Science and Technology Stage 3 – Physical World

Strand Duration: 4 weeks

Working Scientifically/Design and Production/Physical World

Context

Stage 3 of the Physical World strand focuses on the difference between contact and non-contact forces and how energy is transformed from one form to
another. Students are provided with an opportunity to investigate how electrical energy can control movement in products and systems. Stage 3 of this
strand develops students’ abilities to design, test and evaluate a product or system that demonstrates energy transformation, further developing an
understanding of the inter-relationship between force and energy.

Outcomes
A student:
ST3-1WS-S plans and conducts scientific investigations to answer testable questions, and collects and summarises data to communicate conclusions
ST3-3DP-T plans and uses materials, tools and equipment to develop solutions for a need or opportunity
ST3-8PW-ST explains how energy is transformed from one form to another
ST3-9PW-ST investigates the effects of increasing or decreasing the strength of a specific contact or non-contact force

Overview

Students integrate the processes of Working Scientifically and Design and Production through; Firstly, designing a gravity propelled vehicle to race against
other class teams, and Secondly, through designing an applied electrical circuit, such as a light, heat, or noise emitting device. Students will use knowledge
of contact and non-contact forces to increase the speed of the gravity propelled vehicles, and will use their understanding of the energy transformation
process to explain, how an electrical device works, and what can be varied to increase or decrease the effect.

Inquiry and Focus questions Assessment

 How can we make a force stronger or weaker? Throughout the unit formative assessment opportunities have been
 What types of energy transformations can be observed? incorporated. Additional points of reference for student assessment can be
 How can electricity be used in a product or system? added where Teacher observations may indicate that the learning is not
being fully achieved, or where concepts are proving too abstract.
Background information
This unit builds on students’ prior knowledge about contact and non-contact forces and how the application of these forces can affect other objects. This
unit also builds upon the concept of energy, and the interplay of forces generated through the transfer of energy from one form to another.
Teachers should be aware of the cultural considerations when in the year this unit is taught. Also, students participating in wiring of electrical circuits need
to be informed of the potential safety implications of experimentation with electrical components outside of the classroom environment.
Skills focus
Working Scientifically
Questioning and predicting
▪ pose testable questions
▪ make and justify predictions about scientific investigations (ACSIS231,
ACSIS232)
Planning and conducting investigations
▪ identify questions to investigate scientific ideas
▪ plan and apply the elements of scientific investigations to answer problems
▪ identify potential risks in planning investigations
▪ manage resources safely (ACSIS086, ACSIS103)
▪ decide which variable(s) is to be changed, measured and kept the same, in
fair tests
▪ select appropriate measurement methods, including formal measurements
and digital technologies, to record data accurately and honestly (ACSIS087,
ACSIS104)
▪ reflect on and make suggestions to improve fairness, accuracy and efficacy
of a scientific investigation (ACSIS091, ACSIS108)
▪ manage investigations effectively, individually and in groups
Processing and analysing
▪ construct and use a range of representations, including tables and graphs, to
represent and describe observations, patterns or relationships in data
▪ employ appropriate technologies to represent data (ACSIS090, ACSIS107)
▪ compare data with predictions
▪ present data as evidence in developing explanations (ACSIS218, ACSIS221)
Communicating
▪ communicate ideas, explanations and processes, using scientific
representations including multimodal forms (ACSIS093, ACSIS110)
Design and Production
Researching and planning
▪ research, identify and define design ideas and processes for an
audience
▪ consider functional and aesthetic needs in planning a design
solution
▪ develop, record and communicate design ideas, decisions and
processes using appropriate technical terms
▪ produce labelled and annotated drawings including digital graphic
representations for an audience (ACTDEP025)
▪ consider sustainability of resources when researching and planning
design solutions
▪ manage projects within time constraints
Producing and implementing
▪ select and use tools competently for specific purposes
▪ accurately cut, join, bend and measure a range of selected
materials to construct the designed solution
▪ demonstrate safety and sustainability when choosing resources to
produce designed solutions, managing constraints and maximising
opportunities (ACTDEP026)
▪ develop project plans that consider resources when producing
designed solutions individually and collaboratively (ACTDEP028)
Testing and Evaluating
▪ negotiate criteria for success based on defined needs,
sustainability and aesthetics
▪ develop appropriate and fair processes to test a designed solution
according to criteria
▪ evaluate design ideas, processes and solutions according to
criteria for success (ACTDEP027)
Content Skills focus Suggested teaching, learning and assessment Assessment
How can we make a force stronger or weaker? opportunities
Teacher background
Contact and non-contact forces are important for students to understand, as these forces
are often applied in the generation and deployment of electrical energy in modern supply
systems and electrical products. The notion of forces that we cannot necessarily see forms
a knowledge schema, whereby the flow of electrons and other electrical forces can be
assimilated into the knowledge of students.
Setting the scene
As a class, discuss the following questions: Student
 What is a contact force? contributions to
 What is a non-contact force? the dialog

This youtube video may help explain the differences. (https://youtu.be/W55qMEF1a_E)

Building field knowledge
 Why is an understanding of contact and non-contact forces important with respect
to energy?
Forces are present in all applications of energy transference, the amount of energy required
to complete some ‘work’ is dependent upon the forces acting upon an object.

