Download Lesson Plans - Warren County Schools

Content Objective:
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy
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The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses. (4-PS3-1)
Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound,
light, or electric currents. (4-PS3-2),(4-PS3-3)
Performance Objective(s):
Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the
4energy of that object. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include
PS3quantitative measures of changes in the speed of an object or on any precise or
1.
quantitative definition of energy.
4- Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place
PS3- to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents. [Assessment Boundary:
2. Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.]
Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when
4objects collide. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the change in the energy
PS3due to the change in speed, not on the forces, as objects interact.] [Assessment
3.
Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.]
Energy
How is energy transferred and conserved?
Interactions of objects can be explained and predicted using the concept of transfer of
energy from one object or system of objects to another. The total energy within a
defined system changes only by the transfer of energy into or out of the system.
PS3.A: DEFINITIONS OF ENERGY
What is energy?
That there is a single quantity called energy is due to the remarkable fact that a system’s
total energy is conserved. Regardless of the quantities of energy transferred between
subsystems and stored in various ways within the system, the total energy of a system
changes only by the amount of energy transferred into and out of the system.
At the macroscopic scale, energy manifests itself in multiple phenomena, such as
motion, light, sound, electrical and magnetic fields, and thermal energy. Historically,
different units were introduced for the energy present in these different phenomena,
and it took some time before the relationships among them were recognized. Energy is
best understood at the microscopic scale, at which it can be modeled as either motions
of particles or as stored in force fields (electric, magnetic, gravitational) that mediate
interactions between particles. This last concept includes electromagnetic radiation, a
phenomenon in which energy stored in fields moves across space (light, radio waves)
with no supporting matter medium.
Motion energy is also called kinetic energy; defined in a given reference frame, it is
proportional to the mass of the moving object and grows with the square of its speed.
Matter at any temperature above absolute zero contains thermal energy. Thermal
energy is the random motion of particles (whether vibrations in solid matter or
molecules or free motion in a gas), this energy is distributed among all the particles in a
system through collisions and interactions at a distance. In contrast, a sound wave is a
moving pattern of particle vibrations that transmits energy through a medium.
Electric and magnetic fields also contain energy; any change in the relative positions of
charged objects (or in the positions or orientations of magnets) changes the fields
between them and thus the amount of energy stored in those fields. When a particle in
a molecule of solid matter vibrates, energy is continually being transformed back and
forth between the energy of motion and the energy stored in the electric and magnetic
fields within the matter. Matter in a stable form minimizes the stored energy in the
electric and magnetic fields within it; this defines the equilibrium positions and spacing
of the atomic nuclei in a molecule or an extended solid and the form of their combined
electron charge distributions (e.g., chemical bonds, metals).
Energy stored in fields within a system can also be described as potential energy. For
any system where the stored energy depends only on the spatial configuration of the
system and not on its history, potential energy is a useful concept (e.g., a massive object
above Earth’s surface, a compressed or stretched spring). It is defined as a difference in
energy compared to some arbitrary reference configuration of a system. For example,
lifting an object increases the stored energy in the gravitational field between that
object and Earth (gravitational potential energy) compared to that for the object at
Earth’s surface; when the object falls, the stored energy decreases and the object’s
kinetic energy increases. When a pendulum swings, some stored energy is transformed
into kinetic energy and back again into stored energy during each swing. (In both
examples energy is transferred out of the system due to collisions with air and for the
pendulum also by friction in its support.) Any change in potential energy is accompanied
by changes in other forms of energy within the system, or by energy transfers into or
out of the system. Electromagnetic radiation (such as light and X-rays) can be modeled
as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields. At the subatomic scale (i. e., in
quantum theory), many phenomena involving electromagnetic radiation (e.g.,
photoelectric effect) are best modeled as a stream of particles called photons.
Electromagnetic radiation from the sun is a major source of energy for life on Earth.
The idea that there are different forms of energy, such as thermal energy, mechanical
energy, and chemical energy, is misleading, as it implies that the nature of the energy in
each of these manifestations is distinct when in fact they all are ultimately, at the
atomic scale, some mixture of kinetic energy, stored energy, and radiation. It is likewise
misleading to call sound or light a form of energy; they are phenomena that, among
their other properties, transfer energy from place to place and between objects.
Grade Band Endpoints for PS3.A
By the end of grade 2. [Intentionally left blank.]
By the end of grade 5. The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possesses.
Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or
electric currents. (Boundary: At this grade level, no attempt is made to give a precise or
complete definition of energy.)
Unit: Definitions of Energy
Text: Chapter 12 pages 350-353, Chapter 14 pages 406-407 and 416-417, Chapter 15
pages 436-449
https://www.teachengineering.org/view_lesson.php?url=collection/cub_/lessons/cub_energy2/cub_ener
gy2_lesson01.xml
Day One: Engage- How do we get energy? Explore- Energy Stations “What is energy?”
Engage- Ask students to complete an exercise circuit in the room for five minutes, one
minute at each station. Station one is squats, Station two is jumping jacks, Station three
is windmills, Station four is arm circles, and Station five is jogging in place. After the
circuit is complete, ask students how they feel. Ask them to talk about how and why
they were able to do hard body work for these five minutes. Hopefully, at least one
student will mention energy. “How do animals get energy?” Write student responses on
the board and discuss how sleep and food are important for us to have energy, but
why? How do we get energy and what is it?
