Grade Level: 4

Content Area: 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 investigate and provide reasonable outcomes that show when objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy and change the objects' motions. 

Directions: Students were instructed to measure the distance an object (Styrofoam cup) travelled when an object (marble) collides with it at different speeds. The speed was determined by the height of textbooks stacked. Students filled out the measurements in a bar graph and determined a conclusion of which textbook heights made the marble go the fastest, and made the cup move the furthest. 

Guidelines: Students used textbooks, rulers, a marble and a Styrofoam cup to carry out their investigation. The students recorded their findings in a chart. The students came to a conclusion with a series of questions they answered at the end of the experiment.