MODULE: COVID-19

Module Teaching Guide

Learning objectives
The students will be able to
1. Describe the characters of viruses and Coronavirus
2. Identify factors which could control the transmission
3. Explain how COVID-19 affect the respiratory system
4. Interrogate texts and discuss for developing understanding of different types of sanitisers
and their key chemical components.
5. Conduct market research to explore different sanitisers that are commercially available and
discuss their pros and cons
6. Interrogate texts and discuss for developing understanding of how alcohol concentrations
affect the property of disinfectants
7. Carry out an experiment to examine the effect of different chemical components on the
viscosity of sanitisers
8. Carry out a scientific investigation to develop their choice of sanitiser composition
9. Perform experiments to understand the basic moment of forces and three classes of lever
system in order to make a dispenser design.
10. Explore the mechanism of dispenser designs available in the market.
11. Design a hands-free dispenser.
12. Create a campaign to raise public awareness to prevent the spreading of COVID-19

Curriculum Links
Standard and Indicator
Standard 1 Biological science
Standard SC 1.2 (Virus)
Understand the properties and basic units of living things; the transportation of matter into and out
of cells; relationship between structures and functions in animals and human; relationship between
structures and functions of organs in plants; application.
Indicators
Sc 1.2 Gr8/1 Identify organs and functions of the organs in the respiratory system
Sc 1.2 Gr8/2 Explain the mechanism of inhalation and exhalation by using a model and also the
gas exchanges process.
Sc 1.2 Gr8/3 Realise the importance of the respiratory system and explain the ways to maintain
normal functioning of the respiratory system.

Standard 2 Physical science

Standard SC 2.1 (Sanitiser)
Understand the properties of substances; the relationship between the properties of substances
and the structures and binding forces between particles; the principles and the nature of change in
the state of substances; the solution formation and the chemical reaction
Indicators
Sc 2.1 Gr7/6 Select tools to measure mass and volume of pure substances and compounds.
Sc 2.1 Gr8/4 Design, experiment and explain types of solvents, temperatures and pressures
affecting dissolution of substances.
Sc 2.1 Gr8/5 Identify quantity of solute in the unit of percent concentration, volume by volume,
mass by mass and mass by volume.
Sc 2.1 Gr8/6 Realise the importance of substance concentration in daily applications.

Standard SC 2.2 (Dispenser)

Understand the nature of forces in daily life; the characteristics and various types of motion of
natural objects and the application of motion
Indicators
Sc 2.2 Gr8/1 Predict the motion of an object which is the result of net force of many forces toward
an object in the same direction through the evidence.

Standard 4 Technology
Standard SC 4.1 (Sanitiser and Dispenser)
Understand the main concept of technology for living in a rapidly changing society; use knowledge
and skills of science, mathematics and other disciplines to solve problems or creatively improve
works with engineering design; select appropriate technology with consideration of the
consequences to life, society and environment.
Indicators
Sc 4.1 Gr7-9/3 Design solutions by analysing, comparing and making decisions to select needed
information under conditions and limited resources; present the solutions with different techniques
and methods; plan steps of work and processes of solving problems.
Sc 4.1 Gr 7-9/4 Test, assess, analyse and give reasons of problems or defects under conditions
with finding the way of improvement, correction and presentation of solutions.
Sc 4.1 Gr 7-9/5 Apply knowledge and skills about materials, instruments, tools, mechanics and
electronic devices to appropriate types of work and safety to solve problems or improve work.

Running the activity

Period 1
Activity Sheet 1.1: Your brief
● Introduce the students to the module and the learning objectives for the module, showing
slide 1-7

● Give the students Activity Sheet 1.1 and introduce them briefly to the context and what they
will be doing as researchers and the teacher will be their team leader. Get the students
through the outcome checklist.
● Introduce the students to the Memorandum while showing slide 8. Initiate the students to
think by showing slide 9. The students don’t need to answer the questions. They should
read it and then discuss the questions on slide 10
Answer to questions on slide 10
Who do we work for?
The government

What have we been commissioned to do?

To find the optimal compositions of sanitizer
To design the most appropriate dispenser
To create a campaign to call for people’s awareness and attention to reduce the spread of
COVID-19
Why is this work so important?
Because the sanitizer, the dispenser and the campaign will be strategies to control the spreading of
Coronavirus

Activity Sheet 2.1 What do you already know about viruses and Coronavirus? 
● While showing slide 11, give the students the activity sheet Task 1, which asks them to
answer the questions from what they already know about viruses without finding extra
information.

● The role as the team leader is to encourage the students to give the answers without
worrying whether they are right or wrong. Since the lack of knowledge would bring them to
find more information from the next activity.
● Give the student the activity sheet Task 2, ask them to read as a researcher to find out
general information about viruses by finding the answers from the reading for the following
 questions.

