Curriculum · B
Curriculum B is a 1.0-credit applied engineering laboratory for grades 9–12: fifteen weeks, 120 hours, every number carrying an uncertainty. Students build real machines, characterize them quantitatively, and write formal lab reports — then cap the semester by predicting a rocket's apogee and flight-testing it.
2 hrs pre-lab at home — readings, prediction worksheets, test planning.
3 hrs supervised build & test session.
2.5 hrs post-lab analysis and formal report.
0.5 hr reflection.
Formal lab reports (15) — 40%. Build demonstrations (3 unit demos) — 25%.
Midterm design review — 10%. Capstone — 25%.
Every report follows the lab standard: question restated, labeled diagram, data in tables and plots with uncertainties, evidence-backed conclusion. Failed trials are data; fabricated data fails the report.
Transcript line: Applied Engineering Laboratory — 1.0 credit — [Semester, Year] — Grade: [A–F], described as a lab science elective. The 120-hour workload clears the bar for homeschool and independent-school transcripts and the contact-hour standard for a 1-credit college lab.
The 15 weeks
| Week | Lab | Focus & deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballista Physics Lab | Projectile motion with error analysis. Deliverable: range-vs-angle plot with uncertainty bars; air-resistance discussion. |
| 2 | Bridge Load Lab | Structures; strength-to-weight optimization. Deliverable: failure analysis + redesign proposal. |
| 3 | Gear Ratio Lab | Mechanical advantage; efficiency losses. Deliverable: measured efficiency per stage. |
| 4 | Strain-Gauge Beam Lab | Materials science. Deliverable: Young's modulus extracted from best-fit slope, with error bounds. |
| Week | Lab | Focus & deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Diffraction Spectroscope | Waves & calibration. Deliverable: calibration curve; unknown source identified by wavelength. |
| 6 | Electromagnet Lab | Electromagnetism; driver design. Deliverable: force-vs-turns data + MOSFET driver schematic. |
| Week | Lab | Focus & deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Design review | Revisit any Weeks 1–6 build, identify one flaw with data, rebuild, and present before/after. |
| Week | Lab | Focus & deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Binary Logic Gates Board | Digital logic through compound gates. Deliverable: truth tables + a 2-bit adder sketch. |
| 9 | Capacitive Touch Synth | Capacitance & oscillators. Deliverable: frequency measurements vs. theory. |
| 10 | Ultrasonic Rangefinder Lab | Sensor characterization. Deliverable: accuracy map (distance × target material). |
| 11 | Desk Load-Cell Scale | Metrology. Deliverable: calibration with residuals; unknown mass with stated uncertainty. |
| Week | Lab | Focus & deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Solar Tracker + Weather Station | Energy & long-term data. Deliverable: fixed-vs-tracking output; one finding from logged data. |
| 13 | 3-DOF Plywood Arm | Kinematics & servo control. Deliverable: pick-and-place demo + workspace sketch. |
| 14 | Gyro Leveling Platform | Feedback control. Deliverable: disturbance/response analysis; oscillation-vs-sluggishness trade. |
| 15 | Capstone: Rocket Flight Computer & Telemetry Lab | Predict apogee with Algebra I, then build and launch a model rocket carrying an onboard flight computer; compare the barometric altitude log against the prediction and run the error analysis. |
The rocket flight-computer capstone is new for 2026. Laue Labs is working through the build and flight validation alongside its first school partners — a joint engineering investigation, in the open, the way real R&D works.
Included materials
The lab manual and notebook: driving question, the physics with equations, pre-lab predictions, measurement protocols, data tables with uncertainty columns, analysis guides, and post-lab report checklists — plus a formula sheet and glossary.
Week-by-week execution plans for all 15 weeks: timed agendas, launch scripts, facilitation notes, stop-and-checks, discussion prompts including common misconceptions, common failures and rescues, and differentiation for support and extension.
Curriculum B · Licensing
Licensing is per classroom or cohort and includes the curriculum guide, student workbook, and teacher's guide. Contact us for a quote — including dual-enrollment laboratory partnerships with community colleges.
