Objectives
Students will be able to:
- describe sources of different forms of energy
- classify different forms of energy in terms of sustainability, cost, and consumer feasibility
- sketch an energy diagram for a machine or set of machines
- compare and contrast different forms of energy given authentic constraints
- defend and critique choices in energy sources, conversions, and storage in a public forum
- Understand calorimetry and how it measures the heat of chemical reactions as well as heat capacity
- Find the amount of energy in a system using data of the temperature of the system
- Understand common misconceptions about energy and know what energy is and is not
- Relate kinetic and potential energy mathematically using the law of conservation of energy
- Generate and interpret graphs and charts to describe the velocity of the object
- Use photogates to determine kinetic energy of an object and various heights
- Identify sources of kinetic energy that can be used in their projects
- Relate kinetic and potential energy mathematically using the law of conservation of energy
- Generate and interpret graphs and charts to describe the velocity of the object
- Use photogates to determine kinetic energy of an object and various heights
- Identify sources of kinetic energy that can be used in their projects
TEKS Addressed
Common Alternative Conceptions and Student Struggles with Content
Some common misconceptions are listed below (Simanek, 2008):
- Energy is consumed/things “use up” energy (even on a roller coaster, the object will tend to slow down, but not because energy is consumed)
- Energy and force are synonymous
- An object at rest has no energy
- Definition of work (example question might be a waiter carrying a tray, but no work is done)
- Distance vs. displacement (how far an object on a track has traveled vs. vertical displacement in terms of how much kinetic or potential energy an object has)
References
Simanek, E. (2008). Didaktikogenic Physics Misconceptions. Retrieved December 1, 2015, from https://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/miscon.htm