MS-PS3-5: Arguing That a Change in Kinetic Energy Means Energy Was Transferred
In plain English: MS-PS3-5 is the NGSS middle school performance expectation that asks students to construct, use and present arguments that when an object's kinetic energy changes, energy has been transferred to or from it. Evidence comes from changes in motion and temperature, not from energy calculations. It is usually taught in grade 6, 7 or 8 physical science.
Construct, use, and present arguments to support the claim that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy is transferred to or from the object.
Clarification Statement: Examples of empirical evidence used in arguments could include an inventory or other representation of the energy before and after the transfer in the form of temperature changes or motion of object.
Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include calculations of energy.
Next Generation Science Standards · Disciplinary Core Idea: Energy · Official standard
Students build and defend arguments for one big idea: whenever an object speeds up or slows down, energy has moved into it or out of it. Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because it is moving; a faster object has more of it. An energy transfer is energy moving from one object to another, for example from a moving marble to a resting one, or from a moving car into its warm brakes. Students practice the parts of a scientific argument: a claim (what you think is true), evidence (observations or measurements) and reasoning (the science idea that links the evidence to the claim). They collect evidence in two short labs, then present and defend arguments to classmates.
The NGSS Clarification Statement says: "Examples of empirical evidence used in arguments could include an inventory or other representation of the energy before and after the transfer in the form of temperature changes or motion of object." The Assessment Boundary says: "Assessment does not include calculations of energy." Students use changes in speed and temperature as evidence and draw energy inventories as bar charts with no numbers; they never compute an amount of energy. All data on this page are invented for teaching. The labs use marbles, clay and thermometers only: no flames and no hot plates.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
Explain that a change in an object's speed means a change in its kinetic energy
Construct a claim-evidence-reasoning argument that energy was transferred to or from an object whose kinetic energy changed
Use motion data and temperature data as evidence, including a before-and-after energy inventory
Present an argument to classmates, answer questions about it, and critique other arguments
Prior Knowledge Required
Students should already be comfortable with:
The faster an object moves, the more energy it has 4-PS3-1
Roll a soft foam ball across the floor and let it stop on its own. Then roll it again and stop it with your hand. Ask students to answer the prompt in their notebooks, then share with a partner.
Warm-Up Prompt
"Both times the ball was moving, and then it was not. Where did its energy of motion go? Write your best guess for each roll."
List the ideas on the board without judging them ("it ran out", "it went into my hand", "the floor", "it turned into sound"). Tell students that by the end of the lesson they will be able to argue for an answer using evidence, and that "it ran out" is an idea they will test.
Direct Instruction15 minutes
Kinetic energy and the key claim. Kinetic energy is energy of motion. If an object speeds up, its kinetic energy goes up; if it slows down, its kinetic energy goes down. Energy is never created or destroyed, so when kinetic energy changes, the energy must have come from something else or gone into something else. That is the claim students will argue for all lesson.
Two kinds of evidence. (1) Motion: another object starts moving, speeds up or slows down. (2) Temperature: something gets warmer. When particles in an object move faster, its temperature rises, so warming is a sign that energy arrived. A thud or a squeak is also a clue, because sound carries energy through the air.
Energy inventory. An energy inventory is a list or bar chart of where the energy is before and after a change. The bars have no numbers; their heights only compare more and less (see Diagram 1).
Speeding up: a kicked soccer ball (motion evidence)
A soccer ball sits still on the grass. A player kicks it, and it flies down the field.
Result: Claim: energy was transferred to the ball. Evidence: the ball went from at rest to moving fast, so its kinetic energy went up. Reasoning: energy is not created, so it came from the player's moving leg and foot, which slowed down as it hit the ball.
Slowing down: a car's brakes (temperature evidence)
Invented data: a car's front brake discs read about 30 °C before a hard stop from highway speed and about 70 °C right after. (Never touch brakes after driving; this reading would be taken with a special thermometer by an adult.)
