Students explore work, kinetic and potential energy, and the powerful law of conservation of energy — learning how energy transforms from one form to another but is never lost, from a roller coaster to a falling apple.
Students will be able to…
A roller coaster has no engine after the first hill — so what carries it through every loop and rise? The answer is energy, quietly transforming form to form.
Project this and tap each idea. Have students connect work, kinetic and potential energy, conservation, and power.
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
What powers a roller coaster after the first hill?
Students investigate.
Teacher explains.
Apply.
Three quick checks.
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (High School Physics) and Common Core literacy in science.
Create a computational model to calculate the change in energy of a system.
Develop models to illustrate energy at the macroscopic and molecular scale.
Design a device that converts one form of energy into another.
Integrate quantitative information with text in a model.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students use conservation of energy to calculate a roller coaster’s speed at the bottom of a hill from its starting height. A printable energy sheet is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.