Lesson Plan Title: Transformations: The Many Forms of Energy
Concept/Topic: How many ways can Energy Exists and How is Energy Conserved?
Standards:
SC(9-12) Physical Science Standard 8. Relate the laws of conservation of energy to
transformations of potential energy and kinetic energy.
MA(9-12) Algebra Standard 4. Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide
the solution of multistep problems: choose and interpret units consistently in formulas.
Specific Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Explain the relationship between energy and work
2. Define and provide examples of potential energy, kinetic energy, chemical
energy, radiant energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy
3. Calculate kinetic energy and potential energy
4. Identify and describe transformations of energy
5. Explain the law of conservation of energy.
Required Materials:
Power Point, Chart paper, Markers, Smart Board, Marbles, Milk Carton, Inclined Plane
(Ramp), Textbook (Holt Physical Science, 2006)
Anticipatory Set:
The lesson will start with by asking students are series of probing questions such as:
1. Today we will begin our unit of energy; can anyone tell me what energy is? I will
stop and give wait time for student responses.
2. I will then state the objectives for the lesson
3. Students will be given colored paper and taught how to make a KWL chart .
4. The students will jot down 3 things that they know about energy in the K
column.
5. Students will do a 3minute preview of the chapter on energy and jot down at
least 4 questions that they want answered in the W column.
6. I will demonstrate a potential energy activity and ask questions.
a. I will hold a bouncy ball in each hand
b. Raise one hand as high as I can and the other lower by about 6 inches off
the floor.
c. I will ask students to use what they know about potential energy and tell
me which ball has more energy.
d. I will have the students watch as the balls bounce back up off the floor to
see which ball bounces higher and therefore had more potential energy
e. The balls will be dropped at the same time
f. The students will decide which ball bounced the highest
g. I will discuss the activity with the students and the definition of potential
energy and introduce kinetic energy as the movement the balls
experienced when they were dropped.
h. As the kids ponder how energy was transferred and how much work each
ball had to do, I will begin the lesson.
Procedures:
1. I will start the lesson with direct, implicit teaching using the attached power
point on chapter 12 Energy.
2. Students will use their KWL chart to take notes in the L section of the chart.
3. I will first start off with a working definition of energy and discuss the energy
comes in the form of light, sound, and heat.
4. I will also inform the students that we can calculate energy and the SI unit for
energy is the Joule (J).
5. I will then insert 3 pictures for the students to identify the types of energy and
we will add more examples using the smart board.
6. I will then discuss what work is and have the students to compare using their
response boards the left side of the room will give me a workable one-word
definition of energy and the right side will give me their one – word definitions.
From those definitions I will draw the terms together and explain that work must
be done to transfer energy.
7. Using the power point prepared for the lesson, I will discuss the other forms of
energy and give examples of each. Students will be introduced to the formulas
for calculating PE and KE. I will led them into the calculations by explaining that
PE= mgh PE stands for Potential energy measured in Joules (J) m= mass
measured in (kg), g = gravitational constant 9.8m/s2, h= height measured in
meters and Kinetic energy, using the formula: KE= ½ MassV2, Once again m=
mass measured in kg and v = velocity measured in meters per second. Students
must understand that they have to take ½ of the mass and square the velocity
before multiplying it.
8. I will break the equations down to help the students understand where to input
the units in order to solve the problems:
9. Students will be given problems to work as a whole class and report the answers
using their response boards. I will move around the room checking for correct
answers and helping the students with calculations. Once the students have
reached 80% mastery, we will tie the lesson up discussing the power point and
looking at pictures of the roller coaster and the “pop-up” and discuss how energy
change forms and is able to change back.
10. I will then discuss the Law of Conservation of energy.
11. The lesson will end with the students completing the KWL chart in groups and
reporting out to the entire class. The final portion of the lesson will be the exit
slip, where the students will complete a Concept map on energy.
Guided Practice/Monitoring:
Students will complete several activities
Activity 1
1. Teacher will set up a demonstration of rolling three different sized marbles down
an inclined plane. Place the bottom section of a milk carton at the bottom of the
ramp to catch the marble and measure the distance that it moves the carton.
Pre Activity Questions:
1. Who can tell me the meaning of work?
2. What is mechanical energy?
3. Which marble could have more mechanical energy? (sitting on flat plane)
4. If I put the marbles up on the inclined plane, would they have energy? Why?
This energy is called potential energy: (PE) Energy at the point of release or stored
energy. The energy of a moving object is Kinetic energy. (KE) PE changes to KE as the
marble rolls down the ramp.
5. Which marble do you think has the most PE?
6. I will ask students to predict how many centimeters each marble will move the milk
carton, and which marble will move it the most. (write on a piece of paper)
7. I will demonstrate one marble and record the distance the milk carton was moved.
Repeat five times and take the average distance. Demonstrate the second and third
marbles using the same process.
Compare student’s predictions with outcomes.
8. Which marble had the most energy? Why?
9. What would happen if the smaller marble was let go at twice the height of the larger
one? Why? (Demonstrate)
Activity #2
Potential and Kinetic Energy: Jumping Jacks
1. Have students assume a standing X position, with arms above their shoulders
in a wide V and legs apart in an inverted V.
2. Tell them to hold the position, and explain that they are storing potential
energy, just waiting to be converted into kinetic energy -- energy in motion.
3. Allow them to do a jumping jack. Explain that, as they move, they're creating
kinetic energy; at each pause their bodies are holding potential energy.
Closure:
The teacher will use the smart board to do a concept map of energy with the students.
The map will start with the term energy, then the next bubble will have the definition of
energy, the next bubble will show that there are six forms to be discussed and then
there will be six bubbles on the map that correlates to the six forms of energy discussed.
