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  • mechanical-energy
Bombs Away!
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Educational Use
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Students design and build devices to protect and accurately deliver dropped eggs. The devices and their contents represent care packages that must be safely delivered to people in a disaster area with no road access. Similar to engineering design teams, students design their devices using a number of requirements and constraints such as limited supplies and time. The activity emphasizes the change from potential energy to kinetic energy of the devices and their contents and the energy transfer that occurs on impact. Students enjoy this competitive challenge as they attain a deeper understanding of mechanical energy concepts.

Subject:
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Dan Choi
Randall Evans
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Building a Piezoelectric Generator
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Educational Use
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Students learn how to build simple piezoelectric generators to power LEDs. To do this, they incorporate into a circuit a piezoelectric element that converts movements they make (mechanical energy) into electrical energy, which is stored in a capacitor (short-term battery). Once enough energy is stored, they flip a switch to light up an LED. Students also learn how much (surprisingly little) energy can be converted using the current state of technology for piezoelectric materials.

Subject:
Electrical & Electronics
Practical & Applied Arts
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Kimberly Anderson
Matthew Zelisko
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Clean Energy: Hydropower
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Hydropower generation is introduced to students as a common purpose and benefit of constructing dams. Through an introduction to kinetic and potential energy, students come to understand how a dam creates electricity. They also learn the difference between renewable and non-renewable energy.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Denise W. Carlson
Kristin Field
Michael Bendewald
Sara Born
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Energy Forms, States and Conversions
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The students participate in many demonstrations during the first day of this lesson to learn basic concepts related to the forms and states of energy. This knowledge is then applied the second day as they assess various everyday objects to determine what forms of energy are transformed to accomplish the object's intended task. The students use block diagrams to illustrate the form and state of energy flowing into and out of the process.

Subject:
Chemistry
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Jan DeWaters
Susan Powers
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Energy Forms and Changes
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
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This simulation lets learners explore how heating and cooling adds or removes energy. Use a slider to heat blocks of iron or brick to see the energy flow. Next, build your own system to convert mechanical, light, or chemical energy into electrical or thermal energy. (Learners can choose sunlight, steam, flowing water, or mechanical energy to power their systems.) The simulation allows students to visualize energy transformation and describe how energy flows in various systems. Through examples from everyday life, it also bolsters understanding of conservation of energy. This item is part of a larger collection of simulations developed by the Physics Education Technology project (PhET).

Subject:
Physical Science
Science
Material Type:
Simulation
Provider:
University of Colorado Boulder
Provider Set:
PhET Interactive Simulations
Author:
Ariel Paul
Emily Moore
John Blanco
Kathy Perkins
Noah Podolefsky
Trish Loeblein
Date Added:
04/25/2013
Energy Resources
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC
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In this unit of study students learn about energy and energy transfer. They focus on how to use energy transfer to solve a problem. This unit integrates nine STEM attributes and was developed as part of the South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership's Teacher Leadership Team. Any instructional materials are included within this unit of study.

Subject:
Math
Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Provider:
South Metro-Salem STEM Partnership
Author:
Jane Johnston
Date Added:
05/24/2018
Energy Skate Park
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Learn about conservation of energy with a skater dude! Build tracks, ramps and jumps for the skater and view the kinetic energy, potential energy and friction as he moves. You can also take the skater to different planets or even space!

Subject:
Physical Science
Science
Material Type:
Simulation
Provider:
University of Colorado Boulder
Provider Set:
PhET Interactive Simulations
Author:
Adams
Carl
Carl Wieman
Danielle
Danielle Harlow
Harlow
Kathy
Kathy Perkins
Loeblein
Michael
Michael Dubson
Sam Reid
Trish Loeblein
Wendy Adams
Date Added:
10/03/2006
Falling Water
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Educational Use
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Students drop water from different heights to demonstrate the conversion of water's potential energy to kinetic energy. They see how varying the height from which water is dropped affects the splash size. They follow good experiment protocol, take measurements, calculate averages and graph results. In seeing how falling water can be used to do work, they also learn how this energy transformation figures into the engineering design and construction of hydroelectric power plants, dams and reservoirs.

Subject:
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Denise Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Natalie Mach
Sabre Duren
Xochitl Zamora-Thompson
Date Added:
09/26/2008
Kinetic and Potential Energy of Motion
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In this lesson, students are introduced to both potential energy and kinetic energy as forms of mechanical energy. A hands-on activity demonstrates how potential energy can change into kinetic energy by swinging a pendulum, illustrating the concept of conservation of energy. Students calculate the potential energy of the pendulum and predict how fast it will travel knowing that the potential energy will convert into kinetic energy. They verify their predictions by measuring the speed of the pendulum.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Bailey Jones
Chris Yakacki
Denise Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Matt Lundberg
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Physics 30 - Unit 4
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC
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Lessons, worksheets and keys for Physics 30: Unit 4 - The Conservation Laws.