Plan and conduct investigations

Students: Questioning and What can we do to ‘see’ these forces in action?

Predicting
investigate
Building a gravity powered car to race against teams of other students.
pose testable
characteristics and questions What are some of the factors we should consider when building a gravity powered vehicle?
properties of a range
of materials and identify questions to  Weight / Rolling resistance / Stability / Material strength.
evaluate the impact investigate scientific  Colour / aesthetics / Sustainability (CCP) / Cost
of their use ideas
(ACTDEK023) DesT Students will be free to make their own design utilising the materials provided.
SciT plan and apply the
elements of scientific Observe and record
investigations to
answer problems Teams will take turns to launch their gravity powered vehicle down a makeshift ramp, and
observe the distance travelled, and time taken to travel that distance. Each team will have
two runs. The resulting data will be recorded in a table.
 After a quick review of the data recorded, noting the leading teams for both distance and
decide which identify questions to time, the class will discuss the following questions:
variable(s) is to be investigate scientific
changed, measured ideas  Why did team X have the longest distance? Student
and kept the same,  Why did team Y have the shortest time? contributions to
in fair tests  What can we do to increase the effect of gravity on the cars? class
 Will this make them go further? Why do we predict this outcome? discussions
After raising the incline of the ramp to make it steeper, each team will have another two
runs using their gravity powered car. The resulting data will be recorded in a table.
employ appropriate Using software such as MS Excel or Google Sheets, the tabulated data can be used to
technologies to create a line graph to compare the results of Run 1, to Run 2 for each of the teams.
represent data (May need 2 lessons to cover the build and trial observations)
(ACSIS090,
ACSIS107) Discuss as a class, the reasons for observed differences, and what other variables could
be increased or reduced to change the distance travelled or time taken.

investigate how What is Electricity? (Transfer and transformation of energy)

electrical energy can
Teacher background
be transferred and
transformed in Electricity is simply the flow of electrons. It takes two things to make the electrons flow,
electrical circuits and something to push the electrons and a path for the electrons to travel along. The force that
can be generated
pushes electrons is called voltage and is measured in volts. The flow of electrons is
from a range of
sources called current and is measured in amperes which we call amps for short.
(ACSSU097) SciT
SysT Setting the scene
As a class, brainstorm what the students already know about electricity. Student
contributions to
 How is it made (Generated)?
the class
 How does it get to us (Transmission)?
discussions and
 How do we use it? popplet
To aid the brainstorming using a visual (ICT) device, students will log into the previously
created popplet (popplet.com) and contribute their ideas and knowledge to the screen as
shown on the IWB. (Teacher needs to use iPad app popplet lite for full functionality)
Building field knowledge
Modern power plants generate electricity in a variety of ways. It is most often generated by
heat engines fueled by burning fossil fuels or radioactive elements, but it can also be
generated by water, wind, solar and geothermal power.
 This video explains how electricity is generated – regardless of the fuel used to spin
turbines that feed into the generators. (https://youtu.be/L8WauHZ2Lo8)
The next video explains a source of energy not previously mentioned here – Bioenergy
(https://youtu.be/nVl17JLn_u0) which typically uses waste from industry to power the
generator.
Electricity in Australia is distributed through a National system of interconnected power
stations and transmission lines. This is an interactive map of the network, which shows the
major parts of the electrical network.
(http://www.aemo.com.au/aemo/apps/visualisations/map.html)
What about batteries?
Batteries are an energy storage device that make the use of energy portable. They have a
variety of shapes, sizes, voltages, and capacities for specific uses. Batteries rely upon
chemical energy being converted to electrical energy to power devices.
TED Ed explains this process through the following video (https://youtu.be/9OVtk6G2TnQ).

Observe and record

Google Sheet to
Students will describe, and categorise the electrical equipment in the classroom, using a
be shared with
Google Sheets document to draw up a table to complete this task.
the Teacher
The recorded data should include whether the device is mains powered or battery powered allowing
and if it is permanently installed or portable. formative
assessment.

