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Lesson Plan

Energy and Work Amusement Park Style

Subject Area

Science

Grade(s)

9, 10, 11, 12

Overview

This is a lesson presenting energy and work. It covers: types of energy, forms of energy, work, law of conservation of energy, and renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. In the activities section, one will find links to Internet sites that explore concepts of energy and work. Interactive labs are also included in this lesson. The lesson can serve as a student-led or teacher-led lesson. It gives a brief statement of facts; therefore, the teacher must provide expansions, if needed. The expansions could come from the Internet sites since many of them go into more detail about the concepts. The teacher will also be expected to supply some form of assessment for the lesson.

Science (2015) Grade(s): 09-12 - Physical Science

SC15.PS.7

Analyze and interpret data for one- and two-dimensional motion applying basic concepts of distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration (e.g., velocity versus time graphs, displacement versus time graphs, acceleration versus time graphs).

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Vocabulary

  • Distance
  • Displacement
  • Scalar
  • Vector
  • Speed
  • Velocity
  • Acceleration
  • Equation of a line
  • Slope
  • Trend line

Knowledge

Students know:
  • A body is in motion if its position changes with respect to its surroundings.
  • A particle moving in a straight line undergoes one dimensional motion.
  • A particle moving along a curved path in a plane has two dimensional motion.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Create graphs from sets of data points.
  • Identify distance and displacement as a scalar/ vector pair.
  • Identify speed and velocity as a scalar/ vector pair.
  • Describe motion mathematically in terms of an object's change of position, distance traveled, and displacement.
  • Apply concepts of average speed and average velocity to solve conceptual and quantitative problems.
  • Explain velocity as a relationship between displacement and time. (Δd=vΔt)
  • Explain acceleration as a relationship between velocity and time. (a=Δv/Δt)
  • Use graphical analysis to understand conceptual trends in displacement, velocity, acceleration, and time.
  • Use graphical analysis to solve for displacement, velocity, acceleration, and time.
  • Calculate velocity and acceleration from displacement vs. time graphs.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Motion graphs (displacement vs. time, velocity vs. time, and acceleration vs. time) for one- and two- dimensional motion may be used to derive (conceptual and mathematical) relationships of motion.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Crosscutting Concepts

Cause and Effect
Science (2015) Grade(s): 09-12 - Physical Science

SC15.PS.8

Apply Newton's laws to predict the resulting motion of a system by constructing force diagrams that identify the external forces acting on the system, including friction (e.g., a book on a table, an object being pushed across a floor, an accelerating car).

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Vocabulary

  • Weight
  • Mass
  • Gravity
  • Acceleration
  • Velocity
  • Terminal velocity
  • Free fall
  • Friction
  • Static friction
  • Rolling friction
  • Fluid friction
  • Inertia
  • Force
  • Balanced forces
  • Unbalanced forces
  • Net force
  • Action-reaction pairs
  • Vectors

Knowledge

Students know:
  • An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by an outside force.
  • The velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an external force.
  • Gravity's acceleration is different on different planets.
  • Air resistance is responsible for terminal velocity for objects in free fall.
  • The property of inertia as related to mass.
  • Forces must be unbalanced for an object to change its motion.
  • Friction is a force that opposes motion.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Organize data that represent the net force on an object (mass and acceleration) via tables and graphs.
  • Construct force diagrams that identify all external forces acting on the system.
  • Explain (conceptually and mathematically) the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. (The greater the force on an object, the greater its change in motion but the same amount of force applied to an object with more mass will result in less acceleration.)
  • Relate the difference between mass and weight. (Weight is a force dependent upon acceleration and mass is constant regardless of acceleration.)
  • Calculate weight when given mass. (Fg=mg)
  • Explain acceleration due to gravity as an example of uniformly changing velocity. (g=9.8 m/s2)
  • Relate the presence of air resistance to the concept of terminal velocity of an object in free fall.
  • Identify friction as a force that opposes motion of an object.
  • Classify the frictional forces present in different situations. (Sofa resting on the floor is static friction. A box pushed across the floor is sliding friction. A ball rolling across the floor is rolling friction. A boat moving through a river is fluid friction. An object in free-fall is fluid friction.)
  • Explain the property of inertia as related to mass. (An object at rest or at constant speed in a straight line will remain in that state unless acted upon by a force causing an unbalanced net force.)
  • Explain balanced and unbalanced forces mathematically and graphically with respect to acceleration to establish the relationship between net force, acceleration, and mass.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The motion of a system may be predicted by applying Newton's laws of motion to force diagrams that identify all external forces acting on the system.
  • Forces acting on an object affect the motion of that object.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using Models