Result: Claim: energy was transferred from the car to its brakes. Evidence: the car slowed to a stop (less kinetic energy) while the brake discs warmed by about 40 °C. Reasoning: the brakes rub against the wheels, and the car's energy of motion becomes thermal energy in the brakes and air.
A collision: two curling stones (motion evidence and an inventory)
Invented data: a 19 kg curling stone slides at 1.8 m/s and hits an identical stone at rest. Afterward the first stone moves at 0.1 m/s and the second at 1.6 m/s, and there is a loud crack.
Result: Claim: energy was transferred from stone A to stone B. Evidence: A slowed almost to a stop while B started moving. Inventory (Diagram 1): before, all the energy of motion is in A; after, most is in B, a tiny bit is still in A, and a little went into sound and warming the stones and ice.
Speeding up again and again: a playground swing
A parent pushes a child on a swing. With each push the swing goes higher and faster. When the parent stops pushing, the swing slowly comes to rest.
Result: Claim: each push transfers energy to the swing, and when the pushing stops, energy is transferred out. Evidence: faster after each push; slower and slower without pushes. Inventory: the parent's push adds energy; the air and the creaking chains take it away as thermal energy and sound.
Fixing a weak argument
A student writes: "The toy boat stopped because it ran out of force."
Result: Problems: it confuses force with energy and says energy runs out. Better: "The toy boat slowed down, so its kinetic energy decreased. The water and air pushed against it, so its energy was transferred to them, which we see as small waves spreading out behind the boat."
After each example, ask: "What is the claim? What did someone observe? What science idea connects them?" Point out that every argument names where the energy came from or went.
Guided Practice15 minutes
As a class, build one argument from the invented data below. A toy truck rolls off a ramp onto carpet and stops. A student filmed it and read its speed every half second.
Toy truck on carpet (invented data)
Time (s)
Speed (m/s)
0
1.2
0.5
0.8
1.0
0.4
1.5
0
Describe what happened to the truck's kinetic energy, using the speeds as evidence.
Name at least two places the energy could have gone.
A thermometer on the carpet showed no change. Discuss: does that prove no energy went into the carpet? (The warming may be too small for a classroom thermometer to show; better tools or more trials could show it.)
Write the argument together in the claim-evidence-reasoning frame and sketch a before-and-after energy inventory with no numbers.
Independent Practice30-35 minutes
Groups run the Marble Track Collisions lab (Activity 1) and the Clay Drop lab (Activity 2). Each student writes one argument for each lab in the claim-evidence-reasoning frame, with an energy inventory bar chart. One argument must use motion evidence and the other temperature evidence.
Collect the arguments. Check that each names the object whose kinetic energy changed, the direction (to or from the object) and where the energy went or came from, and that no one claims energy was destroyed or used up.
Closure15-20 minutes
Groups present their scenario arguments in the Argument Gallery (Activity 3). Classmates question each group using the sentence stems, and each group answers with evidence.
Exit ticket: "Return to the warm-up. For the roll that you stopped with your hand, write a claim, one piece of evidence and your reasoning for where the ball's energy went." Check that students replace "it ran out" with a transfer to the hand, floor or air.
Differentiation Strategies
For Struggling Students
Give an argument frame: "The ___ sped up / slowed down, so its kinetic energy ___. The energy came from / went to ___. I know because ___."
Start with motion evidence (things you can see move) before temperature evidence
Provide inventory bar charts with the bars already labeled, so students only draw the heights
For Advanced Students
Ask why the clay that was dropped warmed less than students might expect, and which places the rest of the energy could have gone (floor, bag, sound)
Have students design a better test for the toy truck on carpet, one that could detect the carpet's warming (more trials, a more sensitive thermometer, a longer run)
Ask students to argue about an escalator moving at a steady speed while its motor runs: is energy still being transferred if kinetic energy is not changing?
Assessment Guidance
What to Look For
Check that each argument has a claim, evidence tied to a change in speed or temperature, and reasoning that names where the energy came from or went. Inventories should show the same total before and after, spread over different places. Listen for students who say energy is used up, lost or destroyed, who confuse force with energy, or who give evidence that describes an object (its color, its size) instead of a change.
