Physical Science: Energy

Sample Material

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» What's the Big Challenge (PDF)
» Learning Set 1 (PDF)

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The Big Challenge: Design a Rube Goldberg machine to turn off a light.

Students design a Rube Goldberg machine to turn off the lights. In the process, students learn about the following types of energy: Kinetic, elastic potential, gravitational potential, thermal, chemical, light, sound, and electrical. They also learn about energy indicators. Students recognize that energy has the ability to do work or cause a change. Students read about conservation of energy and renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, and observe energy transfer and transformations.

 Implements STEM initiative
 Uses the Engineering Design Cycle

• changes in energy
• chemical energy
• circuit
• comparing thermal energy of different objects
• development of electrical energy
• elastic energy
• electrical energy
• energy
• evidence for energy
• evidence of chemical energy
• exothermic and endothermic processes

• frequency
• gravitational energy
• hydroelectric power
• kinetic energy
• light
• machines
• mass
• mechanical energy
• moving electrical energy
• nature of energy
• ohm
• Ohm's Law
• particles
• pitch

• play pumps
• potential energy
• predicting motion
• pumps
• Rube Goldberg
• sound
• speed
• temperature
• thermal energy
• transformation of energy
• types of energy
• voltage
• volume
• wave

• asking questions
• careful observation
• comparing through observation
• criteria and constraints
• designing a fair test
• designing experiments
• developing a procedure
• evidence
• experimentation
• fair test
• interpreting data

• keeping good records
• making inferences
• making measurements
• modeling and simulations
• sharing inferences
• using evidence
• using evidence in explanations
• using science knowledge
• using scientific tools
• variables

21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Collaboration
Communicating plans and ideas Developing explanations
Finding trends in data
Critical thinking including:

• building on the work of others
• collecting, organizing, and analyzing data
• observations and interpretation using science knowledge
• using evidence to support claims