Prerequisite:

Students will need to understand the meaning and application of the following 

vocabulary terms if they are to derive meaning from the Maker Activity: 

Viscosity, Reynolds Number, Laminar, Compressibility, Hydraulic, Resistance and 

Turbulent. If you have already introduced these concepts feel free to move on to 

the Maker Activity. If not, you may find the lab activity, adapted from a Cornell 

University Lesson, at the end of this document to be helpful. 

Theme

What is the theme or topic to be presented?

Students will experiment with hydraulics in order to understand the principles of fluid dynamics while striving to achieve a set goal. 

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to: 

Design and build an object that demonstrates knowledge of the principles of fluid dynamics by using hydraulics to lift a five-gram weight. 

Physics Standard Year 10:

4.4 Design and make tools that make use of the properties of fluid to facilitate 

doing a job

Physics Standard Year 11:

4.6 Make simple projects by applying the principles of fluid dynamics

Key Vocabulary:

• Viscosity 

• Reynolds Number 

• Laminar 

• Compressibility 

• Hydraulic 

• Resistance 

• Turbulent