As science teachers, we know that introducing students to abstract concepts like kinetic and potential energy can be a bit tricky. The challenge is finding ways to make these terms not just understandable but also relatable to the real world. In this blog, we’ll explore how to teach these fundamental ideas through a hands-on activity called “Siege Science.”
This resource uses catapult-building (it takes less than 5 minutes to build!) as a hands-on way to explore energy conversions, and we’ll cover key concepts such as the difference between potential and kinetic energy, using graphs to track energy, their relationship, and how these labs and experiments can bring these lessons to life.
Explaining the Difference Between Potential and Kinetic Energy
In the Siege Science activity, when students pull back the arm of their catapult, they’re storing potential energy in the stretched rubber bands. When they let go, that energy turns into kinetic energy, launching the projectile forward. This hands-on demo really helps students see how these forms of energy connect. I like this approach way more than the usual roller-coaster example because the students get to build the catapult themselves and experiment with different levels of energy in their own creations.
Field Testing Your Catapult Using A Graph
One of the best ways to help students understand energy transfer is to show them visually. A graph works great for this. In the Siege Science experiment, students can measure how far they pull back the catapult arm (which stores potential energy) and then track how far the projectile goes (which shows the kinetic energy). By plotting this on a graph, they can clearly see the link between how much energy was stored and how much kinetic energy was created.
In my Kinetic and Potential Energy resource, students need to field test their catapult as they’ve no idea where the “castle” is going to be placed. So, the more accurate they are with their measurement, the greater their chance of hitting the castle! They’ll be able to adjust their aim using their recorded data. The first team to hit the castle wins!
Understanding the Kinetic and Potential Energy Relationship
This activity is such a fun and effective way for students to learn because they get hands-on experience with how potential energy turns into kinetic energy. Building and testing their own catapults lets them actually see these concepts in action, making learning way more engaging. Plus, it encourages students to experiment, collect data, and think critically as they tweak their designs to improve results. This direct cause-and-effect relationship becomes evident through hands-on experience and data collection, reinforcing the theory in a practical way.
Running a Kinetic and Potential Energy Lab
A well-structured kinetic and potential energy lab can be the key to solidifying students’ understanding of these concepts. In the Siege Science activity, students engage in a step-by-step lab where they build a simple catapult using popsicle sticks and rubber bands. After constructing the device, they conduct multiple trials, changing the pull-back distance and measuring the projectile’s travel distance.
As they collect data, students can see the conversion of energy in real time, giving them a concrete understanding of how potential energy in the catapult is converted into kinetic energy. This lab also emphasizes the importance of scientific measurements, as students must record their results, calculate averages, and graph the relationship between potential and kinetic energy.
Bringing Energy to Life
Hands-on experiments are a great way to make these concepts real for students. The Siege Science catapult activity is a perfect example. By letting students build and test their own catapults, they can experiment with how energy transfer works in real life. They can change things like the tension of the rubber bands or the type of projectile and see how those changes affect energy and motion.
These kinds of experiments also push students to think critically and solve problems. As they tweak their catapult to improve accuracy, they’re using their understanding of energy transfer to figure out how to get the most potential energy converted into kinetic energy. This kind of hands-on learning keeps students engaged and makes sure they’re not only grasping the concepts but having fun while doing it.