Engineers follow a design process to solve problems and meet human needs. The process involves identifying needs, brainstorming solutions, building prototypes, testing and improving designs based on criteria, and communicating results. Technologies are designed to improve lives, and the design process is iterative - prototypes may fail initially, requiring redesign and testing until an effective solution is found. Engineering helps develop useful products through application of science and math.

1. Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?
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2. Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?
Works of Ingenuity
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• Computers and other engineered devices help us
solve many problems.
• Engineers use computers and hand-drawn
diagrams to plan designs.
• People use products of engineering every day,
such as toothbrushes, faucets, cars, and buses.

3. Works of Ingenuity
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• Engineers are problem solvers who invent or
improve products that help us meet our needs.
• Engineering is the process of using science and
mathematics to find solutions to everyday
problems.
• Engineers work in many fields. They can design
and test materials, work in factories or on farms,
or work in medical laboratories.
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

4. The Right Tool for the Right Job
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• Technology is any device that people use to meet
their needs and solve practical problems.
• Technologies such as tools and machines, medicines,
and even weather satellites play an important role in
improving lives.
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

5. The Right Tool for the Right Job
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• Technology changes as people’s knowledge increases
and they find better ways to meet their needs.
• For example, over the past 150 years electric
washing machines have replaced washboards and
hand-cranked washing machines.
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

6. The Design Process (Part 1)
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• Engineers follow a design process to design new
technologies. The process includes a series of
steps.
• Engineers identify a need, or problem, and then
brainstorm possible solutions.
• Engineers also choose the most practical solution
and build a working model, or prototype, to test.
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

7. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Engineers keep careful records, such as detailed
notes and drawings, throughout the design
process.
• These records help engineers remember what
they have done and provide information to others
working on similar problems.
The Design Process (Part 1)
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

8. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• These detailed records are also used to build and
make changes to the prototype.
• If the prototype doesn’t work, the records help the
engineer determine what might work next time.
The Design Process (Part 1)
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

9. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
The Design Process (Part 2)
• Engineers test and improve the prototype based
on criteria, or standards that determine how well
the design is doing its job.
• They also redesign and modify the design if it
does not meet all criteria or is unsafe.
• Engineers then communicate the design results
orally and in written reports.
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

10. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Materials, cost, production time, and safety are
some of the criteria that engineers consider when
designing products.
• Thomas Edison tried a thousand times and took
two years to develop a longer-lasting light bulb.
• Finding materials that work well affects the design
process. When designing the light bulb, Edison
had to find materials that can handle heat.
If At First You Don’t Succeed...
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?

11. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
• Some technologies are costly to develop. The high
cost of building prototypes can affect the cost of
the final product.
• Some products, such as cars, can take years to
develop because they must undergo safety and
environmental testing.
If At First You Don’t Succeed...
Unit 2 Lesson 1 What Is the Design Process?