Hands-on Activity Design and Test a Ping-Pong Paddle

Learning Objectives

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Explain the engineering design process.
• Compare designs of ping-pong paddles.
• Think and outline design iteration suggestions.
• Write product reviews of paddles.

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:

• Design Challenge Handout, one per student
• Paddle Testing Handout, one per student
• meter stick
• store-bought ping-pong paddle, also available on Amazon
• ping-pong ball
• materials to build ping-pong paddle
• Paddle Core Template
• core materials
• 3 mm (or ⅛ inch) thick sheets of balsa wood; the sheet size depends on the class size and the number of paddles to be made; (e.g.(the class could make 9 paddles from three 20 cm x 60 cm (8 in x 24 in) sheets of balsa wood)
• cardboard; approximate the size of the cardboard to match the size of the balsa wood.
• coating materials
• flour and water paste
• wood glue
• clear shellac finisher, available online
• polyurethane clear finish, available online
• Covering materials
• paddle rubber sets, available online
• foam roll, available online
• shelf liner, available online
• neoprene rubber, available online
• paddle grips tape, available online

To share with the entire class:

• ping-pong tables or table tennis nets
• hot glue gun and glue sticks
• disposable cups or bowls (one per student; used to hold coating material)
• foam brushes (one per student; size does not matter)
• camera (to document design process)

Worksheets and Attachments

Pre-Req Knowledge

A basic understanding of the engineering design process; this can also be introduced and throughout the activity.

Introduction/Motivation

Sporting equipment is ever-changing to aid athletes to perform better, faster, and stronger. Have you ever considered why sporting equipment is made from different materials? For example, baseball bats are made from several types of materials, each having its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Some baseball bats are composed of aluminum and other materials to lessen the weight and increase the bat speed for younger players and softball players. Wooden bats are allowed in Major League Baseball, because professional players do not need the advantage provided by the aluminum bats. 

You have been tasked with creating a new ping-pong paddle design for the 2020 Olympics. You and your group need to study the materials and determine which ones will create the most effective paddle design. After creating your prototype, your group will perform several tests to compare your paddle to a store-bought paddle for ball control, comfort, and durability. After comparing your design to a store-bought paddle, you will have the opportunity to redesign your paddle. Your paddle must have a core, a coating to make the core sturdy, and a covering over the blade.

Note: before this explanation, you can show the video embedded in the Ping-Pong Paddle Design PowerPoint as an introduction: Top 10 Craziest Table Tennis Shots of 2017! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgI_hyPTrtA.

Procedure

Background

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, goes as far back as the 1880s and was a parlor game played outside. It transitioned into an indoor sport in the winter and has remained that way ever since. In 1901, English inventor E.C. Goode designed the modern version of the ping-pong paddle by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to a wooden blade. As times changed and as technology advanced, players needed a paddle that adapt to the rigors of a changing game. Today’s current design is similar to E.C. Goode’s original invention and follows guidelines set by the International Table Tennis Federation. These guidelines state the paddle can be any size or shape as long as the blade is flat and rigid. Guidelines also state that 85 percent of the blade (by thickness) must be natural wood. For this challenge, you will investigate what sort of enhancements you can make to the paddle while staying within Federation guidelines.

Before the Activity

• Set up the Ping-Pong Paddle Design PowerPoint with teacher notes for the activity.
• Cut out paddle cores from balsa wood and cardboard.
• Set up a station where students can gather materials.
• Optional: choose to have two balsa wood and cardboard examples coated with different materials found on slide 11 of the Ping-Pong Paddle Design PowerPoint before the activity, similar to evaluating a paint swatch.