02
Classroom Activities
3 Activities
1
Marble Track Collisions
25 minGroups of 3
Groups roll one marble into another and use motion evidence to argue that energy is transferred in a collision.
Procedure
Tape two meter sticks side by side with a small gap to make a track. Prop a grooved ruler on a book at one end as a ramp.
Place marble B at rest at the 50 cm mark. Release marble A from the 10 cm mark on the ramp so it rolls down and hits B.
Film the collision in slow motion next to the meter stick. Use the video to time each marble over 20 cm before and after the hit, and find each speed (distance divided by time).
Trial 1: two marbles of the same size. Trial 2: a large marble (A) hits a small one (B). Run each trial three times.
Safety: wear goggles, keep marbles off the floor so no one slips, and never throw them.
Sample Data (invented)
Trial 1, same size (5 g each): A, 0.50 m/s before and 0.03 m/s after; B, at rest before and 0.45 m/s after. Trial 2, large (20 g) into small (5 g): A, 0.50 m/s before and 0.28 m/s after; B, at rest before and 0.74 m/s after.
Discussion Questions
In each trial, which marble's kinetic energy went down and which went up? Use the speeds as evidence.
You heard a click at each hit. What does the click tell you about where some of the energy went?
Draw a before-and-after energy inventory for Trial 1 with no numbers.
Modification for Distance Learning
Students roll coins or bottle caps into each other on a smooth table at home and film them, or they write arguments from the sample data.
2
Clay Drop: Motion to Temperature
25 minPairs
Pairs drop a lump of clay many times and look for temperature evidence that its energy of motion goes somewhere when it hits the floor.
Procedure
Shape two balls of modeling clay of about 100 g each and seal each in a zip-top bag. Let both sit in the room for 10 minutes so they start at the same temperature.
Push a probe thermometer into the middle of each ball through the bag and record the starting temperatures. Remove the probe.
Take turns dropping one bag from 1.5 m (measure with the meter stick) onto a hard floor, lifting it only by the zip edge so warm hands never touch or squeeze the clay. After every 25 drops, measure both balls again. The second ball stays on the table as the control.
Stop at 100 drops. Safety: drop the bag straight down, away from feet, and keep the probe tip pointed down.
Sample Data (invented)
Dropped clay, after 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 drops: 21.6 °C; 21.8 °C; 21.9 °C; 22.1 °C; 22.2 °C. Control clay at the same times: 21.6 °C; 21.6 °C; 21.7 °C; 21.7 °C; 21.7 °C.
Discussion Questions
During each drop, when does the clay's kinetic energy go up, and when does it go down?
Why does the control ball matter? What could have warmed both balls?
The rise is small. Name two other places the energy could have gone when the clay hit the floor.
Challenge Variation
Groups predict, then test, what happens to the temperature rise if they drop the clay from 0.75 m instead of 1.5 m the same number of times. They state the prediction as more or less, without computing energy.
3
Argument Gallery
20 minGroups of 4
Each group gets one of 6 scenario cards, writes an argument on chart paper and presents it to the class in one minute. Listeners question the argument using sentence stems.
The 6 Scenario Cards
Card 1: A bowling ball rolls into the pins and slows down; the pins fly in all directions.
Card 2: A volleyball player spikes the ball, and it shoots toward the floor.
Card 3: A gust of wind fills a toy sailboat's sail, and the boat speeds up across a pond.
Card 4: A skateboarder drags one shoe on the ground to stop; the sole feels warm afterward.
Card 5: A wound-up toy car is let go and speeds up from rest.
Card 6: A rolling shopping cart bumps a parked cart, stops, and the parked cart rolls away.
Present and Question
Each poster shows a claim, at least two pieces of evidence, reasoning and a before-and-after energy inventory with no numbers.
Each group presents in one minute. Listeners ask at least one question using a stem: "What is your evidence that ___?", "Where did the energy go after ___?", "How could you test ___?"
