Conservation of Energy
Learn more about kinetic energy using curving conservation of energy tracks! Will the track with the steep incline produce a ball with more kinetic energy than the straight track? Line up the catching curve at the bottom of one of the tracks, roll the ball down the track and mark the height it reaches on the catching curve. Repeat this for all four tracks. Students will easily see a similarity-all four marks on the catching curve are at the same height! This activity quickly illustrates that the kinetic energy of a ball at the bottom of a track is directly related to the potential energy it had at the top. When a ball drops a certain distance, it will always have the same kinetic energy no matter what path it took to get to the bottom. An exciting test of the conservation of energy principle!
*Flinn Scientific*
*Flinn Scientific*
Benchmarks Covered
MS-PS3-1
Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object
MS-PS3-2
Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system
HS-PS3-2
Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motions of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative position of particles (objects)
HS-PS3-3
Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy
Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object
MS-PS3-2
Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system
HS-PS3-2
Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motions of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative position of particles (objects)
HS-PS3-3
Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy
