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Making Moon Craters
Content Provider | TeachEngineering: STEM curriculum for K-12 |
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Author | Anderson, Eric Kessler, Jeff Zhao, Irene |
Copyright Year | 2014 |
Description | As a weighted plastic egg is dropped into a tub of flour, students see the effect that different heights and masses of the same object have on the overall energy of that object while observing a classic example of potential (stored) energy transferred to kinetic energy (motion). Students learn the equations for kinetic and potential energy and then make predictions about the depths of the resulting craters for drops of different masses and heights. As a weighted plastic egg is dropped into a tub of flour, students see the effect that different heights and masses of the same object have on the overall energy of that object while observing a classic example of potential (stored) energy transferred to kinetic energy (motion). The plastic egg's mass is altered by adding pennies inside it. Because the egg's shape remains constant, and only the mass and height are varied, students can directly visualize how these factors influence the amounts of energy that the eggs carry for each experiment, verified by measurement of the resulting impact craters. Students learn the equations for kinetic and potential energy and then make predictions about the depths of the resulting craters for drops of different masses and heights. They collect and graph their data, comparing it to their predictions, and verifying the relationships described by the equations. This classroom demonstration is also suitable as a small group activity. |
Language | English |
Access Restriction | Open |
Rights Holder | Regents of The University of Colorado University of California Davis |
Subject Keyword | Physical Science Physics Science and Technology Kinetic Energy Free Fall Impact Crater Potential Energy Asteroid Energy Equation Force Energy Conversion |
Content Type | Text |
Time Required | PT1H |
Education Level | Class V Class VI |
Pedagogy | Experimental Activity |
Resource Type | Hands-on |
Subject | Physics Technical |