Law of Conservation of Energy Lab Report Instructions: In Part One of the Law of Conservation of Energy lab, you will research the law of conservation of energy in a skate park simulation. In Part Two of the Law of Conservation of Energy lab, you will investigate the law of conservation of energy while using the engineering design process to design your own skate park ramp in a skate park simulation. Record your observations and work in the lab report below. You will submit your completed report for both Part One and Part Two of the lab. Name and Title: Include your name, your instructor's name, the date, and the name of the lab. Objective(s): The purpose of this lab is to explore the law of conservation of energy and apply the engineering design process to design a model that demonstrates the law of conservation of energy. Part One: Research the Energy Skate Park Basics: Intro Simulation Instructions: 1. Select the Intro Simulation located at the bottom of the simulation window. 2. Once the Intro Simulation loads, select all of the following from the options located on the right-hand side of your screen: • U-shaped ramp • Pie Chart • Bar Graph • Grid • Speed • Leave the mass on the center setting 3. Then, drag your skater onto the highest part of the U-shaped ramp and select the start arrow to begin. You may use the pause button to stop your skater and the slow motion button to slow the skater down. Record your data in the chart below using the following terms: increases, decreases, or stays the same. Be sure to complete the entire data chart. Position of the Skater on the U-shaped Ramp Amount of Potential Energy Amount of Kinetic Energy Speed Total Energy 1 Moving down the ramp from 6 meters to 4 meters 2 Moving down the ramp
from 4 meters to 2 meters 3 Moving up the ramp from 2 meters to 4 meters 4 Moving up the ramp from 4 meters to 6 meters Complete the questions below. Please write in complete sentences. 1. What is the relationship between potential energy, kinetic energy, and speed as the skater moves down and up the U-shaped ramp? 2. What happens to the total energy as the skater moves down and up the U-shaped ramp? Part Two: Design and Test a Skate Park Ramp: Playground Simulation In Part Two, you will apply the engineering design process to design your own skate park ramp. Instructions: 1. Select the Playground Simulation at the bottom of the simulation window. 2. Once the Playground Simulation loads, select all of the following options located on the right-hand side of your screen: • Pie Chart • Bar Graph • Grid • Speed • Leave mass on the center setting • Set friction to none 3. Complete the Hypothesis, Design, Testing, and Conclusion sections below. Hypothesis: In this section, include the if/then statement for your lab. This statement reflects your predicted outcome for the investigation. With the grid selection on, make a hypothesis about how the starting height of the skater will affect the energy needed to successfully complete your skate park playground ramp design.
If my skater begins at a height of ______ meters, then the skater will have enough total energy to successfully complete the skate park ramp from start to finish. (Fill in the blank with a height between 0 and 10 meters.) Design: You will test three different skate park ramp designs that meet the following criteria: ● The skate park playground ramp must include at least one loop. ● The skate park playground ramp must rest on the ground. ● The skater must complete a successful run from one side of the ramp to the other without falling off the ramp. To begin designing your skate park ramp, use the ramp pieces located on the bottom left of the Playground Simulation. Drag and drop sections of ramp onto the screen. You may also select and drag the red dots to extend, move, and/or connect each individual section. Get your ramp design working well with no friction. Then, increase the friction and explore what happens. Observe how increasing friction changes the height the skater can achieve. How did the ramp perform? Was the skater able to complete the ramp successfully? You may open a new tab for each ramp design. You will choose one ramp design for further testing. Record your observations in the data chart below for all three ramps. To insert an image into the chart, go to the bottom right corner of the simulation screen. You will find the screenshot option in the 3-line main menu icon. Insert the image into the chart and resize. Or, you can describe your ramp in words. Be sure to include the height from which the skater begins in your description. Design Description and/or Image Increasing Friction Observations Observations for Overall Performance 1 2 3 Testing: Select one of your ramp designs for further testing.