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A Science Unit for Grades 9 and 10
When the Shuttle's Canadarm was first deployed in 1981, Canadians were riveted to their
television sets as the arm, with the Canada wordmark displayed proudly on its side, began
to move exactly as its developers had planned. Since then the Canadarm has been emblazoned
in the nation's psyche as an icon of Canadian "can-do" and has been recognized
internationally as a symbol of excellence in robotic technology.
The Canadarm's successful track record on the shuttle made robotics a natural choice as
Canada's contribution to the International Space Station. Like the original Canadarm,
Canadarm2, installed on the Destiny Lab Module of the International Space Station in
April, 2001, is a distinctive Canadian contribution to the international space program,
an essential tool without which the Space Station could not be assembled and maintained.
Under contract to the Canadian Space Agency, Canadian companies from all regions of the
nation participated in building Canadarm2, with MD Robotics of Brampton, Ontario as its
prime contractor.
Canada selected a robotic system as its main contribution to the Space Station in order
to fortify its world leadership in space robotics and encourage innovation and ingenuity
in Canada's high-tech industries. Canada's participation in the Space Station also ensures
Canadian scientists a boarding pass to conduct leading-edge research in the Station's
microgravity environment to advance our knowledge in fields like bio-technology,
biomedical research, fluid physics, materials science, Earth observation and space
science.
This one week module, covers expectations from the Space Exploration topic of the Earth
and Space Science strand for grade 9 and the Motion topic of the Physical Science strand
for grade 10*. Working in collaborative groups, students will research the development of
Canadarm and Canadarm2. They will prepare and present a final product which includes an
historical overview of the development of the technology, a comparison of Canadarm and
Canadarm2, a profile of the Canadian companies involved and associated career
opportunities.
This module forms a complete two week unit covering expectations from the Motion topic of
the Physical Science strand for grade 10*. It focuses on the concepts of distance, speed
and acceleration. The graphical relationship between these quantities is illustrated
using areas and slopes which are taken from distance, speed and acceleration graphs.
Work, power, and kinetic energy are also discussed.
Lesson plans with detailed explanations and full-size transparency masters designed for
classroom use are included.
Follow up exercises and problem sets for students are also provided with each unit.
Units 1 through 4 are introductory lessons. Units 5 through 7 are applied applications
using data taken from real missions and real payloads using Canadarm2. Units 8 and 9 are
investigations constructing robotic arms. Unit 10 is a comparison grid between Canadarm
and Canadarm2 with links to related activities.
Module 3: Live From the International Space Station!
Join students from across the country for a live Webcast from the International Space
Station. Concepts learned in Module 2 will be demonstrated in the microgravity environment
of ISS.
This unit covers expectations from the Space Exploration topic of the Earth and Space
Science strand for grade 9 and the Motion topic of the Physical Science strand for grade
10*. Working in teams of four, students will design the next Generation Space Robot which
must have the ability to roam "at will" (freely) over the outside of the International
Space Station, without the requirement of unique attachment points (i.e. without
requiring Power Data Grapple Fixtures [PDGF]) on the Station.
* From the Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes K-12, Pan-Canadian Protocol for
Collaboration on School Curriculum, Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC),
1997.
Prepared by YES I Can! Science Team,
Faculty of Pure and Applied Science, York University |
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