Enjoy any 5 free lessons!
You can pick. No account needed.
Watch Video

You have remaining on your free trial.
4 Free Lessons Left
Get unlimited access to all videos and lesson plans with a membership.
So you can keep watching more great videos in class, ask your teacher or principal to get a School plan membership.
Become a member to get full access to our entire library of learning videos, reading material, quiz games, simple DIY activities & more.
Become a member to get full access to our entire library of learning videos, quiz games, & more.
Plans & Pricing
to watch this full video.

Access All Videos
and Lessons, No Limits.
Access All Videos

No credit card required,
takes 7 sec to signup.
No card required

Ready-to-go lessons
that save you time.
Ready-to-go lessons
If you are on a school computer or network, ask your tech person to whitelist these URLs:
*.wistia.com, fast.wistia.com, fast.wistia.net, embedwistia-a.akamaihd.net
Sometimes a simple refresh solves this issue. If you need further help, contact us.
Engineering Design Process

- Show lesson plan & teacher guide
- Show answers to discussion questions
- Show video only
- Allow visiting of other pages
- Hide assessments
- Engineers use science, math and creativity to solve problems.
- Engineers use the "engineering design process," which is composed of 3 simple phases.
- First, define an engineering problem, then develop possible solutions, and finally optimize the design solution.
-
Discussion Questions
- Before VideoWhat are some examples of problems with technology that you would like to have solved?ANSWER
Answers will vary but might include my internet is slow, my phone doesn’t hold a charge for very long, or the microphone on my computer has static.
Answers will vary but might include too much traffic on the freeway, too much time spent waiting for the bus, or too much air pollution from cars.
Answers will vary but might include sports equipment is expensive, helmets hurt players’ heads, or running shoes wear out quickly.
Answers will vary but might include shaking a phone to charge it when it is low on battery, using electric flying drones to transport people above traffic, or making helmets out of lightweight carbon fiber.
Using online or print resources, interviewing experts, polling users, and testing products are ways to gather information about these problems.
You can communicate ideas by drawing or sketching them, creating presentations, hosting meetings, developing websites, or writing articles and blog posts.
- After VideoWhat is the engineering design process?ANSWER
The engineering design process is a series of steps that engineers use to help come up with a solution to an engineering problem.
You must define the problem, including listing all of the criteria and constraints.
You could brainstorm, research, test materials, sketch, diagram, develop a CAD (computer-aided design), or build a model or prototype.
You can optimize a design solution by testing and analyzing results to come up with new ideas to improve the design that will better meet the criteria and constraints.
Criteria and constraints are used to determine if the design solution is successful and to help decide between competing designs.
Answers will vary but might include mechanical engineers working on engines to make them faster or more fuel efficient, electrical engineers working on how to connect all the motors to an energy source in a robot, or chemical engineers working on how to dissolve or recycle plastic waste.
-
Vocabulary
- Engineering DEFINE
The use of scientific, mathematic, and design principles to solve problems.
- Defining the problem DEFINE
The first step of the engineering design process, which defines the purpose, criteria, and constraints of an engineering solution.
- Design criteria DEFINE
The requirements for success of an engineering solution.
- Design constraints DEFINE
The limitations placed on an engineering solution.
- Research DEFINE
The gathering of information about ideas related to an engineering solution.
- Optimizing design solutions DEFINE
The continual process of testing and improving a design solution.
- Mechanical engineers DEFINE
Engineers who solve design problems using their knowledge of math and physics to develop solutions such as the mechanical systems in robots, cars, and airplanes.
- Civil engineers DEFINE
Engineers who solve design problems using their knowledge of the physical and natural environment to develop solutions such as constructing roads, airports, and bridges.
- Electrical engineers DEFINE
Engineers who solve design problems using their knowledge of electricity and electric currents to develop solutions such as electrical circuits in robots, cars, and computers.
- Chemical engineers DEFINE
Engineers who solve design problems using their knowledge of chemistry and chemical reactions to develop solutions such as new fuels, medicine, and new materials.
- Engineering DEFINE
-
Reading Material
-
DIY Activity Guide
-
Lesson Plan
-
Teacher Guide