Answers to questions of Task2

1. What are the two important components of a virus? 
genetic material and protein
2. What does a virus look like? Draw a picture of how those two compositions are
arranged.
Encourage the students to choose drawing a virus based on the characteristics that
they read. The drawing of each student doesn’t need to be the same.
3. What criteria can we use to classify viruses?
size, shape and genetic information
4. Why does a virus need to infect a host? 
to replicate
5. How does the virus affect the host?
It controls the host and turns the host into a factory to reproduce it.
6. How could the host be further affected after the invasion of viruses to the host’s
cells?
The virus multiples in the cells. The host’s cells are damaged which will cause the
abnormality or diseases

● Give the students the activity sheet task 3, which asks them to create a mind map about
characteristics of Coronavirus specifically based on the youtube video they will watch.
Remind them how to draw a mind map using the structure provided in the activity sheet.
They should create their mind map on an A4 paper.
● Draw the students’ attention by asking them to answer the questions from slide 11

Answer to questions on slide 12

1. What are the two important components of viruses?

 genetic material and protein
2. Why does a virus need to infect a host
to replicate
3. How does the virus affect the host?
it controls the host and turns the host into a factory to reproduce it.

4. What are the main characters of Coronavirus?

Ask the students to present their mind maps and explain what they learn from the video.

This is the example

● Debrief the activity by emphasising key pints and sensitively correcting any misconceptions.

Period 2
Activity Sheet 2.2 How dangerous is the Coronavirus? 
● Present slide 13
As the team leader, tell the students that the spreading of Coronavirus is acute. To understand the
different views of the situations of transmission all around the world will help all the researchers
know what message they should present in their campaign.

● Tell the students that there are either increasing or decreasing trends of the graph which
means there is at least a way to control the spreading. In addition, there must be reasons
behind the increasing part of the graph.
● The x axis relates to time of transmission which the researchers need to take into account.
They have to understand that a control is needed to be applied fast and immediately.
● Lead the students to answer the questions from Task 1

Answer to Questions in Task1

The answers for the numbers in the graph.

1 is “Epidemic growth doubling time 4-7 days” 
2 is “social distancing flattens curve”
3 is “Risk of resurgence following lifting of interventions”
1. Explain what is happening in the different line graphs (A, B, C). Please provide detail for
your explanation.
Three line graphs present different situations
Graph A reflects the worst situation where the transmission has been spreaded the fastest
causing the highest rate of infection. Notice that the height of the peak of the graph shows
there are plenty of cases reported. The narrowness of the graph shows how fast the
spreading becomes. The quickly decreasing of the graph might indicate the cases of death.
Graph B shows that the transmission is under control by some means causing the
decreasing reported cases. Notice the width and the height of the graph reflecting that there
are processes applied to cope with the transmission.
Graph C shows two peaks which means that there is possibility for the transmission getting
worse again after it is controlled. However, the first graph has a flattening down trend
which means that the control of the spreading is taken quickly and effectively.
2. How could social distancing affect the number of cases? 
It can reduce the reported cases gradually and consistently.
3. In graph C, what could trigger the second surgence after the cases were reduced? 
A cluster of people
A careless behavior when people have interaction
Travelling of infected people
4. Which line graph represents the situation in Thailand most accurately? Why? (Study the
graph of Thailand from https://covid19.who.int/table)
 The answer depends on the current situation. However, the tentative answers would be
graph B in 2020 and graph C in 2021. The students must give the evidence to support their
answers.
5. What are the possible factors that make the timing and the width of the peak of the graph
uncertain? How do they affect the width?
The possible factors could be
1. The policy each state restricts for its areas
2. The density of population
3. The behavior of the population
4. The location of the area. If it is at the border, there is a possibility to have unknown
travelers who might have the virus in the body crossing the borders without being
able to be tracked.

● Motivate the students as researchers to see how bad the situation of transmission is going
on from completing the tables and a graph in Task 2.
● As the research team leader, the teacher might need to organize the groups of students to
help each other find the information online. Help them set up the process of searching
information. Start by reading all the questions and then encourage them to manage all the
work for each member in the team.
● Give the students advice on key words and reliable websites which they could use to find
the information

Resource
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_area
https://datacommons.org/place/country/THA?utm_medium=explore&mprop=count&popt=Person&h
l=en
https://ourworldindata.org 

Table 1 Fill the table with the basic information in 2021 of these following countries. 

