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Boat Bumps at the Lake

Investigate a model boat at a lakeside station. Compare travel times and collision results to explain how speed relates to energy.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-PS3-1

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What’s included

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

Details

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

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare boat speeds using travel times over the same distance.
Students use collision results as evidence that the same object has more energy when moving faster.
Students distinguish supported claims from claims the investigation cannot establish.

How to use

Read the investigation and graph together. Have students answer independently, then discuss which measurements support their energy explanations.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-PS3-1

Use evidence to explain that a faster object has more energy.

Preview

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Boat Bumps at the Lake

Use a model investigation to connect speed, energy, and motion.

A Lakeside Model

Read the investigation and graph. Use both to answer the questions.

Testing a Boat Near a Floating Dock

During a visit to a lake, a fourth-grade class wondered what could happen when a moving boat bumped a floating dock. They did not test real boats or docks. Instead, they built a small model at a lakeside learning station. Moving objects have energy. The class looked for evidence of that energy by measuring a change caused by a collision.

First, the students placed a long water tray on a level table. They added shallow water and a small plastic boat. A floating foam block represented the dock. They marked a straight, 40-centimeter course beside the tray. The foam block started at the finish line. A ruler beside the tray showed how far the block moved beyond that line.

Next, they gently pushed the boat before it reached the start line. Their hands left the boat before timing began. They timed its trip from the start line until it bumped the foam block at the finish line. They also measured the greatest distance the block moved from its starting position after the bump. Run A took 4 seconds, Run B took 2 seconds, and Run C took 1 second. Each boat trip covered the same 40 centimeters.

Between runs, students returned the block to its starting mark and waited for the water to become still. They used the same boat, foam block, water depth, and course each time. They changed how quickly they launched the boat. They repeated each kind of run twice more. Results stayed close to those shown. The graph shows the block's movement for one set of runs. No one touched the block during a run.