Engines!: With 25 Science Projects for Kids

By Donna McKinney and Tom Casteel

A full-color introduction to the engines that power our world, packed with STEM activities and text-to-world connections that invite kids ages 7 to 10 to discovery the wonderful world of engines and motors!

From ancient times to now, engines have powered the activities of people’s lives. Engines! With Science Projects for Kids invites readers ages 7 to 10 to explore engines through hands-on STEM projects that deepen their understanding of engines, what makes them hum, and all the special jobs they do for humans.

Interact with engaging text that’s reinforced with 25 hands-on, science-minded projects, including building a catapult, a milk-carton conveyor belt, and a magnet-powered car, while fascinating trivia, essential questions, links to online resources, text-to-world connections, and even jokes help support deeper learning!

About the Explore Your World series and Nomad Press

Nomad Press books in the Explore Your World series integrate content with participation, encouraging readers to engage in student-directed learning. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.

All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Release date: Oct 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781619309388

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Copyright © 2020 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use. The trademark Nomad Press and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.

ISBN Softcover: 978-1-61930-940-1

ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-61930-937-1

Educational Consultant, Marla Conn

Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to

Nomad Press

PO Box 1036, Norwich, VT 05055

www.nomadpress.net

CONTENTS

Timeline

Introduction

What Is an Engine?

Chapter 1

Tick-Tock: Clockwork Motors

Chapter 2

Hot-Burning Fuel: Heat Engines

Chapter 3

Magnetic Attraction: Electric Motors

Chapter 4

Powered by Air: Pneumatic Motors

Chapter 5

Fluids Under Pressure: Hydraulic Motors

Glossary*Metric Conversions

Resources*Essential Questions*Index

Interested in primary sources? Look for this icon. Use a smartphone or tablet app to scan the QR code and explore more! Photos are also primary sources because a photograph takes a picture at the moment something happens.

TIMELINE

FIRST CENTURY CE: An ancient Greek named Hero (or Heron) of Alexandria invents a simple steam engine called the aeolipile.

1698: Englishman Thomas Savery patents a machine powered by steam pressure to move water out of flooded mines.

1740: French inventor Jacques de Vaucanson builds a clockwork-powered carriage.

1769: Scottish inventor James Watt patents a steam engine that improves on earlier steam engines. His engine is smaller and uses less coal for fuel.

1776: James Watt and English engineer Matthew Boulton become partners to make steam engines that are used for much more than pumping water out of mines. The Boulton-Watt engine is the first where an operator controls the engine speed.

EARLY 1800s: A growing number of mills and factories are powered by steam engines.

1821: Englishman Michael Faraday makes the first electric motor, using the force of magnetism.

1821: English mathematician Charles Babbage invents the Difference Engine—a calculator and one of the earliest computers.

1859: Belgian Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir builds the first reliable internal combustion engine.

1886: German engineer Karl Benz patents his Motorwagen. It is believed to be the first practical gasoline-powered automobile.

1888: Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla patents the first alternating current induction motor powered by rotating magnetic fields. This motor makes it possible to distribute electricity across wide areas.

1892: German inventor Rudolf Diesel patents his compression ignition engine, now called the diesel engine.

1896: English engineer H.J. Dowsing builds the first electric starter for engines.

1998: Toyota releases the Prius automobile, a hybrid powered by an electric motor and a tiny gas engine.

2008: Tesla Motors starts producing a luxury electric sports car called the Tesla Roadster, the world’s first all-electric car that’s legal for highway driving.

2018: The electric car grows more popular as Norway becomes the first country in the world where 1 in every 10 cars is a plug-in electric car, either all-electric or hybrid.

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS AN ENGINE?

Engines are all around us. Cars, planes, and school buses are powered by engines. Homes, schools, towns, and cities run with electricity generated at power plants. It is engines that create the electricity. Engines power our lives!

The words engine and motor are often used as though they are the same. People might say the car’s engine or the car’s motor to talk about the thing that powers the car. But in a car, there are several motors moving different things, such as the windows or the seats. There is only one engine that creates a force to make the car move.

An engine is a motor that changes heat energy into mechanical force and motion.

INVESTIGATE!

How are engines today different from engines in ancient times?

WORDS TO KNOW

engine: a machine that changes heat energy into mechanical force and motion.

electricity: a form of energy caused by the movement of tiny particles called electrons. It provides power for lights, appliances, video games, and many other electric devices.

motor: a machine that turns electrical energy into motion.

force: a push or pull applied to an object that changes an object’s motion.

heat energy: energy that comes from heat.

mechanical force: a force that requires energy and contact with another object.

motion: the action or process of moving or changing place or position.

fuel: a material used to produce heat or power.

mechanical energy: energy that uses physical parts you can see, such as the parts of a machine. It is related to motion and height.

machine: a device that transmits a force or motion.

energy: the ability to do work.

combustion: burning fuel to produce energy.

catapult: a large war machine used to hurl objects at an enemy.

siege: surrounding a place, such as a city, to cut off supplies. It forces those inside to eventually give up.

Engines are powered by fuel—they burn fuel to make mechanical energy.

A motor is a machine that changes other kinds of energy into mechanical energy, which produces motion. Motors are powered by electricity or batteries. Engines use heat or combustion. Usually, motors are quieter than engines.

IN THE BEGINNING

Long before people thought of engines as ways to power cars or rockets or factories, the word engine had a different meaning. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Chinese all thought of engines as devices that used a force to launch a missile at an enemy.