Country  Total Area Total Population Population density No. of province/ state
2
(km )

Thailand 513,120 69,961,974 137 people/km2 16 provinces

New Zealand 270,467 4,860,643 18 people/km2 77 provinces

China 9,596,961 1,445,251,600 151 people/km2 23 provinces

India 3,287,263 1,394,420,224 425 people/km2 28 states

● The answer for Table 2 needs an update from https://covid19.who.int/table. The students
can find and copy the information from the website. Ask them to use the data from the table
to draw graphs. The X axis is month and the Y axis is the maximum of percentage of
infected people.

Table 2 Fill in the infection information of Thailand, New Zealand, China and India. 

Countr Total The The The The The

y populat maximum maximum maximum maximum maximum
ion  number of number of number of number of number of
infected infected infected infected infected
people from people from people from people from people from
Jan-March April-June July-Sep Oct-Dec Jan-March
2020 2020 2020 2020 2021

No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %

Thailan
d

New
Zealan
d

China

India

● Lead the students to discuss the question after the graph

What would be your recommendation to the Thai government in terms of the action the
government could take while the pandemic has not ended and could deal with future pandemic? 
The answers can be various. Encourage students to boldly and creatively think.

● Get the students attention to wrap up with the important questions on slide 14

Answers to questions on slide 14

1. How is Coronavirus spreading across the world?
There is COVID-19 infection everywhere. The rate of transmission is increasing.
There are also rising cases of death over time in 2021.
2. What are possible factors affecting different patterns of transmission among
different countries?
Population density, restriction and rules applied in different countries such as social
distancing, lock-down policies, etc.
3. How do they reduce the transmission?
They prevent travelling, so the chance of transmission between areas is limited.
They set a law, having a penalty for not cooperating with the policies so that people
can protect one another.
They manage to get their people vaccinated so that the rate of death will be
decreased.
They isolate sick people in restricted areas so that the virus will not spread widely.

Period 3
Activity Sheet 2.3 How does Coronavirus affect our body?

● Introduce the students slide 15 and ask them to choose one of two sets of pictures which
represent Covid-19 infection to the lung in the activity sheet Task1.
Answers to Task 1
Guess which picture is the x-ray image of the lung infected by Coronavirus. Explain your answer.
Answer : I think the x-ray image of the lung infected by Coronavirus is A because there are gray
areas indicating fluid in the lung which is unusual.

As a team leader, give an instruction to the researchers to find information about how Coronavirus
can damage the lung by studying the given website and video from Task2. After that, the
researchers need to answer the questions to get all the information wrapped up.
Answers for the questions
1. Which parts of the body are targeted by Coronavirus to replicate itself? Circle the number of
the target organs. (4&5)

Answer questions 2-6 from the following picture

 2. What is the following picture called?
Alveoli / air sac / airway cells
3. Where can we find the following picture in the respiratory system?
At the end of respiratory tubes.
4. What is the function of the following picture?
It is the place where O2 and CO2 exchange occurs.

5. Which part of the above picture is filled by fluid to cause the gray areas on the x-ray image?
Draw an arrow pointing to that part.

6. What process causes fluid instead of gas filling in the above picture?
Inflammation

7. What happens when fluid is in the above part of the respiratory system?
It impedes O2 transportation to the bloodstream and CO2 transportation out of the body.

Present slide 16 and lead the students to propose their answers.

1. What are these shown pictures of the lung called?

Alveoli or Air sacs
 2. What happens when fluid is in this part of the respiratory system?
Inflammation. It’s hard to transport oxygen to the cells and carbon dioxide out of the body.

● Introduce the students to Task 3.1. Encourage them to take a good guess of the sequence
of how inflammation occurs in the lung based on their current knowledge.

Answers for Task 3.1

Sequence Steps of infection Stages description

Healthy lung before getting

the virus exposure

Viral exposure

Viral replication
 4

Fluid accumulation

Alveolar collapse

Ask the students as researchers to study the mechanism of the respiratory muscles which cause
inhalation, exhalation and a cough.

There are two diagrams

1. Match the description with the numbers in the pictures explaining how people inhale
and exhale. As a result of getting infected by Coronavirus, what would happen?

Answer
 2. Draw arrows at the numbers showing the movement of each part of the respiratory
system.
Answer

Present slides 17. Ask the researchers to explain how our respiratory system normally works by
answering the questions on the slide.

3. What happens with the rib cage, the rib muscle and the diaphragm?
3.1 During inhalation
The rib cage expands. The rib muscles contract and the diaphragm contracts.
3.2 During exhalation
The rib cage gets smaller. The rib muscles relax and the diaphragm relaxes.
Present slides 18. Ask the researchers to answer the questions by choosing the answers from the
pictures.

