Energy Pie Chart

​Energy Skate Park Lab

Objectives :
1] See examples of potential and kinetic energy
2] Examine Conservation of Energy with and without Friction
3] Examine Bar Graphs and Pie Charts representing Energy Transformations

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​Energy Skate Park Lab

Goto sim at : Energy Skate Park: Basics - Conservation of Energy | Kinetic Energy | Potential Energy - PhET Interactive Simulations (colorado.edu)

1] Click "Play"

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​Energy Skate Park Lab

Goto sim at : Energy Skate Park: Basics - Conservation of Energy | Kinetic Energy | Potential Energy - PhET Interactive Simulations (colorado.edu)


2] Click on the "Friction" tab

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Goto sim at : Energy Skate Park: Basics - Conservation of Energy | Kinetic Energy | Potential Energy - PhET Interactive Simulations (colorado.edu)


PART 1 - NO FRICTION

3] Set Friction slider to 0, click on Pie Chart, Bar Graph, and Speed

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Goto sim at : Energy Skate Park: Basics - Conservation of Energy | Kinetic Energy | Potential Energy - PhET Interactive Simulations (colorado.edu)



4] Set skater at top of ramp and hit play
5] Notice what happens on bar graph, pie chart, and speedometer as skater passes through the bottom of ramp

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Multiple Choice

Without friction, does the skater's potential energy get completely converted into kinetic energy when she is at the bottom of the ramp?

• yes

• no

Multiple Choice

As the skater is riding back up the opposite side of the half-pipe, what is her kinetic energy [when she is at the bottom] converted to?

• back to potential

• remains kinetic

6] Allow skater to travel to the top of the other side of the half-pipe
7] As skater travels back down, hit pause when she is halfway between the top and bottom of the half-pipe

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Multiple Select

WITHOUT FRICTION : When the skater is halfway between the top and bottom of the half-pipe, what forms of energy does she possess? [ select all that apply ]

• kinetic

• potential

• thermal

Multiple Select

Does the skater's TOTAL ENERGY ( in gold ) ever change?

• yes

• no

PART 2 - WITH FRICTION


8] Set the friction slider to roughly 25% past "None" [ see images to right ]
7] Hit "Play" and allow skater to travel back and forth through the half-pipe while observing graphs and speedometer

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Multiple Choice

WITH FRICTION : Is the total energy still the same? [ add up the green and orange bars in the bar graph - does it look like it would be the same height as the gold bar? ]

• yes

• no

Multiple Choice

WITH FRICTION : When friction is present, does the Law of Conservation of Energy stop being true?

• yes

• no

9] Set the friction slider to roughly 25% past "None" [ see images to right ]
10] Hit "Play" and allow skater to travel back and forth through the half-pipe while observing graphs and speedometer

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Multiple Choice

How do you see the Thermal Energy ( due to FRICTION ) change as she goes back and forth across the half-pipe?

• increase

• decrease

11] Allow skater to come to rest and observe the final state of the graphs

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Multiple Choice

Is the total energy still the same?

• yes

• no

PART 3 - BUMPY HALF-PIPE

12] Select the asymmetric half-pipe ( one with lump in the middle ) that is at the bottom-right and set FRICTION slider back to zero
13] Set the skater on the left-side of the ramp just below the height of the lump in the middle - hit play and observe if she makes it over the lump or not

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Multiple Choice

If the situation to the left involved FRICTION, would she make it as far up the LUMP in the middle of the half-pipe?

• yes

• no

PART 4 - PLAYGROUND

12] Choose "Playground" tab at bottom of sim ( next to the house icon )
13] Create the uneven half-pipe seen in the image to the right - set the skater at the top of the left side

*Keep Friction at ZERO

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Multiple Choice

What is about to happen?

• she'll stay on the half-pipe

• she'll fly off the other end

• she'll stop in the middle/bottom

PART 4 - PLAYGROUND




14] What will happen when you hit "play"?

*Yep, she sails off the other end...

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Multiple Select

Why does she fly off the other end of the half-pipe? [ select all that apply ]

• she has too much energy

• she starts with too much potential energy

• we are ignoring friction here

• the track is too short on the other side from where she starts

Poll

Did this activity help you understand the concept of Conservation of Energy better?

• yes

• no

• maybe