The Experience of Science Lab: Energy Forms and Changes

Energy forms and changes PHET Lab ​ ​

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/energy-forms-and-
changes
Explore how heating and cooling iron, brick, water, and olive oil
adds or removes energy. See how energy is transferred between
objects. Build your own system, with energy sources, changers,
and users. Track and visualize how energy flows and changes
through your system.

Learning Objectives: Students will be able to:

• Describe different types of energy and give examples from
everyday life.
• Predict how energy will flow when objects are heated or
cooled, or for objects in contact that have different
temperatures.
• Describe how energy can change from one form of energy
into another.
First the overview (attached pdf) for more information on
the system screens.
Part I Intro Lab: From the icons located at the bottom of the
screen:
1. Select iron or brick
2. Place beakers of water and olive oil on burners, then
modify temps as needed
3. Click on energy symbols and link heaters to view the
different energy being formed
4. Record what is happening in all scenarios.
5. Answer the questions below:
Lab Intro: When in doubt, add a thermometer!
1. In the boxes below, draw the model given in the simulation
and draw a model of the molecules in an object when the
object is cold (left) and when the object is hot (right).
Assume that the object in both pictures is the same object
just at different temperatures.
 2. At the molecular level, what form of energy do the
molecules have?
____________________________________

3. Heat up the brick and the iron to the same temperature.

What differences do you notice?
What your hypothesis?

What evidence can be

collected that will support
your hypothesis?
How will this evidence
support the hypothesis?

What will be held constant?

What is the procedure for the

experiment?

4. What does temperature measure? Support your answer with

evidence from the sim.

5. Put a hot object into cold water. Draw what happens to the
energy in each of the stages.

6. When and why does the process in 5 stop?

7. Is it possible to boil the water? Is it possible to freeze the

water? (Make sure to attach the temperature gauge so you
have a guide.) What do you need to do to make these
 changes?

8. Chill the water as much as possible- then add heat and

observe. List below at least three things you noticed (Make
sure the energy symbols box is checked.)

9. Add heat to the Iron and heat to the brick at the same time.
Which one can hold more energy? How/where do they lose
their energy?

10. Add a heated up bit of iron to room temperature water.

Describe in detail what happens below.

11. Place the brick on top of the iron and add heat. Describe
what is happening in at least three sentences.

12. Take the same set up from #5, an instead of heating it up,
cool it down. Describe what is happening in at least three
sentences.

13. Once the brick and the iron are cooled down, do they have
the same thermal energy? Do they have the same
temperature? Does the room temperature water have more
or less thermal energy?

Part II Energy Systems Tab: From the icons located at the

bottom of the screen:
1. Select energy source: faucet, sun, kettle, or bicycle
2. Select changer: wheel or solar panel
3. Select user: water, two types of bulbs, or fan
4. Then run a simulation for each energy source, changer, and
user.
5. Answer the following questions.

Energy Systems Lab Questions:

1. Click around and explore what the symbols mean make
sure to click on the Energy symbols tab. What to the
different symbols mean? What are the different types of
energy circulating? For the source of energy- describe the
picture and if there is any energy transfers that happen.
Example: the teapot goes from thermal to mechanical.
Make your lists below:

2. Compare the two types of light bulbs. How are the CFL’s
(compact fluorescent lamps) different than the incandescent
 bulbs? Which one releases more thermal energy- how is the
process different?
3. In the teapot energy source, __________ energy transforms
into ____________ energy.

4. In the faucet energy source, __________ energy transforms

into ____________ energy.

5. In the sun energy source, __________ energy transforms

into ____________ energy.

6. In the bicycle energy source, __________ energy

transforms into ____________ energy.

7. Create three separate hypothesis based the teapot, sun, and

faucet as the energy source.

8. In the image below there is a E with a dotted line. (or look

at what is happening inside the wheel/motor) Using your
knowledge of how an motor/engine works, what do you
think it stands for/represents?

9. How does heat flow? What evidence did you experience to justify that answer?