4. How does the lung increase the rate of O2 transportation if the lung has the same capacity?
The lung will increase the rate of breathing to get more O2 to the cells. The more the rate of
breathing becomes, the more O2 will come into the lung.
5. How does the body force excessive CO2 out to the environment?
Every time you breathe will cause pressure in the chest to drive blood flowing in the veins back into
the heart where it connects to the lung. The rib muscle and the diaphragm will relax so that CO2
will be pushed out of the body. Therefore, the rate of breathing will arise when the body needs to
get rid of CO2. Moreover a cough is a response to the irritation caused by the virus. This process is
an explosive release of air when the vocal cords open, giving a cough its characteristic sound.

Period 4

Activity Sheet 2.4 Chemistry behind sanitiser hand gels

● Now, the student teams are progressing to the second unit of the knowledge and
understanding stage where they will develop their understanding of sanitisers

● Introduce to the student teams that it is important for them to understand different types
of sanitisers and various components used. Ask the student teams what sanitisers they
 use and share this in their own team. This should last 5 minutes.

● Give the student teams Activity Sheet 2.4 to work on

● Allow each of the students to read the activity sheet and work through questions 1 to 5
on their own for 5 minutes

● Once the individual reading is done, let them discuss in their team the remaining
questions (6-9) for 10 minutes

● Facilitate the class discussion at the end to ensure that the three questions listed in the
slide are properly answered. This is to allow the student teams to volunteer to explain
their answers and ask if other groups agree or have any additional explanations based
on the text. This should last around 5 minutes
Key to activity questions

1. Underline in black the two types of hand sanitisers described in the passage

2. Circle in blue key components of NABHS

3. Underline in blue keywords that describe of each component of NABHS

4. Circle in black key components of ABHS

5. Underline in black keywords that describe the function of each component of ABHS
6. Explain the mechanism of non-alcohol-based sanitisers in making COVID-19 ineffective, and
discuss advantages and disadvantages of this type of hand sanitisers

Benzalkonium Chloride (BC) is the key component in NABHS. BC itself can reduce fluidity of the
lipid envelope of the virus. Students can be referred to the first set of activities where they learned
about viral structure. The reduction of fluidity disrupts its physical and biochemical properties. It
also interrupts the function of viral protein and compromises the conformational behaviour of DNA.
As a result, infectious transmission becomes ineffective.

7. Explain the mechanism of alcohol-based sanitisers in making COVID-19 ineffective, and discuss
advantages and disadvantages of this type of hand sanitisers

Alcohol is the key component in ABHS. Alcohol alters the structure or function of viruses, making
the viral cycle (eg, attachment, penetration, biosynthesis, maturation, lysis) futile. Like BC, the
main target of viruses where alcohol disrupts their structure or function is the viral envelope.

8. In order to produce a hand sanitising product, what aspects have to be considered?.

In addition to the concentration of the active chemical component on disinfection property, it is also
important to consider other aspects such as dermatitis, flammability, evaporation, skin dehydration

9. Based on the aspects being considered above, which type of sanitiser would you like to develop
and why?

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Basically, it aims for students to use reasons to
support their decision. Keywords in question 8 are important aspects for them to back up their
claim.
Activity 2.5 Market research

● There are three possible ways to carry out Activity 2.5 so it depends on the teachers to
choose on that best fits the nature of their classroom.

○ First, it is recommended in this teachers’ guide to spend 20 minutes of the class

exploring different sanitisers that are commercially available online and work
through the activity sheet. This can be through searching the information from
e-commerce platforms such as shoppee, lazada and JD central. This is an
opportunity for students to integrate computer and information technology in
their learning, which reflects the common approach for us to search for
information at this present time. However, this requires internet connection and
devices such as mobile phones and/or computers. Also, here they can seek out
necessary information such as detailed information of the products and prices.

○ Second, when internet connection and devices are not insufficiently supplied,
the teachers can provide a set of 10-15 commercially available sanitisers for
students to explore. This is basically to simulate a shelf in a store where
students can choose those that they may be interested in finding out their
compositions. It is interesting for students to be able to see and touch the
products which promote hands-on learning. However, to sufficiently provide this
to students, a great deal of financial support is required. Basically, a good
number of sanitisers to be provided is 5 times the number of student teams.

○ Third, while the previous two options can be carried out within a period of 50
minutes covering both Activity 2.4 and Activity 2.5, if time permits, the teacher
can allow students to take their extra time outside classroom to do actual market
research where they go to stores or supermarkets to research on different types
of sanitisers that are commercially available. This would be ideal if there is no
time limitation. Students can take their time observing and recording the details
they would like to record. However, there may be issues that they may face. For
example, some places may not allow them to take photos or to write down
information unless they purchase the product.

