4th Grade

Science

Standard: 4.3-Investigate to determine

changes in energy resulting

from increases or decreases in

speed that occur when

objects collide.

Objective: Students will know that speed effects the intensity of a collision and be able to demonstrate that higher speeds create more force.

Directions: Students build ramps of varying heights to test how the speed of a moving marble affects collision.  Students roll a marble down ramps of various heights into a styrofoam cup.  The marble collides with the cup at the bottom of the ramp.  Students measure how far the styrofoam cup moved after each collison.  Students create a graph and compare the results.

Guidelines: Students work in groups to complete the activity.  They use their results to create a graph and answer questions about their results.  They draw conclusions about energy and speed based in their results.