Name: _______________________________________ Block: ____________ Date: _____________
LCPS Core Experience | Energy Investigation ONE
Energy
St ud ent N o tes
OBJECTIVES
Students will:
define potential and kinetic energy
describe the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.
LINK
Hold a racquet ball waist high and let it drop. Let it bounce once then catch it.
Drop the racquet ball a second time by holding your arm straight in front of you. Let it bounce
once then catch it.
Question: What do you notice about how high the ball bounced when the ball was dropped
from different heights?
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Materials Per Lab Group
 1 pre-made pendulum
 1 small (4 g) bear
 2 meter sticks
 1 metric ruler
 1 calculator
Background
The Law of Conservation of Energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but
energy can be changed from one form to another. This is known as an energy
transformation.
In this investigation, you will observe the Law of Conservation of Energy and two major
types of energy: kinetic energy and potential energy. Potential energy is stored energy.
The potential energy of an object depends on its mass and position. Kinetic energy is energy
in motion.
Make a Prediction: What will happen to the amount of kinetic energy if the amount of
potential energy is increased?
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Energy Investigation ONE
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LCPS Core Experience | Energy Investigation ONE
EXPERIMENT
Lesson One: Model a Pendulum
1. Pull the pendulum ball back then let go of the ball.
2. Question: Describe when the ball had potential energy.
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3. Question: Describe when the ball had kinetic energy.
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4. Question: When did the potential energy become kinetic energy?
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Lesson Two: The Effect of Increasing Potential Energy on Kinetic Energy
1. Place the gram bear between the meter sticks. The back of the bear should line up with the 0
cm marks on the meter sticks, with the bear facing the 100 cm ends of the two meter sticks.
2. Move the ring stand so that the base is outside of the meter sticks and the pendulum ball is
hanging behind the bear. The pendulum ball and the gram bear should be touching. The
string on the pendulum ball should be going straight down.
3. Pull the ball straight back to a height of 5 cm. Use a ruler to measure the height from the
table surface to the bottom of the ball.
4. Let go of the pendulum ball.
5. Calculate: Measure the distance the bear traveled in cm.
6. Repeat the experiment two more times with the ball at 5 cm.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 by pulling the pendulum ball back to 10 cm, 15 cm and 20 cm.
Table A: The Effect of Pendulum Pull on Bear Movement
Height of
Distance Bear
Distance Bear
Distance Bear
Pendulum
Traveled – 1
Traveled – 2
Traveled – 3
5 cm
10 cm
15 cm
20 cm
Energy Investigation ONE
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Average
Distance
LCPS Core Experience | Energy Investigation ONE
8. Question: Look at the data in Table A. The independent variable is the item that is changed
in the experiment. What is the independent variable in the experiment?
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9. Question: Look at the data in Table A. The dependent variable is the item that is being
measured as the effect of the IV. What is the dependent variable in the experiment?
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10. Graph: Use the grid to make a line graph that compares the potential energy of the ball
(distance the ball is pulled back) with the average distance the bear traveled.
Label the x-axis with the independent variable. Label the y-axis with the dependent variable.
Title of Graph: __________________________________________________
Energy Investigation ONE
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LCPS Core Experience | Energy Investigation ONE
LEARNING REVIEW
1. What is potential energy?
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2. What is kinetic energy?
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3. When did the ball have the most potential energy?
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4. When did the bear have the most kinetic energy?
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STOP AND DISCUSS
EVALUATION
1. How did we increase the amount of potential energy in the pendulum ball?
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2. How did we measure the kinetic energy of the bear?
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3. Based on the graph, what is the relationship between the potential energy of the pendulum
ball and the kinetic energy of the bear? Use data to support your answer.
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4. Identify the relationship between potential energy and kinetic energy.
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Energy Investigation ONE
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LCPS Core Experience | Energy Investigation ONE
5. Predict what would happen to the kinetic energy of the bear if we made the wooden ball
heavier.
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6. According to the Law of Conservation of Energy, what happened to the energy of the bear
when it stopped moving?
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7. You are designing a roller coaster and you want your car to go fast. What changes to the
track do you need to make? Why?
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Energy Investigation ONE
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LCPS Core Experience | Energy Investigation ONE
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Energy Investigation ONE
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