Bump, Crash, Transfer! Energy in Motion at the Bumper Car Arena
Shared by A STEM Educator
Students will be able to plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object (NGSS 4-PS3-3), demonstrating that faster-moving objects transfer more energy during collisions.
Lesson Overview
Students investigate how the speed of bumper cars affects the energy transferred during collisions, using hands-on marble and ramp investigations to build evidence-based explanations anchored in the real-world context of an amusement park.
Materials
- Marble ramps (foam pool noodles cut in half lengthwise, 1 per group)
- Marbles — 3 sizes: small, medium, large (1 set per group)
- Metric rulers (1 per group)
- Masking tape
- Paper cups (target objects, 2 per group)
- Graph paper or printed data sheets
- Pencils and colored pencils
- Bumper car video clip (30–60 seconds, teacher device + projector)
- Sticky notes (2 colors per student)
- Science notebooks
- Optional: spring scales for mass measurement
Scaffolded Task Progression
A) Draw a quick sketch of the setup below. Label: ramp, marble, cup target.B) Predict: If you roll the marble from the TOP of the ramp vs. the MIDDLE, which trial will push the cup farther? Circle your prediction and write 1 sentence explaining WHY you think so. [ Interactive graph / diagram — available in the full lesson ]
Roll the small marble from the MIDDLE of the ramp 3 times. Each time, measure how far the cup moves (in cm) using your ruler. Record below. Then repeat from the TOP of the ramp.
| Ramp Height | Trial 1 (cm) | Trial 2 (cm) | Trial 3 (cm) | Average (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle | ||||
| Top |
A) Calculate the average for each height.
B) Was your prediction correct? Write 1 sentence using your data as evidence.
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