• Gain experience with the concepts of energy transformations, and machines.
• Observe, describe, and hypothesize about physical phenomena produced.
• Build and describe what happens when a battery operates.
• Describe what makes up a battery.
• Identify the energy changes that take place when a battery is connected to different devices.
• Apply experimental design techniques to plan and conduct investigations.
• Evaluate design solutions.
• Make accurate predictions and draw conclusions based on data on tables and graphs.
• Describe the nature of forces and how they act on objects.
• Describe the relationship between mass and weight.
• Explore relationship between force and elasticity.
• Observe the properties of sliding friction.
• Gain experience with the concept of independent and dependent variables.
• Gain experience with the relationship with the arrangement of batteries as an energy source to the force/power available.
• Explore relationships that exist between the simple machines and force.
• Compare the efficiency of different systems.
• Explore motion of various objects with relation to speed, force, potential and kinetic energy, and friction.
• Use measurement in the context of scientific investigations.
• Apply mathematics in the context of science.
• Record and graph data concretely, pictorially, and symbolically to discover relationships.
• Acquire the vocabulary associated with energy, machines, and motions.
• Use scientific thinking processes to conduct investigations and build explanations:  observing, communicating, organizing, relating and inferring.
• Work collaboratively and relate knowledge to new experiences.
• Understand science safety and follow safe practices.

Assessments:

• Lab experiments
• Performance assessments
• Reflective journals
• Teacher created assessments
• End of unit projects
• Rubrics
• Checklists
• Homework/Class work
• Teacher observations

Energy,
Machines,
and Motion

Science and
Technology Concepts
Middle School Module

Content:  Physical Science
Develop students’ understanding of properties of energy, machines, and motion.

• Energy can be converted from one form to another.
• Different forces exist and act on bodies in different ways.
• A battery consists of two separate metal electrodes immersed in an ionic solution.
• Batteries store a limited amount of energy and supply energy to operate a device.
• The electrical energy that a battery supplies is the result of chemical reactions between the electrodes and the electrolyte in the battery.
• Different devices use energy at different rates.
• Graphing is a tool that can be used to analyze data, show relationships, and can help formulate accurate predictions.
• Force is a push or a pull and is measured in defined units.
• Measuring the gravitational force on a object relates to weight; the amount of material in an object refers to mass.
• Friction is the force that resists motion between two surfaces in contact with each other.
• Work is a measurable product of a force times the distance over which the force acted.
• Energy transformations take place when forces do work on objects.
• Machines can decrease the magnitude of the effort force to do work by increasing the effort distance.
• The efficiency of a given machine varies according to how the machine is set up or used.
• The process of technological design can be used to identify, evaluate, and communicate solutions to problems based on human needs.
• Scientific experimentation is a process used to develop understanding of the natural world.
• The speed of an object changes when an unbalanced force acts on it
• Energy is conserved in a closed system.

Internet Links:
http://www.stcms.si.edu/ce/ce.htm

pde.state.pa.us/k12/lib/k12/scitech.doc

education-world.com/
standards/national/science/index.shtm

umtsd.org/Science_list

Planned Instruction