Each form of energy will have its own bubble with a one to three word definition in it,
followed by bubbles with examples, formulas, and SI units. In small groups, the students
will be required to complete the L section of the KWL chart. They will use chart paper
and a marker to report out to the whole class. Each student in the group will be assigned
a role to ensure that everyone participates. Students with special needs will be
randomly assigned to groups where they will take active roles. While in groups, students
will also be given a total of 6 problems to calculate the PE and KE. Problems will be
checked for accuracy and students will place problems on the board and explain.
Students will submit completed KWL charts as exit slips when the bell rings
Assessment: Students will be required to have 80% accuracy on each assessment,
whether it is a quiz or on the final test.
1. Explain the relationship between energy and work: Students should be able to
develop and provide a working definition of energy and describe that in order for
energy to occur work must be done, movement must occur.
2. Define and provide examples of potential energy, kinetic energy, chemical
energy, radiant energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy
Students will be provided with a matching test where they will have to match a
statement, definition, examples and/or pictures with the forms of energy.
3. Calculate kinetic energy and potential energy
Students will be given 3 problems to calculate PE and 3 problems to calculate KE.
They must show all of their work and the answers must include the correct SI
unit for energy.
4. Identify and describe transformations of energy. Explain the law of
conservation of energy.
Students will be given a diagram of a “Pop up” and asked to describe when the
baseball has potential energy and when it has kinetic energy The will explain
how the energy moves from one form to another. The students will also be given
a picture of a baseball heading towards a man with a bat and asked the following
questions:
1. What type of energy does the flying ball have?
2. What type of energy does the man holding that bat have?
3. When the ball hits the bat what happens to the ball?
4. What type of sound is heard? Is that energy?
5. When the ball hits the bat and the cracking sound is heard, how does
the ball feel? If the answer is hot, what type of energy is that?
The students should explain that the ball had kinetic energy and that the man with the
bat had potential energy. They should go on to say that when the bat hits the ball;
energy is transferred from the bat to the ball and produces sound and thermal energy
when the bat and ball are engaged. The final question will be to explain the Law of
Conservation of Energy using specific terms such as: transferred, neither created, nor
destroyed, energy.
Adaptations (For Students with Special Needs):
Students will be given a series of pictures and labels. The teacher will work in small
groups with students to match the pictures with the labels. The labels will include the
following forms of energy with one word definitions: Radiant energy, electrical energy,
chemical energy, kinetic energy, potential energy, and mechanical energy. The pictures
will include: pictures of the sun, bolts of lightning, food, roller coaster with people
coming down the coaster, ball sitting on a table, and a machine.
When students have completed that activity with 80% proficiency, they will be given a
cut and paste activity with similar pictures and the same one word labels to complete
and submit towards the end of class.
Extensions (For Advanced Students):
Students will be divided into groups of 4 to develop a power point to present to the
class. They will be required to have 10 to 15 slides; they must include all six types of
energy discussed in class and provide examples of each one. The slides must include
audio and visuals appropriate for high school- aged students and must be approved by
teacher before the presentation. The activity should appeal to all learning types: visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic.
Possible Connections to Other Subjects:
This lesson can be tied into mathematics standard MA2010(9-12) Algebra by using units
to understand problems and guide the solution of multistep problems. When calculating
gravitational potential energy problems, the students will be given the formula PE=
mgh. The students will have to break the equation down to understand where to input
the units in order to solve the problems:
Step 1: PE= mgh
PE stands for Potential energy measured in Joules (J) m= mass measured in (kg), g =
gravitational constant 9.8m/s2, h= height measured in meters
Step 2
Students must read the problems with the teacher and determine what is being asked. If
the problem asks the students to solve for PE, then they must be able to look into the
problem for the mass in kg and the height in meters. Once that is found they will be able
to input the numbers and units with the gravity constant and solve using PE=mgh.
Students will also follow the same process to solve for Kinetic energy, using the formula:
KE= ½ MassV2, Once again m= mass measured in kg and v = velocity measured in meters
per second. Students must understand that they have to take ½ of the mass and square
the velocity before multiplying it.
Doing a concept map of energy and then writing a descriptive paragraph is also a
connection to Language Arts and Writing.
Reflections:
This lesson plan was used over 5 days to a classroom of 27 regular education a students
and 5 special education students over the period of 5days. The students were taught
how to use the graphic organizers and were quizzed after each concept. The best part of
the lesson (or where it seems like the students comprehended the most was when I
used the smart board, KWL charts, and the concept map. The final test was an essay test
where the kids were given the following:
Identify and describe transformations of energy. Explain the law of conservation of
energy.
Students will be given a diagram of a “Pop up” and asked to describe when the
baseball has potential energy and when it has kinetic energy The will explain how
the energy moves from one form to another. The students will also be given a
picture of a baseball heading towards a man with a bat and asked the following
questions:
6. What type of energy does the flying ball have?
7. What type of energy does the man holding that bat have?
8. When the ball hits the bat what happens to the ball?
9. What type of sound is heard? Is that energy?
10. When the ball hits the bat and the cracking sound is heard, how does
the ball feel? If the answer is hot, what type of energy is that?
The students should explain that the ball had kinetic energy and that the man with the
bat had potential energy. They should go on to say that when the bat hits the ball;
energy is transferred from the bat to the ball and produces sound and thermal energy
when the bat and ball are engaged. The final question will be to explain the Law of
Conservation of Energy using specific terms such as: transferred, neither created, nor
destroyed, energy. The students really enjoyed the activities. Although the lessons did
take some time with other school interruptions, overall it went great.
All of the students with the exception of 5 (considerably advanced) students took this
final test and drew a concept map first, then started the test.
Tests Statistics: Test Grades after lesson plan was executed
A- 11
B- 9
C- 5
D- 4
E- 2