● Once the decision is made which way to be carried out, give the student teams Activity
sheet 2.5 and explain to them that market research can help them know about
sanitisers that are currently available. It is important to know what is available and later
they can design how they can make our own product better.

● Point out to them clearly that it is important for them to record their components and
 other notes that might be important to consider. The students may want to refer to the
reading in Activity sheet 2.4 where they learn how each component functions in
inhibiting infectious transmission.

● It is worth reminding students to keep records of their reasons or criteria used to

evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the products. They can use the space in
the activity sheet to record their discussion.

● Facilitate the class discussion at the end to ensure that the two questions listed in the
slide are properly answered. This is to allow the student teams to volunteer to explain
their answers and ask if other groups agree or have any additional explanations based
on the text. This should last around 5 minutes. It is important to note that although there
may be other chemicals added such as fragrance, key components should be those
pointed out in Activity sheet 2.4, especially those alcohol-based sanitisers.
Period 5

Activity 2.6 Sanitiser properties

● Introduce to the student teams that in addition to knowing the chemical components
used in sanitisers, it is important to explore how alcohol concentration determines the
effectiveness of sanitisers

● Give the student teams Activity Sheet 2.6 to work on

● Introduce to them that even though in this module they are focusing on the coronavirus,
this piece of reading uses the example of bacterial growth. This basically can represent
the function of sanitiser which is applicable to all forms of microbes.

● Allow each of the students to read the activity sheet on their own for 5 minutes. Here
teachers can remind students of the emphasis technique they used earlier such as
underlining, highlighting, or making circles.

● Once the individual reading is done, let them discuss in their team the remaining
questions (1-5) for 10 minutes

● Facilitate the class discussion at the end to ensure that the two questions listed in the
slide are properly answered. This is to allow the student teams to volunteer to explain
their answers and ask if other groups agree or have any additional explanations based
on the text. This should last around 5 minutes
Key to activity questions

1. What independent and dependent variables are in Experiment A?

● Independent variable = 70% alcohol

● Dependent variable = the number/growth of bacterial colonies

2. What conclusion can you draw from Experiment A?

● Wiping our finger with 70% alcohol can inhibit bacterial growth, while wiping our finger
with a dry napkin cannot do so.

3. What independent and dependent variables are in Experiment B?

● Independent variable = alcohol concentrations (30%, 50% and 70%)

● Dependent variable = the number/growth of bacterial colonies

4. What conclusion can you draw from Experiment B

● The most effective concentration of alcohol that can be used to inhibit the growth of
microbes is 70%.

5. Considering the findings from both experiments, what is your overall conclusion? Why do you
make this conclusion?

● It is expected that the students would use at least 70% concentration of alcohol to
produce their own product as it can completely inhibit the growth of microbes.
Activity 2.7 Sanitiser viscosity

● Before starting the experiment, the teachers have to ensure that all materials and
solutions are provided for the students to work on. Ideally, each group should be
provided with one set of the material and solutions.

● Once Activity 2.6 is done, introduce to the student teams that they are to proceed to the
next step where they will explore properties of sanitisers through hands-on tasks.

● Remind them that typical sanitisers do not only contain disinfectant agents like ethanol,
isopropyl alcohol, or n-propanol, but also excipients and humectants.

● Give to them Activity sheet 2.7 for them to read through and follow the investigation
guideline. The set of materials and solutions should be distributed to each of the teams.
This investigation including discussion on the questions should take 30 minutes.

● Facilitate the class discussion at the end to ensure that the question listed in the slide is
properly answered. This is to allow the student teams to volunteer to explain their
answers and ask if other groups agree or have any additional explanations based on
the text. This should last around 5 minutes.

Key to activity questions

1. What is the function of each solution in the sanitisers?

● 70% Alcohol helps destroy microbes

● Humectants (e.g. glycerin and aloe vera gel) help prevent skin dehydration.

● Excipients (e.g. PEG 400, and HPC containing hydrogen peroxide) help stabilise the
product as well as prolong the time needed for the evaporation of alcohol.

2. How does glycerol affect the viscosity of sanitisers? From which comparative results this
explanation can be reached?

● Glycerol increases the viscosity of sanitisers

● Compositions A and B
3. How does hydrogen peroxide affect the viscosity of sanitisers? From which comparative results
this explanation can be reached?

● Hydrogen peroxide does not affect the viscosity of sanitisers

● Compositions A and C

4. How does the type of dispenser affect the composition of the sanitiser?

● Either Y or Z is suitable for sanitisers with greater viscosity (those with a large amount
of glycerol)

● X is suitable for sanitisers with less viscosity (those without glycerol)

X Y Z
Period 6

Activity 2.8 Sanitiser turbidity

● This is a final activity on sanitiser where students carry out a scientific investigation to
investigate how the different compositions can affect the turbidity of the sanitiser.

