This week in STEM, the 3/4 class explored some topics related to their driving question: How can we create an invention that demonstrates energy transformations? This week, they focused on how energy is transferred from one object to another through collisions. They first designed a controlled experiment to see how the height of a ramp affects how far a marble goes once it’s been hit, or, how the mass of the starting marble affects how far another marble goes once it has been hit. They practiced controlling the experiment so that only one variable is changed, and one is measured. They found that the heavier marbles, and the higher ramps led to marble that’s hit going further. Through this activity they were able to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object
Next, they worked in stations to explore how when objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. They used marbles on a flat surface to see how they could get two marbles to move, and then three to move, just by hitting them with other marble(s). They also constructed Rube Goldberg machines to explore how energy is transferred through a system through collisions. They came up with some creative Rube Goldberg machines, that transferred energy in a variety of ways! Next week we’ll explore energy transformations that allow resources like water, wind, and fossil fuels to provide us with energy, and investigate some of the pros and cons of each energy source.
