Unit 6: Energy Forms and Changes
Duration of Days: 14
Students will know how to:
-Apply the law of conservation of energy to analyze and predict energy transformations in physical systems
-Use models to explain how energy is transferred between objects and within systems through work and heat
-Analyze and compare different forms of energy including kinetic, potential, thermal, chemical, electrical, and radiant energy
-Explain how heat transfer occurs through conduction, convection, and radiation using particle-level reasoning
-Analyze real-world energy systems to evaluate efficiency and energy loss
-Compare renewable and nonrenewable energy sources using data on availability, environmental impact, and efficiency
-Design and evaluate simple energy conversion systems using evidence-based reasoning
Core Topics
-Law of conservation of energy
-Energy transformations in systems
-Kinetic and potential energy relationships
-Heat transfer: conduction, convection, radiation
-Renewable vs nonrenewable energy resources
-Energy efficiency and energy loss
-Engineering design of energy conversion systems
NGSS Performance Expectations
HS-PS3-1 – Develop models to analyze energy transfer in systems
HS-PS3-2 – Apply conservation of energy to explain energy transformations
HS-PS3-3 – Design and evaluate energy conversion devices
HS-ESS3-1 – Evaluate environmental impacts of energy resource use
Essential Questions students will be able to answer:
-How is energy conserved and transformed in real-world systems?
-How does energy move through matter and change forms during interactions?
-How do conduction, convection, and radiation differ at the particle level?
-How do human energy choices affect the environment and society?
-How can energy efficiency be measured and improved in systems?
-How can engineering be used to design better energy conversion devices?
Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs):
-Developing and Using Models
-Analyzing and Interpreting Data
-Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
-Designing Solutions
-Constructing Explanations
Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs):
-Energy and Matter
-Systems and System Models
-Cause and Effect
-Stability and Change
-Unit test with multi-step energy system analysis
-Heat transfer investigations with explanation of particle motion
-Energy transformation modeling in mechanical and thermal systems
-Engineering design challenge (energy conversion device with evaluation of efficiency)
-Data analysis of renewable vs nonrenewable energy sources
-CER writing explaining conservation of energy in real-world systems
| Lesson # | Lesson Title | Duration of Days |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Laws of Energy and Energy Forms | 3 |
| 2 | Heat Transfer — Conduction, Convection, and Radiation | 4 |
| 3 | Energy Transformations and Conservation in Systems | 4 |
| 4 | Energy Resources, Efficiency, and Engineering Design | 3 |