Subject/Grade or Course: HS – Physical Science
Unit Name: Energy
Overarching Understandings(s):
Conservation of energy.
Essential Questions:
 When does a force do work?
 How can energy be converted from one form to another?
 How can we use the law of conservation of energy to explain how
energy changes from one form to another?
 How do the processes of fusion and fission convert mass into
energy?
Topics Covered:
 Work
 Power
 Simple machines
 Mechanical advantage
 Actual MA
 Ideal MA
 Efficiency
 Conservation of energy
 Levers
 Wheels and axle
 Inclined planes
 Wedge and screw
 Pulley
 Compound machine
 Kinetic energy
 Potential energy
 Forms of energy
 Renewable energy sources
 Nonrenewable energy sources
 Nuclear forces
 Fission
 fusion
Pacing:
 6 weeks (chapters 14,15, 10.4)
STUDENT-FRIENDLY LEARNING TARGET STATEMENTS
Knowledge,
Reasoning, or Skill
Targets
“What I need to know.”
“What I can do with what I
know”
“What I can demonstrate”
Performance
Targets:
“What I can make to show my
learning.”
Labs/Activities
I can:
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I can:
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differentiate between fission and fusion reactions
calculate work done on a mass
define power
compare work in and work out for various simple machines
evaluate efficiency of simple machines
describe mechanical advantage
explain how energy is conserved using simple machines
find the potential energy due to gravity of an object
relate potential energy and kinetic energy to the total energy of a system
Create a graph to compare the kinetic and potential energy of an object.
Create a machine to reduce the amount of force needed to move an object.
Design a machine to convert potential energy to kinetic energy.
MATERIALS FOR LESSON PLANNING
Power and work and stairs
Lever lab
Pulley lab
Incline plane lab
Rube Goldberg machine
Pendulum lab
Phet simulations
Common
Assessment
Subject/Grade or Course: HS – Physical Science
Unit Name: Energy
Idaho State Content Standards
Corresponding NGSS
MS.PS-E
Standard 2: Physical Science
a. Construct an explanation of the proportional relationship
Goal 2.3: Understand the Total Energy in
pattern between the kinetic energy of an object and its mass
the Universe is Constant
CCSS ELA
ELA –
W.6.1 Write arguments to support
claims with clear reasons and
8-9.PS.2.3.1 Explain that energy can be
transformed but cannot be created nor
destroyed. (650.05a)
8-9.PS.2.3.2 Classify energy as potential
and/or kinetic and as energy contained in
a field. (650.05b)
Goal 2.4: Understand the Structure of
Atoms
8-9.PS.2.4.2 Explain the processes of
fission and fusion. (650.01b)
and speed. [Assessment Boundary: Not intended to solely
require use of KE=1/2mv 2 —the explanation requires a
qualitative description of the relationship and patterns.]
b. Use representations of potential energy to construct an
explanation of how much energy an object has when it’s in
different positions in an electrical, gravitational, and magnetic
field. [Clarification Statement: Examples of objects in
different field positions include
a roller coaster cart at varying positions on a hill, objects at
varying heights on shelves, an iron nail being moved closer to
a magnet, and a balloon with static electrical charge
being brought closer to a classmate’s hair.] [Assessment
Boundary: Qualitative, not quantitative.]
d. Use and/or construct models to communicate the means by
which thermal energy is transferred during conduction,
convection, and radiation. [Clarification Statement: Examples
of models can include a diagram depicting thermal energy
transfer through a pan to its handle or warmer water in a pan
rising as cooler water sinks; and a model using a heat lamp
for the sun and a globe for the earth.]
e. Collect data and generate evidence to examine the
relationship between the change in the temperature of a
sample and the nature of the matter, the size of the sample,
and the environment. [Clarification Statement: Examples of
data collection could include comparing final water
temperatures after different masses of ice melted in the same
volume of water with the same initial temperature.]
g. Design and evaluate solutions that minimize and/or
maximize friction and energy transfer in everyday machines.
[Clarification
Statement: Solutions can include use of oil as a lubricant on a
skateboard, bicycle, or in a lawnmower engine, and wax on
skis. Energy transfer can include the transfer of energy
from motion to thermal energy due to friction. Every day
machines can include skateboards, bicycles, lawnmowers,
skis, and toy cars. ]
MS.PS-WER
a. Use a drawing or physical representation of simple wave
properties to explain brightness and color. [Assessment
relevant evidence
W.7.1 Write arguments to support
claims with clear reasons and
relevant evidence
W.8.1 Write arguments to support
claims with clear reasons and
relevant evidence
WHST .7 Conduct short research
projects to answer a question
(including a self-generated question),
drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused
questions
that allow for multiple avenues of
exploration.
Mathematics –
MP.2 Reason abstractly and
quantitatively.
MP.4 Model with mathematics.
MP.6 Attend to precision.
5.MD Represent and interpret data.
6.RP Understand ratio concepts and
use ratio reasoning to solve problems.
6.EE Apply and extend previous
understandings of arithmetic to
algebraic expressions
Represent and analyze quantitative
relationships between dependent and
independent variables.