Presenters answer with evidence, and then each listener scores the poster on a checklist: claim, evidence, reasoning, inventory, energy not destroyed.
Modification for Distance Learning
Students record a one-minute video or slide presentation of their card and post a question on two classmates' presentations.
03
Diagrams & Visual Aids
2 diagrams
Diagram 1: Energy Inventory for the Curling Stone Collision
Before the hit, the moving stone A has all the energy of motion. After, stone B has most of it, A keeps a tiny bit, and some has gone into sound and warming the stones and ice. Bar heights come from the invented speeds in Example 3; the total is the same before and after, because energy moves but is not destroyed.
Diagram 2: Clay Temperature in the Clay Drop Lab (Invented Data)
Invented data, drawn to scale. The clay that was dropped 100 times from 1.5 m warmed steadily, while the control clay on the table changed very little. The difference is temperature evidence that energy of motion was transferred into the clay when it hit the floor.
04
Homework Assignment
~30 min
MS-PS3-5 Homework: Building and Presenting Energy Arguments
Directions: Write each argument with a claim, evidence and reasoning. Use words like more, less, faster and slower; you do not need to calculate any energy. All data are invented.
Part 1: Construct Arguments (Problems 1-3)
A sled starts at rest at the top of a snowy hill. Its speed is 4 m/s halfway down and 7 m/s at the bottom. On the flat snow after the hill, it slows to 3 m/s and then stops. (a) Where on the trip did the sled's kinetic energy increase, and where did it decrease? (b) Construct an argument that energy was transferred during the slowing part, and name where it went. (c) Describe one more piece of evidence you could collect.
A carpenter hits a nail with a hammer 20 times. The hammer head moves fast before each hit and stops on the nail. The nail was 22 °C before and 31 °C after the 20 hits. (a) What happens to the hammer head's kinetic energy at each hit? (b) Construct an argument, using the temperature data, that energy was transferred from the hammer to the nail. (c) Why would one hit give weaker evidence than 20?
A ping-pong ball is dropped from 100 cm. It bounces to 76 cm, then 58 cm, then 44 cm. (a) Describe the pattern. (b) Construct an argument that energy is transferred out of the ball at each bounce, and name two places it goes. (c) Draw a before-and-after energy inventory for one bounce, with no numbers.
Part 2: Use and Present Arguments (Problems 4-6)
Maya says: "When my bumper car hit the wall and stopped, its kinetic energy was destroyed." Write a short rebuttal (an answer that explains why a claim is wrong) that uses at least two pieces of evidence you could observe at the bumper car ride.
Two identical toy carts are on a track. Cart A rolls at 0.80 m/s and hits cart B, which is at rest. Afterward, A moves at 0.30 m/s and B at 0.45 m/s. (a) Use the data to argue which cart's kinetic energy decreased and which increased. (b) Explain where the rest of the energy may have gone, since B did not get all of it. (c) What evidence could test your answer to (b)?
An electric scooter goes from at rest to 15 km/h. Its battery display drops from 80% to 79%, and the motor case feels slightly warm. Write a one-minute presentation (claim, two pieces of evidence, reasoning) for your class arguing that energy was transferred to the scooter, and sketch the energy inventory you would show on a slide.
Rubric
Criterion
Full Credit (2 pts)
Partial Credit (1 pt)
Claim
States that energy was transferred and names the direction (to or from the object)
States a change but not the direction, or not what the energy moved to or from
Evidence
Uses the given motion or temperature data correctly, including a change, not just a description
Uses data with one error, or describes the object instead of a change
Reasoning
Links speed to kinetic energy and says energy moves but is not destroyed
Mentions energy but does not connect it to the evidence
Inventory and Presentation
Inventory accounts for all the energy before and after; presentation is clear and answers a likely question
Inventory misses a place the energy went, or the presentation is unclear
05
Quiz: 20 Questions
Interactive, with answers
Instructions
All data are invented. No question asks you to calculate an amount of energy. For short-answer questions, write a claim, evidence and reasoning.
