Every design challenge has rules. Constraints are limits you must stay within — money (spend at most ₹100), materials (only paper and tape), time (40 minutes) or size (under 30 cm tall). Criteria are goals the design must meet to count as a success — hold 500 g, float for a minute, roll 2 metres. A good design meets every criterion without breaking any constraint.
Limits and goals — “constraints are limits; criteria are what success looks like”
Constraint = a limit on money, materials, time or size.
Criterion = a goal: what the design must do.
Check both with numbers: money left ÷ price for how many you can buy; result ≥ goal for “meets it”.
Use it for: STEM challenges with a budget, class building contests and planning a project with limited materials.
Worked example: 📋 Your team’s budget is ₹58. You must buy one roll of tape for ₹10. Straws cost ₹3 each. What is the greatest number of straws you can buy? → 16
Work it out in your head or on paper, then tap your answer — or type it and press Check. Stuck? Press “Show me how”.
Right: 0 · Tried: 0
🏁 Lesson 4 test
20 questions. Check each answer, then go to the next one. Get 16 or more right to pass.
🏅 Sign in with Google to earn the
📋 Constraint Keeper badge when you pass — and a certificate when you finish all 8 lessons of
Part 1 · What engineers do. You can still take the test without signing in.
🖨️ Engineering Worksheet: Constraints and Criteria
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