April 18th

We are about ready to finish up the lab on Passing Energy Along. Below are the conclusion questions that go along with the data from today and/or yesterday.

Question #1:  Is the height of the ramp or the length of the ramp more important in determining the speed the ball when it reaches the bottom of the ramp?   What evidence do you have to support your claim?

Question #2:  Using your graph, how far would you predict the cup would slide if you raised the height of the ramp by one more block?

Question #3:  Compare your two graphs.  Where does the golf ball have its

greatest gravitational potential energy?  What evidence are you using to support your decision?

Question #4:  For the same ramp height, which has more gravitational potential energy, the solid golf ball or the hollow golf ball?  What evidence is there to support your decision?”

Question #5: A stream of water starts high in the foothills, flows down through the hills and into the flatlands at the base of the foothills.  If the same water made the trip from the top of the foothills through a large smooth pipe, it would be moving much faster when it reached the flatlands than the stream water does.  Use the concepts of energy transformation and energy transfer to explain how the water in a stream can move downhill without speeding up.