Worksheet

Collision Clues at the Corner Bookbindery

Use toy-cart collision data from a neighborhood book repair shop to ask testable questions and predict changes in motion, sound, and shape.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-PS3-3

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What’s included

Single worksheet
Auto-graded online
1 NGSS standard
Printable answer key
13 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 4
Subject: Science
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students use collision observations to predict changes in motion, sound, and shape.
Students ask testable questions about energy when objects collide.
Students support a claim about a collision with recorded evidence.

How to use

Read the shop investigation together and check the graph labels. Have students work independently, then discuss which observations support their energy predictions.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-PS3-3

Ask questions and predict what happens to energy when objects collide.

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Collision Clues at the Corner Bookbindery

Use collision data to ask questions and make predictions about energy.

1. Investigate the Shop Model

Read the investigation and graph. Use the evidence to answer each question.

A Model for Moving Books

At a busy city corner, a bookbindery repairs books with loose pages and damaged covers. Workers move stacks of books on small delivery carts. Imani's class builds a model to investigate what could happen if one cart bumps another. The students use lightweight toy carts on a clear section of floor, away from the shop's walking path.

A short ramp leads to a level track. The class releases a cart without pushing it. A lower starting mark gives a slower arrival. A higher mark gives a faster arrival. The rolling cart strikes a second cart that starts at rest at a marked spot on the level track. Students call this second cart the target.

The students change the starting mark. They keep the carts, track surface, target starting spot, and measuring method the same. After each collision, they measure how far the target travels before stopping. They reset the setup and repeat each speed three times.

In each test, the incoming cart slows during the collision, the target starts moving, and students hear a click. Moving objects have energy. The class uses changes in motion and sound as clues about what happens to that energy.

Which comparison is supported by the graph?

A. The slow tests had a greater spread of distances than the fast tests.
B. Each fast test moved the target farther than each slow test did.
C. The target traveled the same distance within each speed group.
D. The second trial moved the target farthest in both speed groups.

How much farther was the shortest fast-test distance than the longest slow-test distance? cm

Select the two changes in motion that are evidence that energy passed from the incoming cart to the target.

The incoming cart slowed during the collision.The target was placed at a marked spot before the test.The target began moving when it was struck.The track stayed on the same section of floor.

The target was at rest before the collision. What best explains why it started moving?

A. The target received energy from the measuring tape.
B. The target gained energy while waiting at the mark.
C. The target received energy from the level floor.
D. The target gained energy from the incoming cart.

Why are three trials at each speed more useful than one trial at each speed?

A. Later trials make the incoming cart carry more energy.
B. Repeated trials show whether a pattern holds despite small differences.
C. Repeated trials replace the need to measure the target's travel.
D. Later trials make the two speed groups travel similar distances.

2. Ask Questions Scientists Can Test

Use the shop model to plan questions and measurements about collisions.

The graph records motion, but the students also heard clicks. Which new question would help them investigate another clue about energy?

A. How does arrival speed affect the loudness of the collision?
B. How does arrival speed affect the target's travel distance?
C. How does the track's color affect the shop window's appearance?
D. How does the measuring tape's length affect its storage space?

Plan a new collision question. Keep the incoming cart and its arrival speed the same, but change the target to a heavier cart. Write a testable question about how far the target moves after the collision.

Sort the questions by whether the existing graph can answer them.

Did fast arrivals move the target farther than slow arrivals?Were fast collisions louder than slow collisions?Did the target travel the same distance in the three slow tests?Would a heavier target travel farther than a lighter target?

Answerable from the graph	Needs new measurements

A student adds a paper cushion to the target and also uses a slower arrival speed. The target travels less far. How should the class improve the test to find out what the cushion changes?

A. Use a fast arrival without a cushion and a slow arrival with a cushion.
B. Use different target carts and different arrival speeds for the two fronts.
C. Compare cushioned and uncushioned fronts at the same arrival speed.
D. Compare two cushioned fronts using two different arrival speeds.

10.

The class asks, “Does a faster arrival make a louder collision?” Which measurement best answers that question?

A. Measure each cart's travel distance with a tape after impact.
B. Measure each cart's weight with a scale before impact.
C. Measure each cart's travel time with a timer before impact.
D. Measure each collision's loudness with a sound meter at a fixed spot.

3. Predict and Explain

Read the new test notes. Use them to make a prediction and support a claim.

The class next compares two target fronts: a stiff cardboard insert and a folded-paper insert. Both setups have the same total weight. Students use the same incoming cart, starting mark, track, and target starting spot. With the stiff front, the target travels 18 cm, the front keeps its shape, and students hear a louder click. With the folded-paper front, the target travels 10 cm, the paper bends, and students hear a softer click.

11.

The class repeats the test with a fresh folded-paper insert. Based on the notes, what is the best prediction compared with the stiff-front setup?

A. The target will likely travel farther, with less bending of its front.
B. The target will likely travel the same distance, with a louder click.
C. The target will likely travel less far, with more bending of its front.
D. The target will likely travel farther, with a louder click.

12.

The class wants to learn more about energy going into bending paper during a collision. Which follow-up question best extends the new test?

A. How does the number of paper folds affect bending and target travel?
B. Which front made the louder click in the completed comparison?
C. How far did the target travel in the completed stiff-front test?
D. Which front kept its shape in the completed comparison?

13.

A student claims, “The target's travel distance is not the whole story of energy in these collisions.” Do the new test notes support this claim? Use at least two observations to explain.