Students design and build devices to protect and accurately deliver dropped eggs. The devices and their contents represent care packages that must be safely delivered to people in a disaster area with no road access. Similar to engineering design teams, students design their devices using a number of requirements and constraints such as limited supplies and time. The activity emphasizes the change from potential energy to kinetic energy of the devices and their contents and the energy transfer that occurs on impact. Students enjoy this competitive challenge as they attain a deeper understanding of mechanical energy concepts.

This video segment, adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, presents basic concepts of physics behind booming sand dunes. See how surface tension affects potential and kinetic energy and how it all works together to create sound.

Students examine how different balls react when colliding with different surfaces, giving plenty of opportunity for them to see the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions, learn how to calculate momentum, and understand the principle of conservation of momentum.

In this activity, students examine how different balls react when colliding with different surfaces. Also, they will have plenty of opportunity to learn how to calculate momentum and understand the principle of conservation of momentum.

In this video Paul Andersen explains how the activation energy is a measure of the amount of energy required for a chemical reaction to occur. Due to the collision theory the activation energy requires proper energy and orientation of the colliding molecules. Do not miss the additional resources. [4:52]

The following video narrated by Paul Andersen explains how the energy, charge, and momentum in a system is conserved over time. [4:53]

Paul Andersen explains how energy is conserved within a system. In both macroscopic and microscopic collisions, the amount of energy before the collision is equal to the amount after. He then defines heat as energy transfer between objects with different temperatures. He explains how heat is transferred via conduction, convection, and radiation. [11:12]

In the following video Paul Andersen explains how the nucleon number and charge is conserved in all nuclear reactions and radioactive decay. Fission, fusion, alpha decay, beta decay, and gamma decay all conserve the number of neutrons and protons, as well as charge. [8:27]

In this video Paul Andersen explains how energy can enter and leave a system. The amount of energy a substance can receive through heating or lose through cooling is measured using the specific heat capacity. Take in the additional concept map, slideshow, and simulation. [8:19]

Paul Andersen explains how the law of conservation of energy applies to both energy and mass. Einstein showed that mass and energy are equivalent and that the amount of energy contained within matter can be calculated using the famous equation E=mc^2. [5:22]

In the following video Paul Andersen explains how energy can be transferred from one system to another. In a closed system the energy can be transferred as either work or heat. Thermal energy transfer is know as energy transfer through heat. During energy transfer the energy of the entire system is conserved. [4:49]

Mr. Andersen defines the terms energy, work, and power. He also uses a simple example to calculate both work and power. [3:34]

In the following video Paul Andersen explains how heat is the movement of energy from an object with a higher temperature to an object with lower temperature. Heat transfer can occur through conduction, convection, and radiation. [4:10]

In the following video Paul Andersen explains how the kinetic energy of an object if due to the motion of an object. Objects can have kinetic energy but they cannot have potential energy unless they are part of a system. [4:47]

In the following video Paul Andersen explains how the energy in a closed system can be converted from kinetic to potential to kinetic energy. Sample problems and a simulation is contained. [4:46]

In the following video Paul Andersen explains how mass can be converted to energy and energy can be converted to mass. [3:30]

In the following video Paul Andersen compares and contrasts mechanical and electromagnetic waves. Both types of waves transfer energy through oscillations but mechanical waves requires a medium. Several examples of each type of wave are included. [4:37]

The following video narrated by Paul Andersen explains how object interactions can add or remove mass or energy from a system. [2:14]

In this video Paul Andersen describes the relationship between energy and forces. When objects are directly touching electromagnetic forces can result in forces and energy exchange. When objects are not directly touching fields; gravitational, magnetic, and electric result in forces and energy and exchange. [5:29]

In this video, Paul Andersen explains how the conservation of charge applies to objects in a system. When a charged object induces charge or conducts charge to a neutral object, the net total of charge will not change. [6:07]