crowbars,
scissors, and pliers.
Class 2 lever - The fulcrum is at one end, the effort is at the other
end, and the load is in the middle. The effort and the load move
in the same direction. A class 2 lever makes an object easier to
move. Examples of class 2 levers include catapults, screwdrivers,
nutcrackers, staplers, and wheelbarrows.
Class 3 lever - The fulcrum is at one end, and the effort is applied
between the fulcrum and the load. The effort and the load move in
the same direction. A class 3 lever makes an object harder to move
but moves the object a much greater distance than the effort moves.
Because the load end moves faster than the effort (it has to travel
farther during the same amount of time), the load gains speed.
Many sporting activities use class 3 levers. Examples of class 3
levers include bats, rackets, paddles, clubs, fishing poles, and
brooms.
C.
Discuss the following with your counselor:
1.
The simple machines that were involved with the motion in
your chosen merit badge (Hint: Look at the moving parts of an
engine to find simple machines.)
2.
The energy source causing the motion for the subject of your
merit badge
3.
What you learned about motion from earning your merit badge
- Archery - The bow is a lever, and the hand is the fulcrum. Crossbows use a pulley.
- Aviation - Wheel and axle, levers, and pulleys. Propellers are a type of screw.
- Composite Materials - Composites can be found just about everywhere: in airplanes, golf clubs, baseball bats, circuit boards, and even bridges. Composites make sporting equipment lighter and stronger, houses warmer, and helmets tougher. Pick a composite product and discuss the machines made of the components.
- Drafting - Incline plane (triangle), wheel and axle, and lever.
- Electronics - Varies. Lever used in soldering irons, switches, and circuit breakers (see https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/circuit-breaker.htm)
- Engineering - Engineering makes use of all the simple machines. (See https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_simp_machines_lesson01)
- Inventing - Inventors can use simple machines to help them construct their prototypes; their inventions may incorporate simple machines.
- Model Design and Building - Tools such as knives (wedge), handsaws (wedge), vises (screw and lever), files, hammers (lever), screwdrivers (lever), hand drills (screw, wheel and axle), drill bits (screw), and pliers (two levers working together).
- Railroading - Levers, wheel and axle.
- Rifle Shooting - The fulcrum (pivot point) in the trigger
mechanism is between the effort (applied by the trigger
finger) and where the pressure (the load or resistance) is
applied to the spring.
- Robotics - Robot designers and builders can use simple machines to help them build their robots. Robots may contain simple machines to help them function, like how the human body incorporates simple machines.
- Shotgun Shooting - See Rifle Shooting.
- Wind, gasoline/fossil fuel, electric power, and human power all are sources of energy.
4.
Choose A or B and complete ALL the requirements.
A.
Visit an amusement park. Then discuss the following with your
counselor:
1.
The simple machines present in at least two of the rides
2.
The forces involved in the motion of any two rides
B.
Visit a playground. Then discuss the following with your counselor:
1.
The simple machines present in the playground equipment
2.
The forces involved in the motion of any two playground fixtures
A force is a push or a pull. Many rides use the force of
gravity to cause changes in up and down motion. Rides that
go in a circle use centripetal force.
5.
Do the following:
A.
On your own, design one of the following and include a drawing or
sketch: an amusement park ride OR a playground fixture OR a method
of transportation.
B.
Discuss with your counselor:
1.
The simple machines present in your design
2.
The energy source powering the motion of your creation
6.
Discuss with your counselor how engineering affects your everyday life
