Application Sequence on Energy Transformations

9th Grade Integrated Science

Overview
In this application sequence students describe instances of energy being converted from
one type into another. They do this by examining real-life examples of energy conversions and
by using an online skate park simulator. By the end of the sequence, students will be able to
describe the energy conversions that happen in a device or a situation using a box-and-arrow
diagram.

Learning Goals
Big Ideas
Energy is a quantitative property of a system that depends on the motion and interactions of matter
and radiation within that system. At the macroscopic scale, energy manifests itself in multiple ways, such
as in motion, sound, light, and thermal energy. The total energy of a system is the sum of each form of
energy present in the system. Two noteworthy forms of energy are kinetic and gravitational potential
energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. The heavier the object, the faster it moves, and the more
kinetic energy it has. Gravitational potential energy is the stored energy associated with an objects
height above the ground.
The Law of Conservation of Energy states that the total energy of an isolated system will be
conserved. Therefore, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to
another and transferred between systems. (HS-PS3-a) (HS-PS3-d). Mathematical expressions, which
quantify how the stored energy in a system depends on its configuration (e.g. U=mgh) and how kinetic
energy depends on mass and speed (KE=1/2mv^2), allow the concept of conservation of energy to be
used to predict and describe system behavior. (HS-PS3-a).

NGSS Student Practices

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 positions of particles (objects).

Performance Expectations for Student Learning

Performance Expectation
NGSS Performance Expectation(s)
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 positions of particles (objects).
MS-PS3-2. Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of
objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential

Associated
NGSS Practice
Developing and
Using models
Developing
models

energy are stored in the system.

Specific Lesson Objective(s)
Students will manipulate models of energy conversion to illustrate that
energy can be associated with both the motion and relative position of
objects.

Using models

Lesson Activities (1-3)

Lesson 1
Lesson 1 Materials
Youtube videos: waterfall https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUkkMmpvTmo
building demolition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK50So-yYRU
Handout: kinetic and potential energy handout.docx
Simulation file: hill
Lesson 1 Activities
Introduction (6 minutes)
Ill ask the following question as a think-pair-share:
A skateboarder is at the top of a hill, as shown in the picture below.

1) What forms of energy does he/she have at the top of the hill? Why?
2) He/she skates down the hill, what forms of energy does he/she have at the bottom of the hill?
Why?

Ill call on a few pairs to share their answers. Ill focus on identifying gravitational
potential energy and kinetic energy as the two forms involved, and on what point they each make
up the total energy.
Main Teaching Activities (40 minutes)
After a couple of groups share their responses, I will open my hill file in the Phet
skatepark simulation, which is like the hill in the bell work question. Ill select the energy pie
chart option, and then well look to see what forms of energy make up the pie at the top of the
hill. Then, well run the simulation and stop it at the bottom of the hill so we can see what forms
of energy are on the pie chart at the bottom of the hill. Finally, we run the simulation again and

stop it towards the middle of the track. Students will have a circles to fill in on their handout
corresponding to the different pie charts we see.
A small percentage of the total energy at the bottom of the hill will be thermal energy.
The idea that some of the kinetic energy gets converted to thermal energy will need to be
discussed. I plan to switch to the friction parabola track and contrast how the skater moves
with friction and without friction, and then ask which one seems closer to real life. Then I will
explain that the skater slows down to a stop instead of moving indefinitely because the kinetic
energy gets converted to thermal energy by friction. We can demonstrate this by rubbing our
hands together.
Next, well look at two videos that show other examples of gravitational potential energy
being transformed into kinetic energy. One shows a compilation of building demolitions, and the
other shows a compilation of waterfalls. For each video, students will answer the questions,
What form of potential energy do the buildings/waterfalls have?, and what form of energy
does the building have as it falls, and what form does it have afterwards? as a think-pair-share.
If there is time, I plan to ask the class to think with their partner about examples of
kinetic energy getting converted to gravitational potential energy. Ill tell them to be ready to
share one example, and then Ill call on one row of pairs to share their answers.
After watching the videos well go back to the simulator. Ill open the bar graph this time
and well watch the same track twice more. This time Ill focus on the bar for total energy. Ill
ask, how could we calculate the potential energy at the beginning to find out how much total
energy there is?. The class will already know the equation for gravitational potential energy, so
I expect someone to suggest using that equation. Ill put the grid on the simulator so that we can
see the height, and then Ill show the skateboarders mass. Well do the calculation as a group
and students will write it down on their handout. Then, Ill say that we need to learn a new
equation to be able to work with kinetic energy. The handout will have KE = 1/2mv2 with its
variables labeled. Ill explain the equation and its variables, and then point out that we know the
ending kinetic energy since we know the starting potential energy. We can use the KE and mass
to solve for the speed, which the class and I will do together.