Multiple choice: pick an option to check it. Short answer: write your answer, then reveal the model answer.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Kinetic energy is the energy an object has because it is moving. Which change shows that a rolling wagon's kinetic energy increased?
Answer: B
A faster object has more kinetic energy, so going from 1 m/s to 2 m/s is an increase. Choice A is a decrease. Choice C has no change in speed, so no change in kinetic energy. Choice D mixes up stored energy with kinetic energy: the wagon on the shelf is not moving at all.
Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A hockey puck slides across rough concrete and comes to a stop. Which claim fits this evidence?
Answer: C
The puck slowed, so its kinetic energy went down, and that energy went somewhere: into the concrete and puck as thermal energy (they warm a tiny bit) and into the air as sound. Choice A is a common misconception: energy is not destroyed. Choice B has the direction backward, since the puck lost energy.
Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which observation is temperature evidence that energy was transferred from a moving object?
Answer: A
The go-kart was moving and then stopped, and the part that did the stopping got warmer, so the go-kart's kinetic energy went into the brake pads. Choice B is a temperature change caused by sunlight, not by a change in motion. Choices C and D involve no moving object slowing down.
Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Invented data: a bowling ball rolls down a lane at 3.0 m/s at 0 s, 2.8 m/s at 1 s, 2.6 m/s at 2 s and 2.4 m/s at 3 s, before it reaches the pins. During which time was energy transferred away from the ball?
Answer: D
The speed drops in every second (3.0 to 2.8 to 2.6 to 2.4 m/s), so the ball's kinetic energy goes down in every second, and that energy goes to the lane and the air. Choice C assumes an object must stop before it loses energy; slowing down is enough.
Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice
An ice skater stands still. A partner pushes her, and she glides away at 3 m/s. Where did her new kinetic energy come from?
Answer: B
Her kinetic energy went up during the push, so energy was transferred to her from the partner's muscles. Choice C breaks the rule that energy is never created; it only moves from one object or form to another. The ice and air (A and D) actually take a little energy away from her as she glides.
Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Invented data from an air hockey table: puck A moves at 1.2 m/s and hits puck B, which is at rest. After the hit, A moves at 0.1 m/s and B at 1.0 m/s. The pucks are identical. Which statement does the data support?
Answer: A
Puck A slowed from 1.2 to 0.1 m/s, so its kinetic energy went down. Puck B sped up from 0 to 1.0 m/s, so its kinetic energy went up. Energy was transferred from A to B in the collision. Choice C reads the data backward: B started at rest, so it could not lose kinetic energy.
Question 7 of 20 · Short Answer
A student throws a paper airplane across the room. Construct an argument with a claim, evidence and reasoning that energy was transferred to the airplane.
Sample: Claim: energy was transferred to the paper airplane from the student's arm. Evidence: the airplane was at rest in the student's hand, and after the throw it was moving fast. Reasoning: a moving object has kinetic energy, and the faster it moves, the more it has. The airplane's kinetic energy went up, and energy is never created, so it had to come from something else: the student's moving arm and hand. Look for all three parts and a source named for the energy.
Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A rolling cart hits a foam block on the floor. Which evidence best supports the claim "energy was transferred from the cart to the foam block"?
Answer: C
The claim is about energy moving from one object to another, so the best evidence is a change in motion of both: the cart slowed (its kinetic energy went down) and the block started moving (its kinetic energy went up). Choices A, B and D describe the objects, not a change, so they cannot show a transfer.
Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A ball rolls into a wall and stops. Which "after" energy inventory (a list of where the energy is) makes sense?
Answer: B
An inventory must account for all the energy the ball had. It went into thermal energy of the ball, wall and air, plus a little sound. Choice A forgets that energy is not destroyed. Choice D has the wall losing energy, when it should gain some.
Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Lena presents this argument to her class: "The school bus stopped, so energy was transferred." What would improve her argument most?
