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In the FlinnPREP™ Inquiry Lab for AP® Physics 1:Conservation of Elastic Potential Energy, students explore the conversion of kinetic energy into gravitational potential energy using spheres and inclined planes.
Includes access to exclusive FlinnPREP™ digital content to combine the benefits of classroom, laboratory and digital learning. Each blended learning lab solution includes prelab videos about concepts, techniques and procedures, summary videos that relate the experiment to the AP® exam, built-in student lab safety training with assessments, and standards-based, tested inquiry labs with real sample data. FlinnPREP™ Inquiry Lab Solutions are adaptable to you and how you teach with multiple ways to access and run your AP labs.
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AP Physics 1, Big Idea 5, Investigation 7
Runaway trucks rely on the conversion of kinetic energy to gravitational potential energy to stop when they veer onto ramps on the sides of expressways. This lab explores that very principle on a smaller scale with spring-loaded carts and inclined planes. This lab begins with an introductory activity in which students propel a spring-loaded cart up an inclined plane. As they perform the introductory activity, students will discover the effects (if any) of the inclined plane’s angle and cart’s mass on its travel distance up the inclined plane. The guided-inquiry activity challenges students to quantify the amount of energy lost by the cart due to friction and propel the cart up the inclined plane a specific distance. An additional inquiry activity is also presented, in which students elevate one end of an air track and measure a glider’s travel distance and speed following propulsion with a rubber band.
Complete for 24 students working in groups of four. All materials are reusable.
FLINNprep is just one of the powerful learning pathways accessed via PAVO, Flinn’s award-winning gateway to standards-aligned digital science content paired with hands-on learning.
HS-PS3-1. Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
HS-PS3-2. Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as a combination of energy associated with the motion of particles (objects) and energy associated with the relative position of particles (objects).
HS-PS3-3. Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