With the Students

Day 1

1. Divide students into groups of two.
2. Give students five minutes to work on the Pre/Post-Assessment.
3. Go through the Ping-Pong Paddle Design PowerPoint. (Teacher notes are included in the PowerPoint.)
4. Distribute copies of the Design Challenge Handout, the Paddle Testing Handout, and the Paddle Core Template to each group. Have students follow along and take notes in the research portion of the handout. (Students may also research on their own.)
5. Have groups brainstorm on which materials will make the most effective paddles and allow them to gather their materials. Students should record their ideas on the Design Challenge Handout.
6. Allow students time to assemble the paddles (students should take approximately 25 minutes to coat the cores of the paddle). Day 1 assembly includes coating the core material. Refer to the notes in the Ping-Pong Paddle Design PowerPoint for more information.
7. Allow the paddles to dry overnight.

Day 2

1. Have students apply covering materials to the dry blades using hot glue. Once the glue dries, students can begin testing. Instruct students to take photos of their finished product; these will be used in the data collection portion below.
2. Distribute the Paddle Testing Handout.
3. Have each group test their ping-pong paddles based on the criteria below. Instruct students to complete each test three times and to record their data in the table on the Paddle Testing Handout. (Refer to the Sample Test Data for examples on testing information.)

• Test for control: have students volley a ball up and down for 30 seconds and count the number of times they can hit the ball.
• Test for energy absorbed by paddle: have students place the paddle on the ground and drop a ping pong ball from 1 m (~3 ft) above the paddle and have them record the height of the bounce.
• Test for paddle wear: after tests 1 & 2, compare photos from before testing began to after testing.
• Test for comfort: have students hold several different paddle examples and compare grip comfort.

4. Instruct students to repeat each test for the store-bought paddle.
5. In the product review section of the Paddle Testing Handout, have students complete the Venn diagram so they can compare and contrast their design with a store-bought paddle. This is the template students will use for writing product reviews.
6. After students have compared and contrasted their designs, instruct them to write a product review that comparing the two paddles. The intent of the product review is to inform customers which paddle the designers think is best.
7. Have students suggest product redesign options for their ping-pong paddles. If time allows and if there are enough leftover materials remaining students can iterate on their designs.
8. Optional: Have students complete the Activity Extension on the Paddle Testing Handout. Administer the Pre/Post-Assessment worksheet again.

Vocabulary/Definitions

blade: Flat portion of the ping-pong paddle.

core: Innermost layer of a ping-pong paddle.

engineering design process: A series of steps that engineers follow to solve a problem.

pip: Raised dots on the rubber on the blade of the ping-pong paddle.

Assessment

Pre-Activity Assessment

Pre-Assessment: Have students take the Pre/Post-Assessment to assess student knowledge of the engineering design process.

Activity Embedded Assessment

Design Challenge Handout: Students use the Design Challenge Handout on Day 1 to record the research, brainstorm, and build phases of the engineering design process.

Paddle Testing Handout: Students use the Paddle Testing Handout on Day 2 to record the test, analysis, and redesign phases of the engineering design process.

Post-Activity Assessment

Post-Assessment: Have students re-take the Pre/Post-Assessment.

Safety Issues

• Use shellac and polyurethane in a well-ventilated area.
• Use caution when using the hot glue gun.
• Cover tables with plastic or paper to protect surfaces from shellac and polyurethane.
• Provide gloves as an extra precaution.

Activity Extensions

• Students can be given a budget and materials price list. (See Materials Price List)

Activity Scaling

• For lower grades, give the students a script for writing the product reviews. “I give this paddle ___ stars.” Full sentence stems can be found on the Paddle Testing Handout.
• For higher grades, give students the task of creating a ping-pong paddle of a certain area. Give them all materials, but no template for the paddle and blade. (Standards: CCSS.Math.7.G.B.4 - Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle and use them to solve problems; give an informal derivation of the relationship between the circumference and area of a circle.)

Additional Multimedia Support

Top 10 Craziest Table Tennis Shots of 2017! 

Copyright

Contributors

Supporting Program

Acknowledgements

This curriculum was developed in the College of Engineering’s Research Experience for Teachers: Engineering in Precision Agriculture for Rural STEM Educators program supported by the National Science Foundation under grant no. EEC 1542370. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Special thanks to Alan Kallmeyer and Bradley Bowen.