Energy Activity Sheet 6 Name:_______
Read this passage from Ella Bowling at Madison County Middle School and answer the following questions.
Adventures in Energy Skate Park
Skateboarding has seen an immense growth in popularity over the last several years. What started as a way for surfers to kill time and sharpen their skills when the waves were not high enough for surfing has turned into an organized, competitive sport that boasts internationally known athletes and a million dollar industry. One way physics comes into play in the half-pipe is with the principle of conservation of energy. This principle states that energy cannot be added or subtracted from the original energy of a system. Energy can, however, be transformed, between forms. The primary forms of energy that skaters experience in the half pipe are potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential energy is stored energy that is related to height. When skaters are at the tops of the ramps, they have the highest amount of potential energy. Kinetic energy is energy of motion. The faster skaters move, the more kinetic energy they have. In a half pipe, energy is constantly transformed between potential (at the top) and kinetic (as they travel down the sides) as the skater goes back and forth between the ramps. However, they cannot continue this movement forever, due to the force of friction which acts against skaters, causing them to slow down unless they apply more force to their movements.
Questions
1. Why did skateboarding begin?
2. Write a definition for potential and kinetic energy.
3. Describe when potential and kinetic energy are at their highest in the half pipe. Use pictures to help.
4. What force acts against the skateboard and slows skaters down?
Credits
Activity Sheet 6 modified with materials from PhET (Bowling, 2008).
Read this passage from Ella Bowling at Madison County Middle School and answer the following questions.
Adventures in Energy Skate Park
Skateboarding has seen an immense growth in popularity over the last several years. What started as a way for surfers to kill time and sharpen their skills when the waves were not high enough for surfing has turned into an organized, competitive sport that boasts internationally known athletes and a million dollar industry. One way physics comes into play in the half-pipe is with the principle of conservation of energy. This principle states that energy cannot be added or subtracted from the original energy of a system. Energy can, however, be transformed, between forms. The primary forms of energy that skaters experience in the half pipe are potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential energy is stored energy that is related to height. When skaters are at the tops of the ramps, they have the highest amount of potential energy. Kinetic energy is energy of motion. The faster skaters move, the more kinetic energy they have. In a half pipe, energy is constantly transformed between potential (at the top) and kinetic (as they travel down the sides) as the skater goes back and forth between the ramps. However, they cannot continue this movement forever, due to the force of friction which acts against skaters, causing them to slow down unless they apply more force to their movements.
Questions
1. Why did skateboarding begin?
2. Write a definition for potential and kinetic energy.
3. Describe when potential and kinetic energy are at their highest in the half pipe. Use pictures to help.
4. What force acts against the skateboard and slows skaters down?
Credits
Activity Sheet 6 modified with materials from PhET (Bowling, 2008).
| energy_activity_sheet_6.doc |
