Models in Technology and Science by Bernie Zubrowski.
Given plastic plates and cups, buckets, and a few other materials students construct model water wheels to see how much weight their model can lift when water is poured on the cups attached to the wheel. They then carry out a systematic inquiry of how different variables associated with the model determine its lifting capacity. This experiential context is used to introduce the concepts of work, power, momentum and torque, potential and kinetic energy.