Explore- Students will complete five stations exploring energy and its definition: the
ability to do work or cause change. At each station, they will complete the activity and
discuss the how the definition of energy applies to each activity.
Station One (Teacher Demonstrated)- Burning Peanut
https://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities/cub_energy2/cub
_energy2_lesson01_activity1.xml
Peanut Calorie Demo (conduct as a class; 5 minutes)
1. Have students sit in a circle a few feet away from this demo.
2. Hold your hand over the flame of a Bunsen burner (not too close!) (or use a
candle and matches). Can you feel the heat?
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3. Hold a peanut with tongs and light it using a Bunsen burner (or a candle or a
match).
4. Hold the peanut until the flame has burned it.
5. Have students count the number of seconds it takes the peanut flame to go out.
Explain to them that the peanut is burning fat calories.
6. You may want to use the peanut to heat a small test tube of water, or try
burning a different type of nut. (With a different type of nut, the time changes
due to the change in amount of fat calories.)
7. Class discussion. As we take in food, our bodies work as furnaces to burn and
release energy. When designing sports foods and beverages, engineers study
how much energy food items have and how much time it takes a body to burn
those calories.
Station Two- Tin Can Telephone
Students will get into partners and share a secret message through the tin can
telephone and write down what they hear.
Station Three- The Coiling Snake
https://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities/cub_energy2/cub
_energy2_lesson01_activity1.xml
1. Divide the class into teams of two or three students each.
2. Have students in each team cut their Coiling Snake Templates, making sure to
cut along all the lines.
3. Draw and cut a forked tongue from red construction paper.
4. Glue the tongue onto the snake.
5. Poke a hole in the snake's head or tail; using a hole punch works best.
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6. Cut a piece of string (or thread) about 30 cm (1 foot) long.
7. Tie the string to the snake's head or tail, and knot it.
8. Hold the snake by the string over a candle or light bulb.
9. As the light bulb heats up, the snake should spin.
10. Explanation: When the candle burns, two forms of energy are released, heat and
light energy. The heat causes the air to rise up, which in turn makes the snake
spin around. (The snake does not move up because the coiled shape of the snake
allows the heat to rise through the middle and spin the snake.)
11. Class discussion: The energy we need comes from the food we eat. The energy
required to turn the pedals of a bicycle comes from the person riding the bicycle.
Cars and trucks get their energy from gasoline. Some homes are heated using oil
or natural gas or firewood. When designing heating and cooling systems,
engineers study thermal energy and how it creates air movement. They place
heat vents and radiators low, near the floor because they know that hot air rises.
As hot air rises it mixes with the existing room air, preventing "cold" spots and
making the space more comfortable. The same is true for cool air vents that are
placed high, near the ceiling. The cool air sinks, evenly mixing with the existing
room air.
Station Four- Mason Jar Bowling
Students will roll mason jars filled with flower down a binder ramp to try and knock over
empty 20 oz. bottles.
Station Five- Heat it Up
Students will heat a pan of water using a heat lamp and monitor the temperature over
time.
Students will complete the reflection questions for each station as they rotate.
Day Two: Explore- Energy Stations “What is energy?”
Students will complete their energy stations and questions today.
Day Three: Explain- Energy Stations “What is energy?”
Elaborate- BrainPop Energy,
Potential and Kinetic Energy Evaluate- Kinetic or Potential Energy
Explain: Discuss each station and what observations students were able to make about
how the activity demonstrated the definition of energy. Explain that each station energy
was causing change. The heat from the hot plate caused the peanut to burn fat and
release stored energy, kind of like when we exercise. The sound waves from your voice
were causing the string to vibrate and carry the sound from one can to another. The
heat from the lamp was causing the snake to rise and spin. The mason jars stored
energy at the top of the ramp and transferred it to the bottles to knock them down.
Finally, the heat from the lamp caused the water to heat up thereby making the
temperature on the thermometer increase. These all show how energy can be
transferred through heat, sound, and motion to cause change.
Elaborate: Share the BrainPop on Energy and discuss how each station demonstrated
potential and kinetic energy.
Evaluate: Students will do a matching activity at their tables to determine if each picture
is demonstrating potential or kinetic energy. Students can use pages 448 and 449 to
help them determine which are potential and which are kinetic.
Day Four: Engage- Human Bowling 
Explain- Illustration
Explore- Force, Motion, and Energy
Engage: Ask students if they think they would be able to push Mr. Grissom over if he
was standing next to them. Do they think they could know him over if they got a running
start??? Well, we aren’t actually going to knock Mr. Grissom over, but we could try
another approach. Using a rolling office chair and butcher block paper, demonstrate
that the more energy there is in pushing an object the more force or energy it will carry
with it.
Explore: Students will read about force and motion using the Lesson 2 summary sheet
and checkpoint questions.
Explain: At the bottom of the page, students must illustrate an example of how adding
more speed to an object gives it more energy. There is an example in the text of a
bicyclist, which will help give students an idea of what to choose. Underneath the
illustration they must explain how the object gains speed and how they know it has
more energy.
Days Five and Six: Evaluate- Angry Birds Project (See attached packet for plans)
Day Seven: Student share and quiz
* We will take a quiz at this point to make sure students understand the basic concepts
of energy, but we will not test these concepts until after the next unit.