7.RP Analyze proportional
relationship and use them to solve
real-world and mathematical
problems.
7.EE Solve e real-life and
mathematical problems using
numerical and algebraic expressions
and equations.
Boundary:
Qualitative, not quantitative. Restricted to the following wave
properties: frequency, wavelength, and amplitude.]
b. Plan and carry out investigations of sound traveling
through various types of mediums and lack of medium to
determine
whether a medium is necessary for the transfer of sound
waves. [Clarification Statement: Examples of investigations
examining a lack of medium could include using a vacuum
bell jar.]
c. Construct explanations of how waves are reflected,
absorbed, or transmitted through an object, considering the
material the object is made from and the frequency of the
wave. [Assessment Boundary: Qualitative application to light,
sound, and seismic waves only.]
d. Use empirical evidence to support the claim that light
travels in straight lines except at surfaces between different
transparent materials. [Clarification Statement: Examples of
surfaces between transparent materials can include air and
water, and air and glass.] [Assessment Boundary: Only noncomputational observations; alterations of the speed of waves
is not assessed until high school.]
HS.PS-E Energy
a. Construct and defend models and mathematical
representations that show that over time the total energy
within an isolated system is constant, including the motion
and interactions of matter and radiation within the system.
[Assessment
Boundary: Computational accounting for energy in a system
limited to sy stems of tw o or three components.]
b. Identify problems and suggest design solutions to optimize
the energy transfer into and out of a system. [Clarification
Statement:
Design solution examples can include insulation, microchip
temperature control, cooking electronics, and roller coaster
design.] [Assessment Boundary : Limited to mechanical and
thermal systems.]
d. Design a solution to minimize or slow a system’s
inclination to degrade to identify the effects on the flow of the
SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grade 5 topics
and texts, building on others’ ideas
and expressing their own clearly.
SL.6.1 Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions (one-onone, in groups, and teacher-led) with
diverse partners on grade 6 topics,
texts, and issues, building on others’
ideas and expressing their own
clearly.
SL.6.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument
and specific claims, distinguishing
claims that are supported by reasons
and evidence from claims that are not.
SL.7.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument
and specific claims, evaluating the
soundness of the reasoning and the
relevance and sufficiency of the
evidence.
SL.8.3 Delineate a speaker’s argument
and specific claims, evaluating the
soundness of the reasoning and
relevance and sufficiency of the
evidence and identifying when
irrelevant
evidence is introduced.
RST.6-8 Distinguish among facts,
reasoned judgment based on research
findings, and speculation in a text.
HS.PS-ECT
ELA –
SL.1.c Propel conversations by posing
and responding to questions that
probe reasoning and evidence; ensure
energy in the system. [Clarification Statement: Examples of
sy stem degradation can include wearing down due to
friction, increase in disorder, and radioactive decay.]
e. Construct models to show that energy is transformed and
transferred within and between living organisms.
[Assessment
Boundary: Does not mean particular biological processes
such as Krebs cycle.]
g. Construct representations that show that some forms of
energy may be best understood at the molecular or atomic
scale.
[Clarification Statement: Forms of energy represented can
include thermal, electromagnetic, and sound.] Assessment
Boundary: Limited to conceptual understanding; quantitative
representations are not required.]
h. Design, build, and evaluate devices that convert one form
of energy into another form of energy. [Clarification
Statement: Examples
of dev ices can include roller coasters, Rube Goldberg
devices, wind turbines, and generators. ]
HS.PS-W
a. Plan and carry out investigations to determine the
mathematical relationships among wave speed, frequency,
and wavelength and how they are affected by the medium
through which the wave travels. [Assessment Boundary:
Algebraic calculations only.]
HS.PS-NP
c. Ask questions and make claims about the relative merits of
nuclear processes compared to other types of energy
production. [Clarification Statement: Students are given data
about energy production methods, such as burning coal
versus using nuclear reactors.] [Assessment Boundary:
Students only analyze data provided. Merits only include
economic, safety, and environmental]
a hearing for a full range of positions
on a topic or issue; clarify ,
verify , or challenge ideas and
conclusions; and promote divergent
and creative perspectives.
SL.9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources
of information presented in diverse
media or formats (e.g., visually,
quantitatively, orally) evaluating the
credibility and accuracy of each
source.
RST.9-10.3 Follow precisely a
complex multistep procedure when
carrying out experiments, taking
measurements, or performing
technical tasks, attending to special
cases or
exceptions defined in the text.
Mathematics –
MP.3 Construct variable arguments
and critique the reasoning of others
MP.6 Attend to precision
A -REI.10 Represent and solve
equations and inequalities
graphically.
A .SSE Interpret the structure of
expressions.
A .CED Create equations that describe
numbers or relationships.
HS.PS-NP
SL.1.c Propel conversations by posing
and responding to questions that
relate the current discussion to
broader themes or larger ideas;
actively incorporate others into the
discussion; and clarify, verify, or
challenge ideas and conclusions.