Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation

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written by Alice Flarend and Caroline Hall
consultant: David Straw

This AAPT lesson for high school conceptual physics incorporates student movement to promote deeper understanding of how energy moves and transforms among objects and systems. It features several interdisciplinary scenarios in which energy moves from one system to another or is converted from one form to another (energy transformation). Students play the role of "energy actors", moving from one defined system to another or transforming (i.e., from chemical-to-thermal energy). The lesson was inspired by an article in The Physics Teacher magazine, written by Abigail Daane, Lindsay Wells, and Rachel Scherr.

Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation

download 836kb .pdf
Published: October 16, 2018

.docx

Teacher's Guide: Energy Theater
by Alice Flarend and Caroline Hall
Modifiable Word version
download 2706kb .docx
Published: November 8, 2018
Rights: ©AAPT, 2018

.docx

Student Guide: Energy Theater
by Alice Flarend and Caroline Hall
Printable student guide for classroom distribution
download 5929kb .docx
Published: November 8, 2018
Rights: ©AAPT, 2018

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Classical Mechanics - Work and Energy = Conservation of Energy Education Practices - Active Learning	- High School	- Instructional Material = Instructor Guide/Manual = Lesson/Lesson Plan = Problem/Problem Set = Student Guide

Intended Users	Formats	Ratings
- Educators - Administrators	- application/pdf - application/ms-word	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Access Rights:: Available by subscription
Restriction:: © 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers
Keywords:: energy forms, energy transfer, kinesthetic learning
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created December 17, 2018 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: December 17, 2018 by Caroline Hall
Last Update when Cataloged:: October 16, 2018
Other Collections:: The Physics Front

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Next Generation Science Standards

Energy (HS-PS3)

Students who demonstrate understanding can: (9-12)

Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as either motions of particles or energy stored in fields. (HS-PS3-2)

Disciplinary Core Ideas (K-12)

Definitions of Energy (PS3.A)

A system of objects may also contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their relative positions. (6-8)
Energy is a quantitative property of a system that depends on the motion and interactions of matter and radiation within that system. That there is a single quantity called energy is due to the fact that a system's total energy is conserved, even as, within the system, energy is continually transferred from one object to another and between its various possible forms. (9-12)

Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer (PS3.B)

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems. (9-12)

Crosscutting Concepts (K-12)

Systems and System Models (K-12)

When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models. (9-12)
Models can be used to predict the behavior of a system, but these predictions have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximations inherent in models. (9-12)
Models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) can be used to simulate systems and interactions—including energy, matter, and information flows—within and between systems at different scales. (9-12)

Energy and Matter (2-12)

Energy cannot be created or destroyed—it only moves between one place and another place, between objects and/or fields, or between systems. (9-12)

NGSS Science and Engineering Practices (K-12)

Developing and Using Models (K-12)

Modeling in 9–12 builds on K–8 and progresses to using, synthesizing, and developing models to predict and show relationships among variables between systems and their components in the natural and designed worlds. (9-12)
- Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the relationships between systems or between components of a system. (9-12)
- Use a model to provide mechanistic accounts of phenomena. (9-12)

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=14751">Flarend, Alice, and Caroline Hall. "Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation." 2018.</a>

AIP Format

A. Flarend and C. Hall, , 2018, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903).

AJP/PRST-PER

A. Flarend and C. Hall, Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation, 2018, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903>.

APA Format

Flarend, A., & Hall, C. (2018). Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation. Retrieved May 1, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903

Chicago Format

Flarend, Alice, and Caroline Hall. "Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation." 2018. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903 (accessed 1 May 2025).

MLA Format

Flarend, Alice, and Caroline Hall. Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation. 2018. 1 May 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903>.

BibTeX Export Format

@techreport{ Author = "Alice Flarend and Caroline Hall", Title = {Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation}, Month = {October}, Year = {2018} }

Refer Export Format

%A Alice Flarend %A Caroline Hall %T Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation %D October 16, 2018 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Report %A Flarend, Alice %A Hall, Caroline %D October 16, 2018 %T Energy Theater: Exploring Energy Transfer and Transformation %8 October 16, 2018 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=14751&DocID=4903

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Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.