Module Description & Pacing Guide

The Energy Module provides firsthand experiences in physical science dealing with the anchor phenomenon of energy. The five investigations focus on the concepts that energy is present whenever there is motion, electric current, sound, light, or heat, and that energy can transfer from one place to other. The driving question for the module is how does energy transfer between systems? Students investigate electricity and magnetism as related effects and engage in engineering design while learning useful applications of electromagnetism in everyday life.

Students conduct controlled experiments by incrementally changing variables to determine how to make an electromagnet stronger. They investigate how the amount of energy transfer changes when balls of different masses hit a stationary object. Students explore energy transfer through waves (repeating patterns of motion) that results in sound and motion. They gather information about how energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and how that affects the environment. They explore alternative sources of energy that use renewal resources.

Students interpret data from graphs to build explanations from evidence and make predictions of future events. They develop models to represent how energy moves from place to place in electric circuits and in waves. Students gain experiences that will contribute to the understanding of crosscutting concepts of patterns; cause and effect; systems and system models; and energy and matter.