https://mysteryscience.com/energy/mystery-4/energy-engineering/35?r=58343452#slide-id-0
There are two kinds of energy: potential and kinetic. Potential energy is energy that is stored and can be motivated to use, such as a car on a hill. Kinetic energy is energy that is already in motion, such as a basketball being thrown. In this experiment, students will construct a reaction that causes them to have to consider where potential energy is and how to convert it to kinetic energy.
Potential Kinetic energy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Supplies:
- Chain reaction starter kit handout
- marble corral handout
- scissors
- tape
- 1 paperclip
- marker
- ruler
- rubber band
- Dixie cup
- larger cup
Instructions:
- On the ramp handout, cut on the THICK black lines
- Fold the solid lines and cut on the dotted lines
- Fold in half where the diamond is located and create a triangle and make two cuts to cut it out
- On the tilt platform, fold side flaps in and the back flap up and over
- secure this with your paper clip
- line up ramp and tilt platform and tape
- set tilt ramp on larger cup and tape to secure
- To make a lever, place the marker in the center of the ruler (like a seesaw) and rubber band together
- The lever needs to touch the tilt platform. Discuss resolutions to make this happen. We moved the marker to the end of the ruler, rather than the middle
- fold the marble corral handout and place the dixie cup at the end of the ramp with the marble corral underneath and around it
- Place the marble at the top of the tilt platform and test it out!
Discussion:
- Where is the potential energy? The marble has potential energy before it is hit with the ruler
- Where is the kinetic energy? The lever being pushed, the marble rolling down the ramp, and the dixie cup being moved all create kinetic energy
- how could you make the cup move further? How would you cause the marble to have more kinetic energy to be transferred to the cup?