● It is important to ensure that all materials and solutions are provided for the students to
work on. Ideally, each group should be provided with one set of the material and
solutions.

● When ready, give out Activity sheet 2.8 to students and let them know that there is a
letter from the ministry to inform them about their composition of sanitisers. The process
of investigation is rather open. There is no certain instruction on how to do so. However,
they are provided with an Inquiry Support Help.

● This investigation should last 50 minutes including discussion on the three questions
listed in the slide.
Period 7

Activity Sheet 2.9 Engineering behind dispensers

● As a team leader, you must guide the students to develop understanding about the
mechanism of dispensers, the different classes of lever system, and how to apply levers
into their dispenser design through this set of activities.
● Try to link back to their goal of building an efficient hands-free dispenser. Also, point out
that the following topic will help them achieve that goal.
● This activity sheet includes a set of questions to engage students to think about dispensers
and their mechanisms. First, the students should work individually to express their ideas for
5 minutes. Then, they should regroup and start a 5-minutes discussion on their answers to
come up with an interesting design to improve upon.
● In this process, it is recommended to facilitate each team by asking for their answers and
encouraging them to come up with a conclusion.
● Next, for another 5 minutes, let each student express their ideas about the moment of force
using the questions in the sheet followed by reading the text to provide them with some
basic knowledge to carry out an experiment.
○ Reference: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztjpb82/revision/1
● Before the students begin to do the experiment, make sure to provide all equipment
sufficiently for every team.
● Allow students to read the instruction and explain that they should record each design in
the form of a simple force diagram and complete the table with the distances, forces and
resulting moments.
● It is important that the teacher demonstrate or show an example of what their lever system
models should look like
 ○
○ Reference: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/simple-machine-challenge/
● The goal is to try to adjust the distances and forces to balance the system.
● The experiment should be done in 25 minutes.
● The questions on slide 24 are key questions that are asked on the sheet.

Answers to questions

1. Why do we need a hands-free dispenser?

To avoid direct contact of the hands with the dispenser which increase the chance of
disease transmission

2. How could we make it?

(example) Build a basket for dispenser that stands on a base with a pedal connected to the
dispenser pump to operate

3. What are the body parts other than our hands we might use to operate it?

(example) Elbows, knees, feet

4. What are your reasons behind choosing those body parts?

(example) Those are parts of appendages that can easily operate the dispenser as well as
the hands

5. How would the dispenser operate?

(example) A simple push on the pedal by one of those parts would operate the dispenser

Moment of forces
1. Think about when you play on a seesaw with your friends, what can you tell about force and
motion?

The friends with larger bodies will spontaneously move the seesaw down on their side, while
the other side will move upward. The heavier person means more force acting on the seesaw
and causes the seesaw to rotate.

2. How could you explain the mechanism of a seesaw with a force diagram with you and your
friend sitting on it?

Example of data collection

Draw the layout of your lever Moment arm Magnitude of Resulting moment
system models (Metre) force (Newton-metre)
(List the equipment used and label L (Newton) FxL
the fulcrum, load, and effort F
force)

Effort = 0.15 m Effort = 0.075 N Effort = 0.01125 Nm

Load = 0.3 m Load =0.0375N Load = 0.01125 Nm

Experiment
1. What factors affect the moment of forces?

(i) The magnitude of the force applied.

(ii) The distance of line of action of the force from the axis of rotation.

2. How could we balance the moment of forces?

By equalising the clockwise and counterclockwise moments will cause the resulting moment to be
zero and have no tendency to rotate.

3. How would we describe the relationship between the forces and moment arms?

Moment is the product of magnitude of force and its moment arm. With the same amount of effort
force, the longer moment arm can multiply the resulting moment. Also, the greater force can
increase the moment with the same length of moment arm.

4. How many coins would you need to balance the lever system if the effort arm’s length is
doubled?

Only a halved amount of coins would be required to lift the eraser.

5. How many coins would you need to balance the lever system if the eraser’s mass is tripled?

A triple amount of coins would be required to lift the tripled-mass eraser.