Subject:
Physics
Author:
Distance Learning Centre
Date Added:
06/13/2018
Piezoelectricity
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Educational Use
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Students learn about a fascinating electromechanical coupling called piezoelectricity that is being employed and researched around the world for varied purposes, often for creative energy harvesting methods. A PowerPoint(TM) presentation provides an explanation of piezoelectric materials at the atomic scale, and how this phenomenon converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A range of applications, both tested and conceptual, are presented to engage students in the topic. Gaining this background understanding prepares students to conduct the associated hands-on activity in which they create their own small piezoelectric "generators."

Subject:
Electrical & Electronics
Practical & Applied Arts
Material Type:
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Kimberly Anderson
Matthew Zelisko
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Preventing Potholes
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Acting as civil engineers hired by the U.S. Department of Transportation to research how to best use piezoelectric materials to detect road damage, student groups are challenged to independently create their own experiment procedures, working with given materials and tools. The general approach is that they set up model roads using rubber mats to simulate asphalt and piezoelectric transducers to simulate the in-ground road sensors. They drop heavy bolts at various locations on the “road,” collecting data and then analyzing the voltage changes across the piezoelectric transducers caused by the vibrations of the bolt hitting the rubber. After making notches in the rubber “road” to simulate cracks and potholes, they collect more data to see if the piezo elements detect the damage. Students write up their research and conclusions as if presenting evidence to USDOT officials about how the voltage changes across the piezo elements can be used to indicate road damage and extrapolated to determine when roads need maintenance service.

Subject:
Math
Physical Science
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Adam Alster
Amir Alvai
Andrea Varricchione
Drew Kim
Nizar Lajnef
Victoria Davis-King
Date Added:
05/07/2018
Puttin' It All Together
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Educational Use
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On the topic of energy related to motion, this summary lesson is intended to tie together the concepts introduced in the previous four lessons and show how the concepts are interconnected in everyday applications. A hands-on activity demonstrates this idea and reinforces students' math skills in calculating energy, momentum and frictional forces.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Chris Yakacki
Denise W. Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Date Added:
09/18/2014
Ramp and Review
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Educational Use
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In this hands-on activity rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide into a cup the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and friction are all demonstrated. During the activity, students take measurements and use equations that describe these energy of motion concepts to calculate unknown variables, and review the relationships between these concepts.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Chris Yakacki
Denise W. Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Ramp and Review (for High School)
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Educational Use
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In this hands-on activity rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide into a cup the concepts of mechanical energy, work and power, momentum, and friction are all demonstrated. During the activity, students take measurements and use equations that describe these energy of motion concepts to calculate unknown variables and review the relationships between these concepts.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Ben Sprague
Chris Yakacki
Denise W. Carlson
Janet Yowell
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Solar Sails: The Future of Space Travel
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Working as if they were engineers, students design and construct model solar sails made of aluminum foil to move cardboard tube satellites through “space” on a string. Working in teams, they follow the engineering design thinking steps—empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test, redesign—to design and test small-scale solar sails for satellites and space probes. During the process, learn about Newton’s laws of motion and the transfer of energy from wave energy to mechanical energy. A student activity worksheet is provided.

Subject:
Physical Science
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Matthew Bentley
Date Added:
05/07/2018
Swinging Pendulum
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Educational Use
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This activity demonstrates how potential energy (PE) can be converted to kinetic energy (KE) and back again. Given a pendulum height, students calculate and predict how fast the pendulum will swing by understanding conservation of energy and using the equations for PE and KE. The equations are justified as students experimentally measure the speed of the pendulum and compare theory with reality.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Chris Yakacki
Denise Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Swinging Pendulum (for High School)
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Educational Use
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This activity shows students the engineering importance of understanding the laws of mechanical energy. More specifically, it demonstrates how potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy and back again. Given a pendulum height, students calculate and predict how fast the pendulum will swing by using the equations for potential and kinetic energy. The equations will be justified as students experimentally measure the speed of the pendulum and compare theory with reality.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Chris Yakacki
Denise Carlson
Janet Yowell
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Date Added:
10/14/2015
Waterwheel Work
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Educational Use
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Students learn the history of the waterwheel and common uses for water turbines today. They explore kinetic energy by creating their own experimental waterwheel from a two-liter plastic bottle. They investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine into work, and experiment with how weight affects the rotational rate of the waterwheel. Students also discuss and explore the characteristics of hydroelectric plants.

Subject:
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Denise W. Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Natalie Mach
Sabre Duren
Xochitl Zamora-Thompson
Date Added:
10/14/2015
What is Energy?
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Educational Use
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With an introduction to the ideas of energy, students discuss specific types of energy and the practical sources of energy. Hands-on activities help them identify types of energy in their surroundings and enhance their understanding of energy.

Subject:
Physics
Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson
Provider:
TeachEngineering
Provider Set:
TeachEngineering
Author:
Denise Carlson
Malinda Schaefer Zarske
Natalie Mach
Sharon D. Perez-Suarez
Date Added:
09/18/2014