SampleLesson Plan 7:

Energy

Title:What is Energy?

Overview/Annotation:

Discuss the three states of matter, especially in terms of the movement (speed) of molecules in each state: solid, liquid, and gas. As a class, discuss a simple form of energy - heat. Ask students to try to identify what state of matter heat is. The class should conclude that heat does not fit into any of the states of matter. This is because heat is energy, not matter.

Content Standards:

  • 4-PS3-1.
  • Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measures of changes in the speed of an object or on any precise or quantitative definition of energy.
  • 4-PS3-2.
  • Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents. [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.]
  • 4-PS3-3.
  • Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the change in the energy due to the change in speed, not on the forces, as objects interact.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.]
  • 4-PS3-4.
  • Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.* [Clarification Statement: Examples of devices could include electric circuits that convert electrical energy into motion energy of a vehicle, light, or sound; and, a passive solar heater that converts light into heat. Examples of constraints could include the materials, cost, or time to design the device.] [Assessment Boundary: Devices should be limited to those that convert motion energy to electric energy or use stored energy to cause motion or produce light or sound.]
  • 4-ESS3-1.
  • Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and their uses affect the environment. [Clarification Statement: Examples of renewable energy resources could include wind energy, water behind dams, and sunlight; non-renewable energy resources are fossil fuels and fissile materials. Examples of environmental effects could include loss of habitat due to dams, loss of habitat due to surface mining, and air pollution from burning of fossil fuels.]

Primary Learning Objectives:S.W.B.A.T (Students Will Be Able To):

  • Differentiate between matter and energy.
  • Describe the existence, based on observational evidence, of a correlation between energy and speed.
  • Understand the difference between variables and constants.

Duration of the Lesson:60 minutes

Materials and Equipment:

  • Glass Beakers
  • Food Coloring
  • Thermometer
  • Ice
  • Science Journals
  • iPads
  • Food coloring
  • Kettle
  • Dye Dispersion Student Activity Sheet
  • Song about energy

Background/Preparation:The teacher will introduce energy related vocabulary terms and lead the class in a discussion about energy.

  • Energy - the ability to cause motion and change
  • Law of Conservation of Energy - energy can never be created or destroyed; it can be changed into a different form, or transferred from one object to another

Procedures/Activities:

The purpose of this activity is to visually introduce students to the abstract qualities of energy, specifically heat energy. Students should develop a basic understanding of temperature, heat, and kinetic energy.

1)Split students into groups of 4 or 5.

2)In their groups, students will fill 4 separate beakers with 500 mL of water at 4 different temperatures (near boiling water, warm water, cold water, and ice water), and set them up next to one another. Have students record the temperature of the water in each beaker.

3)Students will place 2 drops of food coloring into each of the glasses at the same time at the start of their stopwatch. Students should use the timer app on the iPads as stopwatches. Once the dye has fully dispersed throughout the beaker, students will record on their experiment sheets the amount of time it took.

4)Write variable and constant on the board. Variables are qualities that can be changed during the experiment. Ask students to name the variables in this experiment (temperature of the water, dye dispersion time). Constants are qualities that are kept the same throughout the experiment. Ask students to name the constants in this activity (volume of water, amount of food coloring).

5)Using the MetaCalculator graphing app on their iPads, students will graph their results with the temperature of the water on the x-axis and the time necessary for the food dye to disperse on the y-axis. Ask students to transcribe a rough sketch of the graph into their science journals, and then describe any trends that they see between temperature and dispersion time.

6)Challenge Activity: Have students predict the dispersion time for a fifth temperature that was not tested during the experiment.

7)As a class, discuss the relationship between the temperatures and dispersion times that students observed. Relate the discussion back to energy.

8)Have students write in their science notebooks: Where do you see energy in your daily life?

9)Challenge question: Are there any objects that you know of that don't have energy? Remember, energy is the ability to cause motion or change.

10)After students have finished thinking about these questions and writing in their science notebooks, teachers can show this song about energy:

Assessment:Informal assessment will occur through teacher observation, conversation, analysis of completed activity and listening to peer discussions. Students will be formally assessed based off their experiment sheet, participation and science notebooks.

Extension:For extension, students will work on practice worksheets for homework. The class will continue working energyfor the remainder of the week and will be assessed with a unit test.

Name:______Date:______

Dye Dispersion Student Activity Sheet

Materials
Glass Beakers Food Coloring Thermometer Ice

Experimental Procedure: Read carefully before starting!

1.Set the 4 glass beakers next to one another. Fill the first beaker with 500 mL of iced water. Fill the second beaker with 500 mL of cold tap water. Fill the third beaker with 500 mL of hot tap water. Fill the fourth beaker with 500 mL of hot water from the kettle. Be careful when handling the hot water!

2.Use the thermometer to measure the temperature of the water in each beaker, and record that value in your data table.

3.Add 2 drops of food coloring into each of the beakers. Drop the food coloring into the middle of the water, not along the sides of the beakers.

4.Start the stopwatch when the food coloring is added, and measure the amount of time it takes for the dye to fully spread throughout each of the beakers. Record the times in your data table.

Variables are qualities that can be changed during the experiment. What are the variablesin this experiment?

Constants are qualities that are kept the same throughout the experiment. What are the constants in this experiment?

What trends do you see in the graph? Describe any relationship you see between the temperature of the water and the dispersion time of the dye. Why do you think this relationship exists (in terms of energy)?