Crosscutting Concepts

Systems and System Models
Science (2015) Grade(s): 09-12 - Physical Science

SC15.PS.11

Design and conduct investigations to verify the law of conservation of energy, including transformations of potential energy, kinetic energy, thermal energy, and the effect of any work performed on or by the system.

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Vocabulary

  • System
  • Energy
  • Mechanical
  • Temperature
  • Conduction
  • Convection
  • Radiation
  • Friction
  • Force
  • Specific heat capacity
  • Latent heat
  • Heat of vaporization
  • Law of Conservation of energy
  • Transformation
  • Potential energy
  • Kinetic energy
  • Thermal energy
  • Heat
  • Work
  • Phase changes

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems.
  • Properties of materials cause different materials to absorb and release energy differently.
  • Conduction, convection, and radiation are methods of energy transfer.
  • Energy can be conserved when there are changes in potential, kinetic, or heat energy.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Compare thermal energy, heat, and temperature.
  • Compare scenarios in which work is done and explain the differences in magnitude of work done using the relationship W=FΔd
  • Infer the ability of various materials to absorb or release thermal energy in order to relate mass, specific heat capacity and temperature of materials to the amount of heat transferred (q=mCΔT).
  • Relate phase changes to latent heat that changes the potential energy of particles while the average kinetic energy of particles (temperature) remains the same.
  • Compare conduction, convection, and radiation as methods of energy transfer.
  • Exemplify the relationships between kinetic energy, potential energy, and heat to illustrate that total energy is conserved in mechanical systems such as a pendulum, roller coaster, carts/balls on ramps.
  • Relate types of friction in a system to the transformation of mechanical energy to heat.
  • Explain scenarios in which work is done identifying the force, displacement, and energy transfer. (When work is done on an object, the result is an increase in its energy and is accompanied by a decrease in energy elsewhere.)

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Planning and Carrying out Investigations

Crosscutting Concepts

Energy and Matter
Science (2015) Grade(s): 09-12 - Physics

SC15.PHYS.1

Investigate and analyze, based on evidence obtained through observation or experimental design, the motion of an object using both graphical and mathematical models (e.g., creating or interpreting graphs of position, velocity, and acceleration versus time graphs for one- and two-dimensional motion; solving problems using kinematic equations for the case of constant acceleration) that may include descriptors such as position, distance traveled, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration.

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Vocabulary

  • model
  • graph
  • instant
  • interval
  • position
  • velocity
  • acceleration
  • displacement
  • distance
  • speed
  • average speed
  • average velocity
  • experimental design
  • kinematic equations
  • investigation
  • analyze
  • trajectory
  • projectile
  • range
  • slope
  • area under curve
  • intercepts
  • vector
  • scalar
  • coordinates
  • origin
  • magnitude
  • units of measure
  • significant figures
  • trigonometric functions

Knowledge

Students know:
  • How to use mathematical computations to solve for the motion of an object.
  • How to analyze both linear and nonlinear graphs of motion.
  • Laboratory safety procedures.
  • Appropriate units of measure.
  • Basic trigonometric functions of sine, cosine and tangent.
  • How to determine area under a curve on a graph.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Manipulate kinematic equations of motion.
  • Interpret graphical data.
  • Create graphical representations of data.
  • Collect and organize experimental data.
  • Follow written and verbal instructions.
  • Make measurements of distance and time using standard units.
  • Manipulate laboratory equipment.
  • Work safely in collaborative lab groups.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The motion of an object can be predicted using mathematical models and graphical models.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Planning and Carrying out Investigations

