Engineering Basics
This is the process engineers use to solve problems by planning, building, testing and improving.
What is the Engineering Design Process?
A robot follows these step-by-step instructions.
What is a program (or code)?
This force helps boats and underwater robots float.
What is buoyancy?
This simple machine helps lift heavy objects with a rope.
What is a pulley?
A mistake in computer code is called this.
What is a bug?
Engineers build these first to test ideas before making the final product.
This device allows a robot to detect obstacles nearby.
What is a sensor?
This device spins to move an underwater robot through the water.
What is a thruster (or propeller)?
A seesaw is an example of this simple machine.
What is a lever?
What is debugging?
This force pulls everything toward Earth.
What is gravity?
This part provides movement by spinning wheels or gears.
What is a motor?
Underwater robots are often connected to the surface by this long cable.
What is a tether?
This simple machine is basically a ramp.
What is an inclined plane?
An "if-then" statement helps a robot make this.
What is a decision?
A bridge that uses triangles to spread out weight is called this type of bridge.
What is a truss bridge?
This type of sensor measures how far away an object is using sound waves.
What is an ultrasonic sensor?
This is the name for a remotely operated underwater robot.
What is an ROV?
Turning this simple machine helps hold pieces of wood together.
What is a screw?
This repeats a set of instructions over and over.
What is a loop?
Engineers often improve a design after testing it by making this type of change?
What is an iteration?
Robots use these to make decisions based on information from sensors.
What are algorithms?
An ROV pilot notices the robot keeps drifting sideways even though no controls are being pressed. The most likely cause is this.
What is a water current?
These two simple machines work together in scissors.
What are levers and wedges?
This word describes instructions that always happen in the same order.
What is sequence?