Grade 6 · Science · Lesson 35

Analyze Failures and Iterate

Every prototype eventually fails. A bridge sags, a circuit smokes, a paper airplane nosedives. Failure is not the end of the design — it is the start of the most useful part. Engineers do not panic when something breaks; they investigate. Analyzing a failure means asking what failed, why it failed, and what one change would most likely fix it. This lesson is about turning a broken prototype into the next, better prototype.

What this lesson teaches

1Identify the failure mode of a prototype using direct evidence from a test
2Trace a likely root cause behind that failure mode by separating data, component, and design assumptions
3Write a hypothesis that names one controlled change to make for the next iteration
4Document the post-mortem so the next test compares cleanly to the previous trial

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