Menu

Problem Definition: Thermal Runaway

This resource includes 2 files:

Problem-Definition-2-Pager-Student (pdf, 158 KB)

With this worksheet, students fill in the blanks as a team to brainstorm and develop a problem definition for thermal runaway that can kick off the engineering design process.

Thermal Runaway Problem Definition Educator Guide (pdf, 217 KB)

This educator guide provides teachers with additional context and support for the problem definition student activity.

Context

In the Science of Thermal Runaway pathway, students learn about specific risks that could cause a lithium-ion battery to enter thermal runaway. They can use their understandings of those risks to write a complete problem statement about the engineering challenge of designing safe battery enclosures and devices. Students can do this at the end of the pathway to lead into the engineering design challenge. There are also prompts at the end of each driving question in the pathway to support students in this task.

Find this resource
Pathway
The Science of Thermal Runaway
Chapter
Solve the scenario
More like this:
Resource Library

The Science of Thermal Runaway

Engineering Solutions

From hoverboards to cell phones, portable electrical power makes life as we know it possible. But it can come with some dangerous possibilities. Let’s investigate, experiment and search for solutions.

The Science of Extraction to E-Waste

Trade-Offs & the Supply Chain

Safe and sustainable cities will depend on lithium-ion batteries to power our modern lives. But what are the costs?

The Science of Fire Forensics

Claims, Evidence and Reasoning

There’s been a fire. Your job is to figure out where the fire started, and how.

The Science of Fire Safety

Fire safety is a complex problem without a single answer. Learn how to engineer and design fire safe spaces.