Crosscutting Concepts

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity
Science (2015) Grade(s): 09-12 - Physics

SC15.PHYS.5

Construct models that illustrate how energy is related to work performed on or by an object and explain how different forms of energy are transformed from one form to another (e.g., distinguishing between kinetic, potential, and other forms of energy such as thermal and sound; applying both the work-energy theorem and the law of conservation of energy to systems such as roller coasters, falling objects, and spring-mass systems; discussing the effect of frictional forces on energy conservation and how it affects the motion of an object).

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Vocabulary

  • area under curve
  • model
  • graph
  • work
  • energy
  • gravitational potential energy
  • kinetic energy
  • elastic potential energy
  • thermal energy
  • sound energy
  • friction
  • force
  • velocity
  • mass
  • distance
  • law of conservation of energy
  • systems
  • work-energy theorem

Knowledge

Students know:
  • The different forms of energy.
  • How to recognize work being done.
  • The law of conservation of energy.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Construct models to illustrate phenomena.
  • Recognize different forms of energy.
  • Apply the law of conservation of energy to a system.
  • Graph data.
  • Determine the area under a curve on a graph.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Energy is the ability to do work and energy can be transformed into different forms of energy while obeying the law of conservation of energy.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using Models

Crosscutting Concepts

Systems and System Models

AAS.SC15.PS.8

Predict the resulting motion of a system after applying external forces on the system, including friction (e.g. book on a table, an object being pushed across a floor, an accelerating car).

Unpacked Content

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UP:SC15.PS.8

Vocabulary

  • Weight
  • Mass
  • Gravity
  • Acceleration
  • Velocity
  • Terminal velocity
  • Free fall
  • Friction
  • Static friction
  • Rolling friction
  • Fluid friction
  • Inertia
  • Force
  • Balanced forces
  • Unbalanced forces
  • Net force
  • Action-reaction pairs
  • Vectors

Knowledge

Students know:
  • An object will remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted on by an outside force.
  • The velocity of an object changes when it is subjected to an external force.
  • Gravity's acceleration is different on different planets.
  • Air resistance is responsible for terminal velocity for objects in free fall.
  • The property of inertia as related to mass.
  • Forces must be unbalanced for an object to change its motion.
  • Friction is a force that opposes motion.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Organize data that represent the net force on an object (mass and acceleration) via tables and graphs.
  • Construct force diagrams that identify all external forces acting on the system.
  • Explain (conceptually and mathematically) the relationship between force, mass, and acceleration. (The greater the force on an object, the greater its change in motion but the same amount of force applied to an object with more mass will result in less acceleration.)
  • Relate the difference between mass and weight. (Weight is a force dependent upon acceleration and mass is constant regardless of acceleration.)
  • Calculate weight when given mass. (Fg=mg)
  • Explain acceleration due to gravity as an example of uniformly changing velocity. (g=9.8 m/s2)
  • Relate the presence of air resistance to the concept of terminal velocity of an object in free fall.
  • Identify friction as a force that opposes motion of an object.
  • Classify the frictional forces present in different situations. (Sofa resting on the floor is static friction. A box pushed across the floor is sliding friction. A ball rolling across the floor is rolling friction. A boat moving through a river is fluid friction. An object in free-fall is fluid friction.)
  • Explain the property of inertia as related to mass. (An object at rest or at constant speed in a straight line will remain in that state unless acted upon by a force causing an unbalanced net force.)
  • Explain balanced and unbalanced forces mathematically and graphically with respect to acceleration to establish the relationship between net force, acceleration, and mass.