Conclusion (<5 minutes)

After calculating potential and kinetic energy, I will have the class individually answer
the last two questions on the handout. The second to last question is similar to the bell work. It
says: Explain the energy conversion that happens when a skateboarder rolls from the top of a
hill to the bottom of the hill. Make sure to write the forms of energy before the change and after
the change.. The last question will refer to the half-pipe track. The handout will have a drawing
with labels A, B, and C at the top left, bottom, and top right of the track. I will run the
simulation and ask students to fill in the pie chart for the skater at points A, B, and C. Then, I
will ask them to describe the energy conversions that happen when the skater moves from point
A to point B, and from point B to point C. Then, students will turn in this handout on their way
out.

Lesson 2
Lesson 2 Materials
Handout: skate park simulation handout.docx

Lesson 2 Activities
Introduction (7 minutes)
As class starts, students will have two bell work questions to answer. The first question
says, A skateboarder with a mass of 45 kg is traveling down a hill at a velocity of 4 m/s. How
much kinetic energy does he have, assuming there is no friction? The second question asks,
Explain the energy conversions that happen when a pendulum swings (what forms of energy are
there before the change and after the change?). After five minutes, Ill go over the first question
on the projector to practice using the equation.
Main Teaching Activities (43 minutes)
After the warm up, Ill display the simulation on the projector and go through Part 1 of
the handout as a class. I want to do this so that everyone understands how to draw the bar graphs
at different points, change the skaters mass, and change the velocity by changing the height.
After going through Part 1 together, I will explain that Parts 2 and 3 are the same except you get
to build your own track. Then the class will move into the computer lab and work through the
end of the hour on Parts 2 and 3. Students will turn in the handout before they leave.

Lesson 3
Lesson 3 Materials
Presentation: energy conversions.pptx
Handout: energy conversion stations handout.docx
Lesson 3 Activities
Introduction (5 minutes)
I will begin the lesson by asking the students two questions as bell work. The questions
ask students to think about energy conversions that happen in common household devices, which
is what they will practicing in the main part of the lesson. The questions ask:
1) What is an example of an energy conversion that happens in a common household
device?
2) Is energy lost anywhere in the device?
I plan to have them spend 3 minutes working on their answers, and then two minutes
sharing them with their seat partners.
Main Teaching Activities (50 minutes)
The main teaching activity has two parts: an energy conversion stations activity and a
videos of energy conversion activity. First, I will do a demonstration of an energy
conversion so that we can practice drawing an energy diagram for it together. Then, I will
circulate four different objects around the room, and as they go around students will get time
to look at them and answer questions. Students will work in groups of four, and they will get
about five minutes with each object. They are asked to draw an energy diagram for the
object, and if there are any places that energy may be lost.

After the stations activity, I have a series of videos to watch of other energy conversions.
I plan to begin fading at this point in the lesson. For the first two videos, I will have students
work on their answers together in groups of four, and then I will call on groups to show their
energy diagrams to the rest of the class. For the third video Ill have the students work on it
alone, but then well check our answers as a group. Finally, I will have them do the energy
diagram for the fourth video on their own and turn it in without talking about it, so it can be
used as formative assessment.