Energy

Lesson #2: What Is Energy?

Time Frame: 60 minutes

Please write the vocabulary on the board before each lesson.

Vocabulary
Energy - the ability to cause motion and change
Law of Conservation of Energy - energy can never be created or destroyed; it can be
changed into a different form, or transferred from one object to another

Learning Standards:
Science
Energy
1) The faster a given object is moving, the more energy it possess.
2) Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the
energy of that object.

Student will be able to:

1) Differentiate between matter and energy.
2) Describe the existence, based on observational evidence, of a correlation between
energy and speed.
3) Understand the difference between variables and constants.

Resources and Materials:

Item Amount
Science Journals
iPads
Glass beakers 20 (in bin)
Food coloring 1 box (in bin)
Kettle (not provided)
Ice (not provided)
Thermometer 5 (in bin)
Dye Dispersion Student Activity Sheet 25 (in bin)
*Ask your classroom teacher 1 week before this lesson to see whether they will provide
the kettle and ice. If not, talk to Molly about the kettle and obtain ice from Paresky.

Focus Activity: Discuss the three states of matter, especially in terms of the
movement (speed) of molecules in each state: solid, liquid, and gas. As a class,
discuss a simple form of energy - heat. Ask students to try to identify what state of
matter heat is. The class should conclude that heat does not fit into any of the states of
matter. This is because heat is energy, not matter.

Introduction: Continue the discussion to form a more refined definition of energy:

Energy is massless, but exists in interactions between matter. Energy that allows
objects to change or move is called kinetic energy. The faster an object changes or
moves, the more energy the object possesses. Relate this idea to the discussion in the
focus activity about the movement of molecules in each state of matter. Molecules
move slowest in a solid and fastest in a gas because they have the least energy in a
solid state and the most energy in a gaseous state. Increases in heat energy make ice
melt into water, and water evaporate into vapor. Similarly, decreases in heat energy
make water freeze into ice. Introduce students to the Law of Conservation of Energy:
Energy can be transferred from one object to another, or transformed from one type to
another, but energy can never be lost or created.

Activity: The purpose of this activity is to visually introduce students to the abstract
qualities of energy, specifically heat energy. Students should develop a basic
understanding of temperature, heat, and kinetic energy.

1) Split students into groups of 4 or 5.

2) In their groups, students will fill 4 separate beakers with 500 mL of water at 4
different temperatures (near boiling water, warm water, cold water, and ice
water), and set them up next to one another. Have students record the
temperature of the water in each beaker.
3) Students will place 2 drops of food coloring into each of the glasses at the same
time at the start of their stopwatch. Students should use the timer app on the
iPads as stopwatches. Once the dye has fully dispersed throughout the beaker,
students will record on their experiment sheets the amount of time it took.
4) Write variable and constant on the board. Variables are qualities that can be
changed during the experiment. Ask students to name the variables in this
experiment (temperature of the water, dye dispersion time). Constants are
qualities that are kept the same throughout the experiment. Ask students to
name the constants in this activity (volume of water, amount of food coloring).
5) Using the MetaCalculator graphing app on their iPads, students will graph their
results with the temperature of the water on the x-axis and the time necessary for
the food dye to disperse on the y-axis. Ask students to transcribe a rough sketch
of the graph into their science journals, and then describe any trends that they
see between temperature and dispersion time.
6) Challenge Activity: Have students predict the dispersion time for a fifth
temperature that was not tested during the experiment.
7) As a class, discuss the relationship between the temperatures and dispersion
times that students observed. Relate the discussion back to energy.

Teacher Explanation: Temperature is an average of the (kinetic) energy of the

particles in a sample of matter. Thus, an increase in temperature describes an
increase in the amount of heat energy in the water. As discussed in the focus
activity, an increase in heat energy leads to an increase in the movement of
molecules. Faster water molecules help disperse the food dye faster.

Closure: Have students write in their science notebooks: Where do you see energy in
your daily life?
Challenge question: Are there any objects that you know of that don't have energy?
Remember, energy is the ability to cause motion or change.

After students have finished thinking about these questions and writing in their science
notebooks, teachers can show this song about energy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_5oYuDY2qM

Assessment: experiment sheet, participation, science notebooks

Name:______________________________________ Date:_______________

Dye Dispersion Student Activity Sheet

Materials

Glass Beakers Food Coloring Thermometer Ice

Experimental Procedure: Read carefully before starting!

1. Set the 4 glass beakers next to one another. Fill the first beaker with 500 mL of iced
water. Fill the second beaker with 500 mL of cold tap water. Fill the third beaker with
500 mL of hot tap water. Fill the fourth beaker with 500 mL of hot water from the kettle.
Be careful when handling the hot water!
2. Use the thermometer to measure the temperature of the water in each beaker, and
record that value in your data table.
3. Add 2 drops of food coloring into each of the beakers. Drop the food coloring into the
middle of the water, not along the sides of the beakers.
4. Start the stopwatch when the food coloring is added, and measure the amount of time it
takes for the dye to fully spread throughout each of the beakers. Record the times in
your data table.

Variables are qualities that can be changed during the experiment. What are the variables in
this experiment?

Constants are qualities that are kept the same throughout the experiment. What are the
constants in this experiment?

What trends do you see in the graph? Describe any relationship you see between the
temperature of the water and the dispersion time of the dye. Why do you think this relationship
exists (in terms of energy)?