Kinetic and Potential Energy

Lab Brief #13

🎯 Your mission

Understand the idea. Then look for it everywhere.

⚡ The twist

Speed isn't the same as force. Don't mix them up.

What you'll learn

Energy makes things happen. Moving things have kinetic energy. A ball at the top of a hill has potential energy.

Key words

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where does the energy go?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 3 · Read

Look at the new words. Can you say each one?

Step 2 of 3 · Observe

Look for something that changed. What is it?

Step 3 of 3 · Record

Circle the correct answer on your worksheet.

Question 1 of 2

What makes a ball go faster down a ramp?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

What happens when opposite poles of magnets meet?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔥 A bolt of lightning is 5 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

🎯

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: You use this every time you flip a light switch, ride a bike, or kick a ball.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Time how long a small ball rolls down something, then change the slope and try again.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “Show me something at home that uses this kind of energy.”

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

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