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • The motion of a system may be predicted by applying Newton's laws of motion to force diagrams that identify all external forces acting on the system.
  • Forces acting on an object affect the motion of that object.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using Models

Crosscutting Concepts

Systems and System Models

AAS.SC15.PS.11

Predict the resulting motion of a system after applying external forces on the system, including friction (e.g. book on a table, an object being pushed across a floor, an accelerating car).

Unpacked Content

Unpacked Content

UP:SC15.PS.11

Vocabulary

  • System
  • Energy
  • Mechanical
  • Temperature
  • Conduction
  • Convection
  • Radiation
  • Friction
  • Force
  • Specific heat capacity
  • Latent heat
  • Heat of vaporization
  • Law of Conservation of energy
  • Transformation
  • Potential energy
  • Kinetic energy
  • Thermal energy
  • Heat
  • Work
  • Phase changes

Knowledge

Students know:
  • Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems.
  • Properties of materials cause different materials to absorb and release energy differently.
  • Conduction, convection, and radiation are methods of energy transfer.
  • Energy can be conserved when there are changes in potential, kinetic, or heat energy.

Skills

Students are able to:
  • Compare thermal energy, heat, and temperature.
  • Compare scenarios in which work is done and explain the differences in magnitude of work done using the relationship W=FΔd
  • Infer the ability of various materials to absorb or release thermal energy in order to relate mass, specific heat capacity and temperature of materials to the amount of heat transferred (q=mCΔT).
  • Relate phase changes to latent heat that changes the potential energy of particles while the average kinetic energy of particles (temperature) remains the same.
  • Compare conduction, convection, and radiation as methods of energy transfer.
  • Exemplify the relationships between kinetic energy, potential energy, and heat to illustrate that total energy is conserved in mechanical systems such as a pendulum, roller coaster, carts/balls on ramps.
  • Relate types of friction in a system to the transformation of mechanical energy to heat.
  • Explain scenarios in which work is done identifying the force, displacement, and energy transfer. (When work is done on an object, the result is an increase in its energy and is accompanied by a decrease in energy elsewhere.)

Understanding

Students understand that:
  • Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.

Scientific and Engineering Practices

Planning and Carrying out Investigations

Crosscutting Concepts

Energy and Matter

Primary Learning Objectives

Standard VII, Objective 1, from the AHSGE
The students will distinguish between kinetic and potential energy. The students will recognize that energy can change from one form to other forms with no loss of total energy. The students will identify and describe several forms of energy. The students will compare the scientific meaning of work and its everyday meaning.

Procedures/Activities

This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.


This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.


This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.


This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.


This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.


This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.


This lesson is a PowerPoint project with interactive sites included from the Internet. The URL addresses are already linked for the user in the lesson. To use this lesson, one should only have to open the attached PowerPoint Presentation. The presentation has buttons and links that will lead the teacher or student through the lesson. Before using the lesson, the teacher may want to visit the Internet sites that are used to decide the particular parts of the sites that he/she feels is most relevant to his/her class. Some teachers may decide to use all or just parts of the sites. One may also wish to use some of the information from these sites to form assessment questions to be used after the lesson is presented. Teachers are welcome to modify the presentation in any manner to fit their particular needs.

Assessment Strategies

The on-line quiz on the website could be used or information from the websites could be used to form assessment questions. The Amusement Park Physics site offers some games and activities on the part called Play the Midway. The teacher may choose to use some of these activities for an assessment. The lesson is organized in such a manner that a short "bell-ringer" quiz can be created to start the class on the following class meeting.

Approximate Duration

Total Duration

61 to 90 Minutes

Background and Preparation

Materials and Resources

Materials and Resources

There are no special materials or equipment needed in this lesson other than normal student materials such as notebooks, calculators, and pencils. The teacher would also need access to a board in order to work additional problems or further expand concepts.

Technology Resources Needed

Computer with Internet access, PowerPoint software, LCD projector or large-screen television if used as large group activity

Approved Date

2016-11-07
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