The automobile. What an amazing machine. For centuries people tried everything to bring power to a vehicle ? wind, fire, steam, alcohol, and electricity. Finally, Nicholas August Otto, a German engineer, perfected the four-piston gasoline internal combustion engine. However, automobiles were hand-made and very expensive. Only the wealthy could afford them. It took Henry Ford?s development of mass production techniques in 1913 to make the automobile affordable.
Lesson Synopsis: Students consider the reasons for the continued redesign of the automobile during the last 100 years. They create, test, and redesign balloon-powered model Rocket Racers.
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