6. From your experience, where could we see this mechanism in a dispenser?

(example) The foot pedal

7. How does this mechanism help in a hands-free dispenser?

The effort force acting on the pedal causes the effort arm to rotate around the fulcrum, while the
load arm that is attached to the dispenser also rotates and pushes the dispenser.
Period 8

Activity Sheet 2.10 Lever systems

● At the beginning of the activity, the teacher should link the knowledge from the previous
activity that after understanding about the moment, the next step is to develop knowledge
and understanding of the basic mechanisms of dispensers.
● Remind them of the task to design and build a hands-free dispenser using the basic
mechanisms they are about to learn.
● For 5 minutes, students should read the text on the sheet about the components of a lever
system and how to balance the system.
● Introduce the example of each lever class and encourage the students to discuss according
to the questions on the sheet for 10 minutes.
● The questions on slide 25 are key questions that are asked on the sheet.

Answers to questions

1. Are there any similarities among each class of lever? (Hint: Draw a force diagram)

They all consist of a load, an effort, and a fulcrum connected together by a lever arm.

2. How do they differ? Try using force diagrams to explain.

 The position and direction of each component

3. In your team, discuss which class of lever requires the least effort and why.
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It aims to practice reasoning and to
engage students to the next topic about mechanical performance.

4. Which class of lever do you think most benefit the mechanism of a hands-free dispenser?
Explain your idea.
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. It depends on their design decision and
how they can apply their knowledge to back up their decision.

Activity Sheet 2.11 Mechanical performance

● Engage students with questions on slide 26, which are key questions asked on the sheet,
only to explore their ideas about the mechanical advantage without checking whether they
are right or wrong.
● Until the end of this period, present students with the idea of an effective hands-free
dispenser (Why and how can a dispenser be effective?) through the active reading activity
● Encourage students to interrogate the text following the instruction in the activity sheet

Key to the active reading activity

1. Underline in black the meaning of the term “ideal mechanical advantage”
2. Circle in black the formula for ideal mechanical advantage
3. Underline in blue the meaning of the term “actual mechanical advantage”
4. Circle in blue the formula for actual mechanical advantage
5. Underline in red the meaning of the term “mechanical efficiency”
6. Circle in red the formula for mechanical efficiency
Period 9

Activity Sheet 2.11 Mechanical performance (cont.)

● Relate the content back to the examples of each lever class in Activity Sheet 2.10 and
calculate their mechanical advantages by using force diagrams provided in the table
(activity sheet 2.11).
● Introduce the requirements clearly and ask for any further clarifications
● Allow each team to calculate MA of the example machines for 10 minutes.
● After that, allow each team to discuss together using the provided questions (1-5).
● This part should take around 15 minutes.
● Act as a team leader and try to facilitate each team as well as to fix any misconceptions.
● After making sure every team has finished the task, for another 10 minutes, pick or ask for
a volunteer to show the solution to the class. Now, the teacher should look for
misconceptions or any discussions among the students.
● Before allowing each team to complete the rest of the sheet, remind them about the
importance of the experiment that it is required to optimise the effectiveness of the
dispenser which they must design.
● The last part should last around 10 minutes.

Answer to questions

First-class lever: Second-class lever: Third-class lever:

seesaw wheelbarrow long-handled broom

IMA = 1 m / 1 m = 1 IMA = 1.5 m / 0.15 m = 10 IMA = 0.5 m / 1.5 m = 0.33

AMA = 450N / 550N = 0.82 AMA = 950N / 100N = 9.5 AMA = 2N / 10N = 0.2

For the calculations above, students should identify whether they are looking for IMA or AMA and
provide reasons to do so. The reasons should align with the content in the article.

1. Explain the performance of a machine with mechanical advantage of 1. Which machine in

the table above illustrates this?

If the MA is 1, the machine doesn't actually make it easier to do a task, but it may transmit
the energy in a different direction instead. (Seesaw)

2. Explain the performance of a machine with mechanical advantage of more than 1. Which
machine in the table above illustrates this?
 If the MA is greater than 1, the machine leverages the work for the user making the task
easier. (Wheelbarrow)

3. Explain the performance of a machine with mechanical advantage of less than 1. Which
machine in the table above illustrates this?

If the MA is less than 1, the machine doesn’t leverage the work and also makes the task a
little harder for the user. However, it lengthens the reach of the user to do the work.
(Long-handled broom)

4. Explain the performance of a machine with 60% mechanical efficiency.

The machine can only work at 60% when compared to the input work. This might be
caused by rusting and stiffness of the machine through multiple usage and time.

5. Explain the performance of a machine with 100% mechanical efficiency.

The machine works at 100% meaning it can give out the work at the same amount as the
input work. The machine should be in as-new condition.

Looking back to designing our hands-free dispenser, discuss the following points.

1. How could you calculate the efficiency of your designed dispenser?

(Workoutput / Workinput) ×100%

2. What things could you change to improve the efficiency of your dispenser?

The materials used for building the dispenser could be changed.

