Handouts are available at the bottom of this post in the Resources section.

Big Idea

A REAL Science Challenge Question is a quick and fun way to have students practice problem solving and apply science and engineering practices (SEPs) and Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs). I like REAL Science Challenge Questions because they…

1. are not based on any discrete knowledge,
2. force students to think like a scientist and develop their own experiment
3. do not have googleable answers
4. are relevant, and
5. are open ended – thus, there isn’t just one answer out there

This activity is centered around 5G and LTE signals and airplane interference. Specifically, if 5G signals are able to interfere with airplane equipment, would LTE or 4G signals do the same? Use the CER format to write a response.

Instructions

1. Post the REAL Sc Challenge Question prompt up for students (refer to the next few handouts).
2. Give students 5-10 minutes to discuss in pairs and write a response using the CER format.
3. Have students share their responses.

NOTE: Stress the need for students to provide evidence and an explanation. Evidence is any data or observable trends that support the claim. An explanation serves to explain the evidence and the claim. I usually say that an explanation is the part of the response that has “because” in it.

Resources

Handout(s): Handout – 5G vs LTE and Airplane Interference | 2016 – Spectrum (wall chart)

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