Answer: D
Lena has a claim but no evidence or reasoning. Adding observations (the slowing, the warm brakes) gives the audience a reason to believe her. Choices A and C change how she speaks, not what supports the claim, and a photo of a different bus (B) is not evidence about this bus.
Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which sentence is the best reasoning in an argument that energy was transferred from a sled that slid to a stop?
Answer: A
Reasoning connects the evidence (the sled slowed) to the claim (energy was transferred) with a science idea: speed and kinetic energy change together, and energy is not destroyed. Choice D sounds scientific but is not the reason: the sled would lose energy to rough ground even on a warm day.
Question 12 of 20 · Short Answer
Invented data: a remote-control car has speeds of 0, 1.5, 3.0 and 3.0 m/s at 0, 1, 2 and 3 seconds. Use the data to argue when the car's kinetic energy was changing and when it was not. Name where the energy came from.
From 0 to 2 s the speed rose from 0 to 3.0 m/s, so the car's kinetic energy increased, and energy was transferred to the car's motion from its battery (through the motor). From 2 to 3 s the speed stayed at 3.0 m/s, so the car's kinetic energy did not change. Strong answers add that the battery is still supplying energy at steady speed, but that energy goes out to the floor and air as thermal energy and sound as fast as it comes in, so the kinetic energy stays the same.
Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A rider on a zip line slows to a stop at the end when a brake block presses on the cable. Invented data: the brake block was 20 °C before the ride and 35 °C just after. A shaded block next to it stayed at 20 °C. What does the evidence support?
Answer: C
The rider slowed (her kinetic energy went down) and the brake block warmed by 15 °C, so the energy went from her motion into the block. The shaded block that stayed at 20 °C rules out choice D. Choice A has the direction backward.
Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice
A group will present an argument about a canoe that glides to a stop on a lake. Which visual would best help the audience follow the energy?
Answer: B
A labeled bar chart shows the canoe's kinetic energy before, and where it went after (the water and air), so the audience can see the transfer. The photo, list and map (A, C, D) show the setting but not the energy story.
Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer
Write a three-sentence presentation for a fourth-grade class that explains why a basketball being dribbled needs a push on every bounce to keep bouncing to the same height.
Sample: "Each time the ball hits the floor, some of its energy of motion goes into the floor and the air as a thud sound and a tiny bit of warming. So the ball comes back up with less energy than it had and would bounce lower and lower. Your hand's push gives the ball back the energy it lost on every bounce." Look for a claim, evidence (the sound, lower bounces without a push) and the idea that energy is transferred, never used up.
Question 16 of 20 · Multiple Choice
Which situation is NOT evidence that an object's kinetic energy changed?
Answer: A
Kinetic energy changes only when the speed changes. The fan keeps the same speed, so its kinetic energy is not changing (even though its motor is still using energy, which goes into the air and motor as thermal energy). Choices B and D speed up and choice C slows down.
Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer
A spinning top slows down and stops on a table after about 40 seconds. Construct an argument for where its kinetic energy went, and describe one piece of evidence you could collect.
Sample: Claim: the top's kinetic energy was transferred to the table and the air. Evidence: the top slowed and stopped, and it makes a faint humming or scraping sound as it spins; a thermometer touching the spot under the tip might read slightly warmer than another spot on the table. Reasoning: slowing means less kinetic energy, and energy is not destroyed, so it went into the table and air as thermal energy and sound. Accept any sensible measurable evidence, such as filming the spin to show the speed dropping.
Question 18 of 20 · Multiple Choice
An apple falls from a tree and lands on the ground, where it stops. Which pair of observations supports the claim that energy was transferred from the apple to the ground and air?
Answer: C
The thud is energy carried away by sound in the air, and the dent shows the apple's motion pushed the soil. Both happened as the apple's kinetic energy dropped to zero. The other choices describe the apple or tree, not a change that shows energy moving.
Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer
Critique this argument from a classmate, then rewrite it: "The rolling rock had no energy after it stopped, because energy gets used up."
