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A Swing Model in the Play Area

Analyze a playground swing model investigation and use repeated test 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, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students compare results from tests of the same object moving at different speeds.
Students use evidence to explain that a faster-moving object has more energy.
Students identify fair comparisons and limits of evidence in a speed investigation.

How to use

Read the passage and graph together. Have students answer independently, then discuss how repeated results support their explanations.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-PS3-1

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

Preview

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A Swing Model in the Play Area

Use test results to connect motion and energy.

Study the Swing Test

Read the passage. Use the graph and test notes to answer the questions.

Testing Beside the Swings

A fourth-grade class visited the playground to study moving objects. Beside the swings, their teacher set up a small model on a sturdy table. Two cords held a soft foam seat inside a frame. No one rode on this model. The teacher operated it while students watched from behind a marked line and recorded observations.

Energy allows objects to cause changes. A moving object can transfer energy to another object during a bump. To investigate this, the class placed a light foam block on a smooth tray. The swinging seat bumped the block at the lowest point of its path. Students measured how far the block traveled from its starting line before stopping.

The teacher used three seat speeds: 20, 40, and 60 centimeters per second. A sensor measured the seat’s speed just before each bump. A higher speed reading meant the seat was moving faster. Every test used the same seat, cords, foam block, and tray. The block started at the same line, and the seat struck it at the same place. The teacher caught the seat after the bump so it could not strike again.

The graph shows the first run at each speed. The class then repeated each speed twice with the same setup. At 20 centimeters per second, the block traveled 5 centimeters and then 4 centimeters. At 40 centimeters per second, it traveled 10 centimeters and then 9 centimeters. At 60 centimeters per second, it traveled 14 centimeters and then 15 centimeters. Students kept all results, including results that differed slightly.