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Lesson Plans > Science > Grades 6 - 8 > Rolling Balls: Mass and Kinetic Energy
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Kinesthetic Learner
Kinesthetic Learner
Visual Learner
Visual Learner
Auditory Learner
Auditory Learner
Technology Integration
Technology Integration

Rolling Balls: Mass and Kinetic Energy

Understand the relationship between kinetic energy, mass, and velocity

Grade Level: 6-8

Concept: Learn the relationship between kinetic energy, mass, and velocity

Estimated Duration: 60 minutes
 
Objectives
Students will be able to:
  • explain and graph the relationship between kinetic energy and mass
  • predict the impact of objects of different mass and velocity on a standing object
Materials
White board
Graph paper
 Ramp with rails (could be an empty paper towel roll or a piece of cardboard folded down the middle)
Blocks
Meter stick
3 balls or marble of different mass
 
Differentiation Strategies
These strategies are used to meet the varied needs of all learners:
  • for various grade levelsVarying academic levels: uses mixed-ability groups to allow students to learn from one another, uses small- and whole-group discussions to ensure all students participate
  • for visual learnersVisual learners: incorporates graphs of proportional relationships and the relationship of mass to kinetic energy
  • for auditory learnersAuditory learners: uses direct questioning to help students make a prediction about the relationship of mass to kinetic energy
  • for kinesthetic learnersKinesthetic learners: engages students in a hands-on experiment to test the relationship between mass and kinetic energy.
Key Vocabulary
kinetic energy
mass
velocity
 
Procedures
Warm Up
  • for auditory learners Ask students to imagine the impact that a fly, a ball, and a desk (traveling at the same velocity) might have if they ran directly into you. Use guided questioning to help them explain their predictions. Ask:
  •  Which would have the greatest impact and which would have the least?
  • What type of energy would the fly, ball, or desk be transferring to you?
  • What property does the desk have in greater quantity than the ball that its kinetic energy would be so much greater?
  • Use comparisons between large, light objects, like a balloon, and small, heavy objects, like a baseball, if students suggest that the desk’s size gives it greater kinetic energy.
Direct Instruction
  • for visual learners Write and define the term kinetic energy on the board.
  • Explain that in the warm-up activity, the class predicted that the kinetic energy of an object is directly proportional to its mass.
  • for visual learnersShow this mathematical relationship on the board and draw a graph that represents this type of relationship.
  • Tell students that they are now going to test their hypothesis.
Practice
  • for various grade levels Create mixed-ability groups of three to four students.
  • Provide materials for them to create a ramp with rails, three marbles or balls of different masses, several blocks, and a meter stick.
  • for kinesthetic learnersHave the students implement the following procedures:
    1. Weigh the three different balls.
    2. Position one end of the ramp on two or three blocks and the other end on the table. If the ramp is not stable, ask one student to hold it.
    3. Position a block at the bottom of the ramp.
    4. Roll the ball down the ramp three times, measuring the distance the block was displaced by the ball each time and averaging the three measures.
    5. Repeat these steps for the other two balls.
Assessment
  • Have groups create a graph of the distance that the block was displaced verses the mass of the ball.
  • for kinesthetic learnersInvite students up to the board to draw their graph.
  • for visual learners Have students compare their graph to the graph you drew of a directly proportional relationship. What can they conclude regarding the relationship of mass to kinetic energy.
Closure
  • for visual learnersShow the formula for kinetic energy on the board, and emphasize that mass is directly proportional to kinetic energy.
  • Applied learning: Ask students to watch the ramifications of this relationship in traffic accidents. Is it worse to be hit by a truck or a car? Is it better to be hit by a slow moving vehicle than a fast moving vehicle? Have students explain their answer using the formula for kinetic energy.
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