Worksheet

Rolling Ball Tests at the Potting Bench

Analyze a school garden ball-and-saucer investigation to explain how a faster-moving object has more energy.

Grade 4ScienceInteractive · Printable

Aligned to4-PS3-1

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What’s included

Single worksheet
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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 compare test results to explain that the same object has more energy when it moves faster.
Students use repeated observations to support a claim about speed and energy.
Students plan a fair comparison of an object's speed and its effects.

How to use

Read the investigation and graph together. Have students answer independently, then discuss why comparisons must use the same ball and test conditions.

Curriculum

NGSS standard covered

4-PS3-1

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

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Name Date

Rolling Ball Tests at the Potting Bench

Use garden investigation data to connect speed and energy.

At the Garden Workbench

Read the investigation. Use the graph to answer questions 1–5.

A Rolling Ball and a Plant Saucer

The school garden club uses a long, level potting bench for a motion investigation. Priya finds an empty plastic saucer, the shallow dish that usually sits under a plant pot. The club places the saucer on a clear part of the bench. A smooth wooden ball rolls into its side. The saucer slides forward without tipping.

The club wants to investigate how the ball's speed is related to its energy. Energy cannot be seen directly, so the students observe what happens when the moving ball hits something. They decide to measure how far the saucer slides after each bump. They also record how fast the ball moves just before it reaches the saucer.

An adult helps record the motion with a camera beside a measuring strip. In the slow run, the ball travels 20 centimeters in one second just before the bump. In the middle run, it travels 40 centimeters in one second. In the fast run, it travels 60 centimeters in one second. Traveling farther in the same amount of time means moving faster. The students use gentle pushes to produce the different speeds.

For every run, the club uses the same ball and the same empty saucer. Students put the saucer back on its starting mark and keep the bench surface dry and clear. They measure from the saucer's starting position to its resting position. A folded towel near the end catches the equipment if needed. The graph shows the saucer's sliding distance in the first run at each speed. The club saves these results before repeating the tests.

When the ball traveled 40 cm in one second, how far did the saucer slide? cm

Which first run provides evidence that the ball had the most energy before the bump?

A. The 20 cm run, because the saucer slid the shortest distance.
B. The 40 cm run, because its speed was between the others.
C. All three runs, because using one ball keeps its energy equal.
D. The 60 cm run, because the saucer slid the greatest distance.

Select the two comparisons that support the claim that the faster ball had more energy.

At 40 cm in one second, the ball moved the saucer farther than at 20 cm in one second.The ball was made of wood in every run.The garden club worked on a potting bench.At 60 cm in one second, the ball moved the saucer farther than at 40 cm in one second.

Why did the students use the same ball and empty saucer in every run?

A. To make the ball travel at the same speed each time.
B. To compare different speeds without also changing the objects.
C. To make the saucer slide the same distance each time.
D. To compare different objects without changing their speeds.

What claim can you make about this ball's speed and energy? Support your claim with results from two different speeds in the graph.

Check the Pattern

Use the repeated-test records and the first-run graph to answer questions 6–9.

The club repeated each speed two more times. The ball, saucer, starting mark, and bench surface stayed the same. These are all three saucer distances for each speed:

Ball travels 20 cm in one second: saucer slides 4 cm, 5 cm, 3 cm.
Ball travels 40 cm in one second: saucer slides 10 cm, 9 cm, 11 cm.
Ball travels 60 cm in one second: saucer slides 18 cm, 17 cm, 19 cm.

How do the repeated tests affect the claim that the faster ball had more energy?

A. They weaken it because no speed produced exactly the same distance each time.
B. They reverse it because the slowest ball moved the saucer farthest overall.
C. They strengthen it because the faster speeds consistently moved the saucer farther.
D. They leave it untested because each speed must use a different ball.

Sort the claims by whether the investigation supports them.

This ball had more energy at 60 cm in one second than at 20 cm in one second.At one speed, the saucer must always slide exactly the same distance.Every slow object has less energy than every fast object, even if the objects are different.Small differences between repeats did not remove the faster-ball pattern.

Supported by these tests	Not supported by these tests

Owen says, “The graph proves that the saucer moved 18 cm in one second.” What is the mistake?

A. The graph shows the saucer's distance, but not how long its slide took.
B. The graph shows the ball's distance after it passed the saucer.
C. The graph shows that the saucer slid only 6 cm in that run.
D. The graph shows the saucer's speed, but not the distance it slid.

Compare all the 60 cm-in-one-second tests with all the 20 cm-in-one-second tests. Which statement gives the strongest evidence that their results stayed separate?

A. The first fast test moved the saucer 18 cm.
B. Each speed was tested a total of three times.
C. The slow-test distances differed by 2 cm.
D. Every fast slide was longer than every slow slide.

Use the Evidence

Use the garden club's results to predict, evaluate, and plan.

10.

The club tries the same ball at 50 cm in one second. Everything else stays the same. Which saucer distance is the most reasonable prediction?

A. About 4 cm, like the slowest tests.
B. About 14 cm, between the middle and fastest tests.
C. About 25 cm, farther than the fastest tests.
D. About 50 cm, equal to the ball's one-second travel.

11.

For the new test in question 10, which two measurements are needed to check the prediction and its connection to the ball's speed?

The distance from the garden to the classroom.How far the ball travels in one second just before the bump.How far the saucer slides after the bump.The distance between two plants beside the bench.

12.

Another club has a much larger, heavier ball moving more slowly. Can this worksheet's results tell which club's ball has more energy?

A. Yes. The faster ball has more energy, even when the balls are different.
B. Yes. The heavier ball always has more energy, even without testing it.
C. No. These tests compared speeds of one ball, not energy in different balls.
D. No. Sliding distances cannot provide any evidence about a moving ball's energy.

13.

Plan a fair test of this wooden ball at two new speeds: 30 cm and 50 cm in one second. Name two things to keep the same, tell what to measure after each bump, and predict which speed will show more energy. Explain your prediction.