Each part of the module begins with a lesson that serves as a preassessment of the topic. Each part is followed by a performance-based, written assessment. An activity entitled Comparing Catastrophic Events, in Lesson 22, and the anchor activity presentations by each group following Lesson 25, tie together the concepts addressed throughout the module. In the first lessons, students investigate several forms of energy, starting with a simple, student-constructed storage battery. Subsequent lessons explore the transformation of chemical energy into electricity, light, heat, and mechanical energy.
Students inquire into the nature of force and work as they use simple motors to raise objects.
They discover that a motor connected to 2 batteries in series cannot exert enough force to lift a load to a given height. This challenge to lift the sled to the top of the pegboard forms the basis for their study of 3 different machines. Students use an inclined plane to explore the forces involved in pulling an object up the plane to the height of the pegboard. They determine the effect of height upon effort, force, and distance, and calculate the work done and force-multiplying effort of the inclined plane system. Their investigation of the advantages of machines is repeated with the pulley and the lever.