California Career and Technical Education Standards

• T.FS.10.5 Operate, maintain, and troubleshoot equipment.
• T.FS.11.0 Demonstration and Application
• T.FS.9.6 Participate as a member of a team and contribute to a group effort.

California Academic Content Standards (Reinforced)

• ELA.8.R.CAGT.2.5 Understand and explain the use of a complex mechanical device by following techn...3

• The four stroke cycle - Hooks / Set

  An animation of a running engine will be projected on the screen at the front of the room along with the question, "How Does It Work?"

  There will be a handout depicting the four strokes of the four stroke cycle at each seat and a cutaway single cylinder engine on each of the six tables in the room.  Students are in groups of four at each table.  As my computers, projection screen and white board are all on different walls, I am constantly moving about the room, even when I am lecturing. 

  There are foam boards on the fourth wall with the students names color coordinated to their groups.  As students demonstrate proficiency at a task they are given a sticker to place next to their name.  This promotes a healthy competition and provides grading at a glance.  Using a wireless remote (or by asking me), students will be able to speed up, slow down or stop the animation at any point in the cycle.

  • Four stroke cycle [ Go to Site ] Animation of four stroke cycle
  • Handout illustration [ Go to Site ] Illustration for handout
  • Chart [ View Image ] [ Download Original ] Grading Chart
• Ingredients and Function - Lecture

  While the animation is running , I will explain the necessary ingredients to internal combustion:

  Fuel, Ignition and Compression.

  If the engine has these three ingredients at the proper time it will run. If an engine does not run, it is missing one of the ingredients.  Students will learn that fuel is introduced on the intake stroke, compression takes place on the compression stroke and ignition takes place at the top of the compression stroke.  The animation illustrates the fuel/air charge in blue and combustion and exhaust in red.  Students will be able to correlate these illustrations to invisible events on the actual engine by observing and comparing the positions of the piston and valves. 
• Small Group Discussion-Hands On - Group Work

  Students will be able to slow and stop the animation and identify different events and event timing.  Working in small groups, students will be able to rotate the single cylinder cutaway engines by hand and compare them to the animation and illustration. I will then rotate the cutaway engines to various points in the cycle and ask students to determine which event is taking place by the position of engine components.  Students will be able to view the entire cycle and determine how linear motion (piston movement) is converted to rotational motion (crankshaft movement).  They will be able to view and discuss valves opening for intake and exhaust events and closing for compression and combustion events. This will segue into future lessons on the individual ingredients. 
• Closing Comments - Closure

  To encourage individual critical thinking, I leave them with a question.  This is written on the white board prior to the end of class.   At the beginning of the next session we will discuss the answers and how they were obtained.  This element is not graded, but encourages friendly competition and is fun. 

  Today's question is: If your 6 cylinder engine turns at 1500 RPM at 60 MPH, how many combustion events take place in one mile?  (60 MPH = 1 mile per minute.  1 minute X 1500 revolutions X 6 cylinders = 9000 revolutions. As a complete cycle is 2 revolutions, 4500 combustion events take place).