Science Reasoning Center - Energy

There were three Energy passages in the Legacy version that targeted students' science reasoning abilities. They have each been converted to a Version 2 activity. We have included the links below:

Energy on an Inclined Plane
This passage describes an experiment in which students use a motion detector to study the changes in the kinetic and potential energy of a cart that rolls up and down an inclined plane. Information is presented in the form of a position-time graph, a velocity-time graph, a figure and a table. Questions target a student's ability to read values off of graphs, to use information from one graph to answer questions about another graph or a table, to draw conclusions that are consistent with the presented data, and to use presented data to predict the result of performing an additional trial.



Hot Wheels Stopping Distance
This passage describes an experiment in which students release a Hot Wheels car from various locations along an inclined track and measure its speed at the bottom and the distance it slides upon hitting a box. Data is presented in the form of two figures and a data table. Questions target a student's ability to understand an experimental design, to identify the effect (both qualitatively and quantitatively) of one variable upon another variable, to combine information from two figures or a figure and a table to make predictions and draw conclusions, to extrapolate from data in a table or a figure, and to use provided data to evaluate a claim.



The Bat-Ball Collision
This passage describes a spring model for explaining the collsion between a bat and ball in baseball. Two graphs, an equation and a diagram are used to present information about the transfer and the transformation of energy that occurs during the collision. Questions target a student's ability to make predictions based on an equation, to select values from a graph, to reason towards conclusions that are consistent with a model, and to combine information from two data presentations in order to identify an appropriate conclusion.