Force And Motion

Topic: Force and Motion

Objectives & Outcomes

• To understand that moving objects have kinetic energy.

Materials

• A toy car
• A toy train
• A spring
• A ruler
• A pencil
• Paper
• A calculator

Warm-up

• Ask the student if they know what kinetic energy is.
• Explain that kinetic energy is the energy that moving objects have.

Direct Instruction

• Show the student a ball and a ruler. Ask them to hold the ruler up in the air and drop the ball onto it.
• Ask the student to describe what they observed. Did the ball hit the ruler at the same time as the ruler hit the ball? Did the ruler slow down the ball? Did the ball bounce off the ruler?
• Based on the student's observations, explain that moving objects have kinetic energy. The faster an object is moving, the more kinetic energy it has. When the moving object hits something, the energy is transferred to the object it hits. This causes the second object to slow down or move out of the way.
• Ask the student to repeat the experiment, this time dropping the ball from different heights onto the ruler. Ask them to describe what they observe. Did the ball hit the ruler at the same time as the ruler hit the ball? Did the ruler slow down the ball? Did the ball bounce off the ruler?
• Based on the student's observations, explain that the height from which the ball is dropped determines how much kinetic energy it has when it hits the ruler. The higher the ball is dropped from, the more kinetic energy it has and the further it will bounce off the ruler.

Guided Practice

• Give the student several different objects (such as a ball, a book and a shoe) and have them drop each one onto a different flat surface (such as a desk, the floor and a table).
• Ask the student to describe what they observe. Did the objects hit the surfaces at the same time as the surfaces hit the objects? Did the surfaces slow down the objects? Did the objects bounce off the surfaces?
• Based on the student's observations, explain that moving objects have kinetic energy. The faster an object is moving, the more kinetic energy it has. When the moving object hits something, the energy is transferred to the object it hits. This causes the second object to slow down or move out of the way.
• Ask the student to repeat the experiment, this time dropping the objects from different heights onto the different flat surfaces. Ask them to describe what they observe. Did the objects hit the surfaces at the same time as the surfaces hit the objects? Did the surfaces slow down the objects? Did the objects bounce off the surfaces?
• Based on the student's observations, explain that the height from which the object is dropped determines how much kinetic energy it has when it hits the surface. The higher the object is dropped from, the more kinetic energy it has and the further it will bounce off the surface.
• Ask the student to choose a specific object and a specific flat surface. Have them drop the object from different heights onto the surface and describe what they observe.
• Based on the student's observations, explain that the height from which the object is dropped determines how much kinetic energy it has when it hits the surface. The higher the object is dropped from, the more kinetic energy it has and the further it will bounce off the surface.

Independent Practice

• Provide the student with several different objects (such as a ball, a book and a shoe) and have them drop each one onto a different flat surface (such as a desk, the floor and a table).
• Ask the student to record the height from which each object is dropped and how far it bounces off the surface.
• Have the student repeat the experiment several times, dropping each object from different heights and recording the results.
• Ask the student to graph the results, using the height from which each object is dropped as the x-axis and the distance each object bounces off the surface as the y-axis.
• Have the student use the graph to answer the following question: Which object has the most kinetic energy? Which object has the least kinetic energy? Why?
• Based on the student's answer, explain that the object with the most kinetic energy will have the highest point on the graph, while the object with the least kinetic energy will have the lowest point on the graph. This is because the object with the most kinetic energy will have the highest velocity when it hits the surface, causing it to bounce the farthest, while the object with the least kinetic energy will have the lowest velocity when it hits the surface, causing it to bounce the least.

Closure

• Ask the student to summarize what they have learned about kinetic energy and how it relates to the movement of objects.
• Remind the student that kinetic energy is a measure of an object's motion and that it is always associated with motion.
• Ask the student to give an example of a situation in which kinetic energy is important.
• Ask the student to explain how kinetic energy is related to velocity and how it can be calculated.
• Remind the student that kinetic energy can be positive or negative, depending on the direction of the velocity.
• Ask the student to give an example of each and explain how they are different.
• Ask the student to give one additional example of how kinetic energy can be applied in the real world.
• Encourage the student to ask any questions they may have about the lesson.

Assessment

• Observe the student as they conduct the class experiment and take note of their understanding of kinetic energy and its relationship to the movement of objects.
• Use the student's participation in class discussions and their independent practice project as a way to assess their understanding of the subject matter.
• Administer a quiz at the end of the lesson to assess the student's retention of the material.