The claim misunderstands energy: energy is not used up or destroyed, it is transferred. The argument also gives no evidence. Rewrite: "The rock slowed down and stopped, so its kinetic energy went down. That energy was transferred to the ground and the air, which we could tell from the scraping sound and the scuffed dirt where it slid. Energy is never destroyed, so it had to go into the things the rock touched."
Question 20 of 20 · Multiple Choice
During a presentation about a dropped ball, a classmate asks, "How do you know energy went into the floor?" Which answer uses evidence?
Answer: B
A measured difference between the spot the ball hit and a nearby control spot is evidence. Choices A and C are claims dressed up as reasons, with nothing observed. Choice D is false: temperature changes and changes in motion are ways to find where energy went.
0 of 20 answered · 0 correct
06
Frequently Asked Questions
10 Questions
What does MS-PS3-5 mean?
MS-PS3-5 asks middle school students to construct, use and present arguments that when an object's kinetic energy changes, energy was transferred to or from it. The code means Middle School, Physical Science, core idea 3 (Energy), performance expectation 5. The practice is arguing from evidence.
Do students calculate kinetic energy in MS-PS3-5?
No. The Assessment Boundary says: "Assessment does not include calculations of energy." Students use changes in speed and temperature as evidence and compare amounts with words or with bar charts that have no numbers. The formula for kinetic energy appears in high school physics (beyond this standard).
What counts as evidence of an energy transfer?
Any observation of a change that comes with the change in motion. The Clarification Statement names temperature changes and the motion of objects, shown in an energy inventory before and after. A thud or squeak (sound) and a dent or scuff are also useful clues, especially when no thermometer is sensitive enough.
What is an energy inventory?
It is a list or bar chart of where the energy is before and after a change. For a collision, the before bars might show one moving object, and the after bars show two moving objects plus thermal energy and sound. The total should stay the same, because energy moves from place to place but is not created or destroyed.
When something stops moving, is its energy gone?
No, the energy is transferred, not destroyed. A stopped object's kinetic energy has gone into other things, usually as thermal energy in the surfaces it rubbed and the air, and as sound. Students often say the energy "ran out" or was "used up"; this lesson's labs give them evidence against that idea.
Is friction a kind of energy?
No. Friction is a force, a push or pull between surfaces that rub. When friction slows an object, it transfers the object's kinetic energy into thermal energy in the surfaces, which is why rubbing surfaces get warm. Arguments should keep the force (friction) and the energy (thermal energy) separate.
What does "construct, use, and present" mean in MS-PS3-5?
They are three separate skills. Constructing means writing an argument from evidence. Using means applying an argument to explain new data or to answer someone else's claim. Presenting means sharing the argument with an audience, often with a visual such as an energy inventory, and answering questions about it.
Why does a temperature change sometimes not show up in the lab?
The warming from a small, slow object can be smaller than a classroom thermometer can detect. That is why the Clay Drop lab repeats the drop 100 times and uses a control ball. Students should say that a thermometer showing no change does not prove no energy arrived, only that the change was too small to measure.
How does MS-PS3-5 connect to MS-PS3-1?
MS-PS3-1 asks students to graph how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed. MS-PS3-5 uses that idea: if the speed changes, the kinetic energy changes, so energy must have moved. Teaching MS-PS3-1 first, or alongside, helps students give the reasoning part of their arguments.
What comes after MS-PS3-5 in high school?
In high school, HS-PS3-1 asks students to calculate the change in energy of one part of a system from the energy flowing in and out, and HS-PS3-2 models energy as motion of particles or energy stored in fields. The bar-chart inventories in this lesson become numerical energy accounts there.
07
Related Standards
6 standards
These standards connect to MS-PS3-5: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.
Before this lesson
4-PS3-1Prerequisite
Use evidence to explain how the speed of an object relates to its energy
Lesson coming soon
4-PS3-3Prerequisite
Ask questions and predict how energy changes when objects collide
Lesson coming soon
Alongside
MS-PS3-1Parallel
Graph and interpret data on how kinetic energy relates to mass and speed
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