Summary and Rationale
In this unit, students will begin exploring the concepts of energy and energy transfer between objects, as well as the use of energy to drive forces and motion of objects and organisms. Students will conduct investigations to show the behavior of matter and systems of objects as energy is added, removed, and transformed within the system, and explore the resulting forces and motions of objects. Students will focus upon the cross-cutting concepts of energy and matter, cause and effect, and systems and system models as they learn the concepts of potential and kinetic energy and balanced and unbalanced forces. Students will plan and carry out their own investigations involving gravity, electricity, and Newton’s Laws, and use mathematics and computational thinking to form evidence-based arguments describing the motion of objects and the impacts of energy transfer.
NGSS Standards/Performance Expectations
Unit Enduring Understandings
Newton’s three basic Laws of Motion govern the relationship between forces and motion. Energy takes many forms (Nuclear, electromagnetic, thermal, mechanical, and chemical).
These forms of energy can be grouped into types of energy that are associated with the motion of mass (kinetic energy), and types of energy associated with the position of mass (potential energy).
When energy is transferred from one system to another, the quantity of energy before transfer equals the quantity of energy after transfer. (Changes take place because of the transfer of energy).
Change and transfer of energy results in forces.
Different forces are responsible for the transfer of the different forms of energy.
Many devices transform one form of energy into another. Examples are batteries which convert chemical energy into electrical energy, motors which convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, and bulbs which convert electrical energy into heat and light.
An object’s position can be described by locating the object relative to other objects or a background.
The description of an object’s motion from one observer’s view may be different from that reported from a different observer’s view.
Magnetic, electrical, and gravitational forces can act at a distance. Magnetic and electrical forces can also generate energy fields between objects that are not in direct contact proportional to the distance between the objects.
An object is in motion when its position is changing. The speed of an object is defined by how far it travels divided by the amount of time it took to travel that far.
Unit Essential Questions
How do we know that objects and systems have energy?
How can Newton’s Laws of Motion predict what will happen to an object when acted upon by balanced and unbalanced forces?
Where does the energy in the world come from and how is it transformed into forms utilized by humans?
How can energy be transferred between objects within a system?
How can something appear to be standing still when it is really moving forward?
What is the relationship between distance and magnitude of a force (magnetic, electrical and gravitational)?
Content Statements
“Energy”
Motion energy is properly called kinetic energy it is proportional to the mass of the moving object and grows with the square of its speed. (MS-PS3-1)
A system of objects may also contain stored (potential) energy depending on their relative positions. (MS-PS3-2)
When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object. (MS-PS3-2)
When two objects interact each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object. (MS-PS3-5)
“Forces and Interactions”
For any pair of interacting objects the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law). (MS-PS2-1)
All positions of objects and the directions of forces and motions must be described in an arbitrarily chosen reference frame and arbitrarily chosen units of size. In order to share information with other people these choices must also be shared. (MS-PS2-2)
The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it if the total force on the object is not zero its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object a larger force causes a larger change in motion. (MS-PS2-2)
Electric and magnetic (electromagnetic) forces can be attractive or repulsive and their sizes depend on the magnitudes of the charges currents or magnetic strengths involved and on the distances between the interacting objects. (MS-PS2-3)
Forces that act at a distance (electric magnetic and gravitational) can be explained by fields that extend through space and can be mapped by their effect on a test object (a charged object or a ball respectively). (MS-PS2-5)
Ability Objectives:
General for all Units:
Develop and carry out scientific investigations.
Obtain, evaluate and communicate information to develop technological literacy and an understanding of the role of information technologies in modern scientific endeavors.
Develop and use models to explain complex processes and relationships between and within organisms.
Analyze and interpret data and communicate information using a variety of modalities.
Use mathematics and computational thinking to support scientific conclusions.
Engage in argument from evidence to explain natural phenomena.
Construct explanations and design solutions for complex real world environmental problems.
Learning Objectives Specific for Unit 1:
Students will be able to:
Calculate the potential and kinetic energy of an object at a given height, speed, and mass using equations. (MS-PS3-1, MS-PS3-2, MS-PS3-5)
Develop a model showing the average change in energy of an object as it changes positions. (MS-PS2-2)
Use a model to predict the motion of two objects of similar and different masses after a collision. (MS-PS2-1, MS-PS2-2)
Design and test various configurations of series and parallel batteries to determine the effect of battery configuration on electrical force. (MS-PS2-3, MS-PS2-5)
Use free-body diagrams to describe the magnitude and direction of parallel and perpendicular forces acting upon an object and the direction of motion of the object. (MS-PS2-2)
Create a model of electromagnetic forces using collected visual data. (MS-PS2-3, MS-PS2-5)
Sample Performance Tasks - Specific for Unit 1:
Students will be able to:
Revise the design of a digital roller coaster to manipulate the kinetic and potential energies at various points upon the track to allow the car to stop at a specific point. (MS-PS3-1, MS-PS3-2, MS-PS3-5)
Design, test, and refine varying configurations of batteries to optimize the electrical force output of five batteries and keep a device powered for as long as possible. (MS-PS2-3)
Choreograph and film a series of videos showcasing the concept of frame of reference that feature proof of moving and stationary objects using scientific evidence. (MS-PS2-2)
Resources
Core Text: N/A
Suggested Resources:
Coaster Creator: http://content3.jason.org/resource_content/content/digitallab/4859/misc_content/public/coaster.html
Lesson Ideas- http://www.ck12.org/ngss/middle-school-physical-sciences/matter-and-its-interactions
Concept Help- http://www.bozemanscience.com EQUIP
rubric- http://www.nextgenscience.org/teachers
Energy Lab- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/labs/about-energy-lab/educator-guide/
R.E.A.C.T- http://www.nrel.gov/docs/gen/fy01/30927.pdf
Force and Motion- http://static.nsta.org/files/PB295Xweb.pdf
NGSS- http://ngss.nsta.org/AccessStandardsByTopic.aspx
Engineering Experience: Roll On! (Common Assessment):