Name:

Period:

Skateboard Energy Project

Website: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/legacy/energy-skate-park-basics
Directions:
1. Click the boxes next to Bar Graph, Pie Chart, Grid, and Speed.
1b. What two types of energy does the pie chart show?

1c. What four types of energy can the bar graph display?

2. Place the skater on the ramp at a height of 4 meters (h = 4 m).

2a. As the skater goes back and forth, what is the max height he reaches on either
side of the ramp?

2b. Watch the energy bar graph. Draw a picture of the graph when the skater is at
his max height. Draw another graph of the skater when he is at the bottom of the

ramp.

2c. What can you say about the Kinetic, Potential, and Total energy of the skater at
each of these points? (Where is kinetic energy greatest/least? Where is potential
energy greatest/least? What happens to total energy?)

3. Watch the speedometer and the bar graph on the screen as the skater moves up
and down the ramp. Is the speed of the skater related to his kinetic energy? Explain.
(You may want to pause the simulation at several points to get a better look.)

4. Grab the skater with your mouse and move him to different positions on the
screen. What causes the potential energy of the skater to increase? Does this affect
his kinetic energy?

5a. There is a sliding bar labeled Skater Mass. Try moving it back and forth and
watching the bar graph. How does changing the skaters mass affect the skaters
kinetic energy? Potential energy? Total energy?

5b. You should have noticed that kinetic energy increases with mass, but what
happens to the max speed?

6. Based on your observations, which two things affect an objects kinetic energy?
How do you know?

7. Which two things affect an objects potential energy? Explain your reasoning.

8. On a separate sheet of paper, write a list of rules summarizing your findings

about kinetic, potential, and total energy. When is kinetic energy the greatest?
When is it zero? What about potential energy? Total Energy?