Faster Means More Energy
- Physics
- Ages 8–11 · Grades 3–5
- Hands-on experiment
What you’ll find out
- A moving object carries energy, and it carries more when it moves faster.
- A heavier object at the same speed carries more energy than a lighter one.
- Energy is not made or destroyed; it moves and changes form.
No sign-up and no real names. In the lesson you check your understanding as you read, run the experiment yourself, and practise until it sticks.
Speed and what it can do
Roll a ball down a low ramp so that it hits a small wooden block. The block slides a short way. Now raise the ramp and roll the same ball again. It arrives faster and knocks the block much farther. A moving object carries energy, and the faster it moves, the more energy it carries. Weight matters too. A heavy ball at the same speed pushes the block farther than a light one. That is why cars have to drive slowly near schools.
Following the energy
Where did the energy come from? You gave it to the ball when you lifted it to the top of the ramp. Energy stored by height is called potential energy. As the ball rolls down, that store turns into movement. When the ball hits the block, the energy moves on again: some pushes the block along, some makes the thump you hear, and some warms the surfaces a tiny bit. Energy is never made or destroyed. It only moves and changes form.
Curriculum links: NGSS 4-PS3-1 · NGSS 4-PS3-3