Electrical Circuits (Electricity in a Product or System)

Teacher background
Electricity is made to work for us through converting energy into light, sound, movement, or
heat. Electrical circuits are the way in which the functions of a product or system are
investigate how controlled.
electrical energy can
control movement, Setting the scene
sound, or light in a Discussion
product or system As a class, brainstorm what the students already know about electrical devices and the
contributions
(ACTDEK020) category (heat, light, movement, sound) that these devices are under.
ComT SciT
 What uses of electricity have you observed this-morning?
 How has that device provided you with something?
 Are there some devices that fit into multiple categories?
 To aid the brainstorming using a visual (ICT) device, students will log into the previously
created popplet (popplet.com) and contribute their ideas and knowledge to the screen as
shown on the IWB. (Teacher needs to use iPad app popplet lite for full functionality)
Building field knowledge
Most devices are controlled by a human interaction to make them work (HMI = Human
Machine Interface) and rely on electrical circuits to make them easy and safe to use.
Switches, such as the ones used to control the lights in our room can be wired in a number
of ways to suit the type of control that is needed. Also, the load on a circuit (the lights) can
be connected to the circuit in different ways. The ways electrical circuits can be arranged
are referred to as ‘series’ and ‘parallel’.
Circuits (very simple) are explained in the following video
(https://youtu.be/HOFp8bHTN30).
The elements we will use in our circuit are; switches, lights (globes), and a power source
(batteries) all of which can be wired in a series or parallel arrangement.

Plan and conduct investigations

What are the outcomes of wiring each of the elements of our circuit in series and parallel?
employ appropriate  To test each state, we need to wire the circuit in each way.
decide which technologies to  Together we will draw a procedure to follow and record our observations. Student input in
variable(s) is to be represent data negotiated data
changed, measured (ACSIS090, Device Circuit Observations recording
and kept the same, ACSIS107)
in fair tests scheme
Series
Switch
Parallel

Series
Globe
Parallel

Series
Battery
Parallel

Students will be assigned a switch, globe, battery, or a piece of cable. The circuit for each
arrangement will then be made using the whole class to make the circuit work.
Observe and record
Students will describe, the outcomes of each circuit arrangement under guidance from the
Teacher. This exercise will serve as a joint construction scaffold for the next activity.
The recorded data needs to include details such as ‘when switches are wired in series, all
switches need to be closed for the lights to work’.
Kahoot quiz
A Kahoot quiz (kahoot.it) based on the observations made will provide a formative results show
assessment of learning – success in the next phase relies on wiring of circuits to suit the content
intended application, therefore the concepts need to be soundly understood. understanding
and recall.

Electrical Circuits in Practice (Student Design Task)

Teacher background
To demonstrate a sound understanding of the use of electrical energy, a product designed
to address an identified need can provide students with an opportunity to contextualize
learning through application.

Setting the scene

Students have learned that electrical energy can be transformed to be used in doing work,
through heat, light, movement, and sound. This task involves students identifying an
application for an electrical circuit to provide a solution.
Design Brief
Students design and make a product that transforms electrical energy and solves a
personal need. (Based on ESW Lesson Book – p.57)
Students should consider:
– What products exist that address similar problems or needs? How do they work?
– What resources are available to construct our product?
– How will they test and evaluate their design solution?
– How they will manage the time available to develop the product?
– Is there a ‘technical expert’ who can provide assistance?
– Are there electrical safety issues?
As this lesson is a 1-hour timeslot, the design phase, and building a test circuit for the
electrical part of each design will be the only essential criteria. Actual prototyping and
 building of the product can be considered a ‘Passion Project’ where students are keen to
continue the process in their own time.
Generating ideas and product development
Suggestions of problems which could be solved with the design of a product:
– My little brother reads my diary.
– Everyone barges into my room. I have no privacy.
– I like reading in bed at night but the light disturbs my little sister.
– We get very hot in our tree house.
– The mosquitoes always bite me when I am in the garden.
– How can I make a game that keeps my younger brother/sister amused?
Presenting ideas
Students are free to decide on the method of presentation, make a short video to describe
the solution, type a description and use images or drawings to support the concept.
Develop a list of the parts that would be necessary to build your product (Bill of Materials)
and consider the use of sustainable materials and production practices.
Explain how the product you have designed will solve the problem or address the task
identified.
A working circuit using simple components will be the final part of the presentation to serve
as a proof of concept.

Resources
Gravity Cars = Cardboard / Paper / Masking tape / Bamboo skewers / Coreflute Wheels / Stopwatch / Ad-Hoc ramp for launching cars.
Electrical Circuits = Cabling / Globes / Buzzers / Switches / Multimeter / Measuring Tape / Aluminium foil / Batteries of various sizes & voltages.
Student workbooks
Google Classroom
Chromebooks and iPads where applicable