3. Explain how it would improve the mechanical efficiency?

Frictional energy loss through the operation of a machine is related to the maintenance
quality and the types of material used to build that machine. If we choose the materials
while considering the amount of friction it would cause, we might be able to lower the
energy loss and, in turn, improve mechanical efficiency.

4. How could you calculate the mechanical advantage of your designed dispenser?

Distance of the effort arm / Distance of the load arm

5. What things could you change to improve the mechanical advantage of your dispenser?

To improve the mechanical advantage, we can increase the effort arm distance and/or
 decrease the load arm distance.

6. Explain how it would improve the mechanical advantage?

The position of the fulcrum determines the distribution of the balanced lever system. By
changing the distances of the lever arms (distance from the force to the fulcrum), the
moments of forces in the lever system will change, resulting in the change of mechanical
advantage of the machine.

Activity Sheet 2.12 Market research on dispensers

● This is another activity following the application of knowledge to understand dispenser
designs.
● Similar to Activity 2.5, there are options for the teacher to run this activity. The setting and
time would be the same, instead, the examples provided would be dispensers available in
the market.
● If the teacher decides to let students explore dispensers outside the class, it is
recommended to split the activity into two parts: out-of-class and in-class

Out-of-class activity
● For the rest of this period, students should be informed what to do and be allowed to ask
questions.
● As a team leader, explain to the teams that, in order to be able to design a dispenser, they
need to know what is already in the market, what are their pros and cons, and what can be
improved for their own design.
● Introduce the activity sheet 2.12 to instruct the team about the market research
● Each student should explore one design of dispenser that is currently available. This
process is recommended to be done individually.
● Note that the process of data collection is flexible. Students can sketch or take a picture of
each design. Each member should record the components of the design, and describe the
function of those components.
● The questions on slide 27 are key points found in the sheet.
Examples:

Period 10
Activity Sheet 2.12 Market research on dispensers (cont.)

In-class activity
● For the first half of the period following the market research, students in each team should
produce a summary of the dispenser designs found by each member
● In this process, encourage team discussion to select one design with the highest efficiency
● Recommend the teams to discuss using the guideline given in the activity sheet 2.12
1. What are the key mechanisms behind each design?
2. How does each mechanism fit with its purpose? Explain with force diagrams.
3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each design?
4. How can you improve upon each design to reduce the spread of COVID-19?
● The second half of the period must be allocated for the presentation of each team’s output
to the class.
● Remember to stick with the context by reminding students that the presentation is required
as a means to express their ideas and to exchange information in the community.
● If a guest audience is present to act as a Ministry representative, this is a chance to report
team progress and direction to provide a solution (dispenser) to the problem (COVID-19).
● After the presentation, spend around 5 minutes to make sure students understand the
content by going back to the questions on slide 27.
Period 11-13

Activity Sheet 3.1 Your design (Dispenser)

Activity Sheet 3.2 Your design (Sanitiser)
Activity Sheet 3.3 Public awareness campaign
● The questions on slide 28-31 are key questions that are asked on sheet 3.1-3.3.
● Introduce them to the sheets in order.
● Each activity requires a full period.
● Encourage students that they as a team have come to the stage where they have to apply
everything they have done in the previous activities to build a tangible prototype.
● First, they need to work on the hands-free dispenser. They should be reminded to consider
the components, functions, mechanism, efficiency, and cost of the materials. Most
importantly, it needs to serve the purpose of being hands-free.
● Second, they need to make a sanitiser that is compatible with the dispenser they have
made. Likewise, they need to consider its components, disinfectant ability, viscosity, and
cost.
● Finally, they should decide on the campaign including the media, the information, and the
audience to present their work.
● Always remind the students that every decision must be reliable or evidence-based.
Period 14

Activity Sheet 4 Communication of your solution

● Encourage students that they as a team have come to the final stage where they are
going to present their solutions (the dispenser, the sanitiser, and the public awareness
campaign) to the ministry.

● Remind them that this presentation is important for their ideas to be implemented in a
larger scale and they can potentially secure their future contract with the government

● Give the activity sheet to the students and remind them that the key of this presentation
is that it has to be evidence-based.

● This activity should last 50 minutes for each group to present their solutions.
Activity Sheet 5.1 Presentation assessment form
● Introduce the students and, if any, the guest audience, to the presentation assessment and
feedback forms (Activity Sheet 5.1)
● Students should use it to evaluate the solutions and presentations of other teams
● The guest audience and other evaluators (teacher) should sensitively correct any
misconceptions found in the presentation.
● Then, encourage the students to evaluate their own presentation and solution using the
same form.

Activity Sheet 5.2 How well did we work as a team?

● Introduce the students to the table in Activity Sheet 5.2 to assess how well they worked
together as a team
● This should be done individually.