Hands-on Activity Design a Bicycle Helmet

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Analyze a product to determine the need it was designed to meet and the customer it was meant to attract.
• Produce, use, and evaluate a prototype of the design solution.
• Describe the personal impact of the designed product.
• Communicate the solution to a problem and justify decisions.

Educational Standards

Each TeachEngineering lesson or activity is correlated to one or more K-12 science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) educational standards.

All 100,000+ K-12 STEM standards covered in TeachEngineering are collected, maintained and packaged by the Achievement Standards Network (ASN), a project of D2L (www.achievementstandards.org).

In the ASN, standards are hierarchically structured: first by source; e.g., by state; within source by type; e.g., science or mathematics; within type by subtype, then by grade, etc.

NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards - Science

International Technology and Engineering Educators Association - Technology

State Standards

Materials List

Each group needs:

• oak tag or poster board (approx. 20 x 30 in)
• markers, colored pencils, etc.

To share with the entire class:

• 2 or more example helmets
• EPS (expanded polystyrene) or Styrofoam (approx. 10 in²)
• PET (polyester terephthalate, such as cutting the plastic from a 2-liter soda bottle to lay flat)
• 5-pound weight
• scissors
• masking tape

Worksheets and Attachments

Introduction/Motivation

Engineers use scientific principles and other background information to design and create useful things that we use and depend upon every day. In designing and creating, the engineer goes through a problem solving process in which math and science are important components. (As necessary, review the steps of the engineering design process, an approach all engineers have in common as work to create great design solutions.)

Each year, nearly 1,000 people die from injuries sustained in bicycle crashes, with head injuries accounting for more than 60% of these deaths. In addition, many more people survive non-fatal head injuries resulting from bicycle crashes. While some of these survivors may experience only minor headaches or dizziness, others may suffer profound and disabling neurological difficulties.

One effective way to prevent head injury from these accidents is to use bicycle helmets. What do you think would be important characteristics for a helmet to have? (Listen to student ideas.) Helmets generally consist of two parts: an impact protection system to absorb the force and a strap system to keep the protective layer in place.

Often three layers are used together to provide impact protection. The outer layer is generally a hard shell or a micro-shell made of fiberglass, Lexan or ABS plastic. This shell serves many purposes: it distributes the force of the collision over a large area; it allows the helmet to slide, thereby causing a slower deceleration; it provides a shield against penetration; and it holds the middle layer together. The middle layer is usually a crushable liner that absorbs the shock of collision. This layer is often made of expanded polystyrene, also known as EPS. The inner layer, which may be more segmented, helps to ensure proper fit and comfort.

How do you think engineers might be involved in safety helmets? (Listen to student ideas.) Well engineers are involved in all aspects of helmet design and manufacturing through the engineering design process. That includes, design, development, research, production and sales.

Procedure

Before the Activity

• Gather materials and make copies of the worksheets and score sheets.
• Prepare to show students the attached Bicycle Helmet Design Slides, either via overhead transparencies or a PowerPoint presentation.

With the Students

Part 1

1. Review slides 1-7: People who design and manufacture bicycle helmets must know how to make a helmet protective, functional and marketable at the same time.
2. In groups, consider the following: all helmets contain the same basic parts to protect the head in an accident. However, helmets are not all alike. They may differ depending on who will use them and for what purpose.
3. Determine the purpose of a bicycle helmet.
4. Pass around the bicycle helmets so that the students can identify the parts. Have students note the sticker from the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) that shows that the helmet meets a safety standard, or the blue SNELL sticker indicating that the helmet has passed more stringent tests.
5. Describe the parts of the helmet and discuss the purpose of each part.

• hard and slick shell
• crushable liner
• padding layer
• strap system
• vents

6. To reinforce the purpose of the hard shell, conduct the following experiment:

• From shoulder height, drop the 5-pound weight onto a piece of EPS.
• Pass the EPS around the class and have students note the deformation.
• Tape the flat plastic piece onto the EPS.
• Drop the weight from shoulder height onto the combination of EPS and PET.
• Pass the combination around the class and have the students note the deformation.

7. Think about the helmet characteristics that are designed for a certain application. By adding these characteristics to the basic helmet, the proper design can be determined for an application. Review slides 8-11.
8. Pass out Worksheet A: Helmet Design Project (2 pages) and assign each group one of the design challenges.
9. Have students complete the worksheet and spend at least 10 minutes in the third step of the engineering design process: imagine possible solutions by sketching as many different designs as they can come up with. Encourage wild ideas! 
10. Have each team identify the needs and constraints (first step of the engineering design process) for their chosen problem. Identifying all of the needs and constraints is crucial to understanding your users. 

Part 2

1. Have students prepare a two-minute poster presentation on their designs. Require the posters to include the helmet designs and that students be prepared to discuss the choices they made.
2. Finish with a discussion about how students approached the problem like engineers. At each stage of the project, what engineering role were they performing?

Vocabulary/Definitions

biomechanical: Refers to the study of the human body from the mechanical engineering perspective.

crushable: Able to compress rather than shatter or crack when a force is applied.

expanded polystyrene : (EPS) A rigid, famed plastic that can be used for its insulating or protective properties.

polyester terephthalate: (PET) A hard, thin plastic with high strength and rigidity.

Assessment

Evaluation: Use the attached score sheet to evaluate each group, judging on criteria such as problem statement, group needs, design changes, marketing techniques, illustration and overall presentation.

Investigating Questions

• How would you test bicycle helmets to make sure that they are safe?
• After an accident would you need a new helmet?
• How can a consumer tell if a helmet is safe?

Safety Issues

• Make sure the presenters are careful when dropping weights onto the test materials.

Activity Extensions

Have students research other types of foam that have been used in helmets, such as expanded polyurethane and expanded polypropylene.

Have students research helmets that are designed for specific applications. Decide if the classroom designs are similar to the commercial product. Check websites on bicycle safety to see if specially made helmets exist for these applications.

Some people feel that wearing helmets makes riders more reckless and more prone to injury. Have students poll other students to see if this is the case. Collect enough data to be able to see if gender plays a part in the findings.

Activity Scaling

• For upper grades, have students design their own experiments to test bicycle helmets for impact resistance and strap strength. Obtain used or low-priced helmets for this activity.

Additional Multimedia Support

Snell/Harborview Studies: http://www.smf.org/docs/articles/report.html

Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute: http://www.helmets.org/

Copyright

Contributors

Supporting Program

Acknowledgements

Project funded by Lucent Technologies Foundation.