Understanding energy

I cannot think of a better way to introduce the concept of transferring energy than the one described in this article. Many students are familiar with a sport in which you are required to h... See More

I cannot think of a better way to introduce the concept of transferring energy than the one described in this article. Many students are familiar with a sport in which you are required to hit an object (a ball) with another object (a bat). Anyone who has done this knows that there is a so called “sweet spot”, in which the swing feels the smoothest and the object tends flies the furthest. They also are familiar with the bad swings which result in a sore hand. This experience is a perfect way to help students understand how energy is transferred. The hurt wrist is a result of the energy, in the form of vibrations, not being completely transferred to the ball and consequentially, travels through the hand. The “sweet spot”, however, is the result of all the energy being transferred into the ball. In this 5 E learning module the students try to find the “sweet spot” of a meter stick. I specifically like this exploration because it demonstrates that the “sweet spot” doesn’t only exist in sporting equipment. It isn’t until the extension part of the lesson where the students investigate sports equipment. I definitely believe that this lesson will capture student’s interest. It is something that students can easily relate to, and also have experiences with.

An Activity for Sports Fans

This article addresses the transfer of energy in a piece of sports equipment. For the maximum transfer one has to make sure you hit ‘the sweet spot.’ The sound produced tell you that you h... See More

This article addresses the transfer of energy in a piece of sports equipment. For the maximum transfer one has to make sure you hit ‘the sweet spot.’ The sound produced tell you that you have achieved the maximum amount of energy transfer. This 5E lesson presented in detail allows students to determine where the ‘sweet spot’ of a meter stick is. This is an activity that students will really enjoy especially the sports fans.