Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________
Student Exploration: Energy Conversion in a System
NCVPS Chemistry Fall 2014
Vocabulary: energy, gravitational potential energy, heat energy, kinetic energy, law of
conservation of energy, specific heat capacity
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
A battery contains stored energy in the form of chemical energy.
1. What are some examples of devices that are powered by batteries? Car, calculator,
phones, and refrigerator.
2. What different forms of energy are dmonstrated by these devices? Kinetic or electrical
energy.
Gizmo Warm-up
Energy constantly changes from one form to another, but
in a closed system, the total amount of energy always
remains the same. This concept is known formally as the
law of conservation of energy.
The Energy Conversion in a System Gizmo™ allows you
to observe the law of conservation of energy in action. In
the Gizmo, a suspended cylinder has gravitational
potential energy. When the cylinder is released, the
gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic
energy, which causes the stirrer in the water to spin.
1. What is the initial temperature (T) of the water? 25 C
2. Click Play ( ). What happens as the cylinder drops? Temperature increases, and the
cylinder decreases in height as it lowers from its original position in the air.
3. What is the final temperature of the water? 29.6 C
4. Why do you think the temperature of the water increased? The movement of the turbine
fan in the beaker transferred more kinetic energy adding energy to the water itself.
, Activity A:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Potential energy
● Click Reset ( ).
and height
Introduction: The raised cylinder in the Gizmo has gravitational potential energy (GPE)
because gravity can cause the cylinder to drop. When the cylinder drops, its kinetic energy is
converted into heat energy, which raises the temperature of the water.
Question: How does the cylinder’s initial height affect its gravitational potential energy?
1. Predict: How do you think increasing the cylinder’s height will affect the final temperature of
the water? Increasing the cylinder’s height will affect the final temperature of the water
because the higher the cylinder is the harder it will fall hence producing more heat
than what it was in a lower height.
2. Gather data: Make sure the water’s Mass is 1.0 kg, its Temp is 25 °C, and the cylinder’s
Mass is 5 kg. Set the cylinder’s Height to 100 m. (Note: The large height scale used by the
Gizmo, while not practical in a real-world experiment, makes it easier to produce observable
temperature changes in the water.)
Click Play, and record the water’s final temperature in the table below. Repeat the experiment
at each cylinder height to complete the second column in the table.
Cylinder height (m) Final temp. (°C) Change in temp. (°C) Cylinder GPE (J)
100 m 26.17 1.17 4900
200 m 27.34 2.34 9800
500 m 30.86 5.86 24500
1,000 m 36.72 11.72 49000
3. Calculate: Subtract the water’s initial temperature from its final temperature to complete the
third column of the table.
An object’s GPE can be calculated by multiplying its height (h) by its mass (m) and acceleration
due to gravity (g): GPE = mgh. On Earth, g = 9.8 m/s2. Calculate the cylinder’s GPE for each
of the trials you completed and fill in the last column of the table.
4. Analyze: Study the data you collected.
Student Exploration: Energy Conversion in a System
NCVPS Chemistry Fall 2014
Vocabulary: energy, gravitational potential energy, heat energy, kinetic energy, law of
conservation of energy, specific heat capacity
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
A battery contains stored energy in the form of chemical energy.
1. What are some examples of devices that are powered by batteries? Car, calculator,
phones, and refrigerator.
2. What different forms of energy are dmonstrated by these devices? Kinetic or electrical
energy.
Gizmo Warm-up
Energy constantly changes from one form to another, but
in a closed system, the total amount of energy always
remains the same. This concept is known formally as the
law of conservation of energy.
The Energy Conversion in a System Gizmo™ allows you
to observe the law of conservation of energy in action. In
the Gizmo, a suspended cylinder has gravitational
potential energy. When the cylinder is released, the
gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic
energy, which causes the stirrer in the water to spin.
1. What is the initial temperature (T) of the water? 25 C
2. Click Play ( ). What happens as the cylinder drops? Temperature increases, and the
cylinder decreases in height as it lowers from its original position in the air.
3. What is the final temperature of the water? 29.6 C
4. Why do you think the temperature of the water increased? The movement of the turbine
fan in the beaker transferred more kinetic energy adding energy to the water itself.
, Activity A:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Potential energy
● Click Reset ( ).
and height
Introduction: The raised cylinder in the Gizmo has gravitational potential energy (GPE)
because gravity can cause the cylinder to drop. When the cylinder drops, its kinetic energy is
converted into heat energy, which raises the temperature of the water.
Question: How does the cylinder’s initial height affect its gravitational potential energy?
1. Predict: How do you think increasing the cylinder’s height will affect the final temperature of
the water? Increasing the cylinder’s height will affect the final temperature of the water
because the higher the cylinder is the harder it will fall hence producing more heat
than what it was in a lower height.
2. Gather data: Make sure the water’s Mass is 1.0 kg, its Temp is 25 °C, and the cylinder’s
Mass is 5 kg. Set the cylinder’s Height to 100 m. (Note: The large height scale used by the
Gizmo, while not practical in a real-world experiment, makes it easier to produce observable
temperature changes in the water.)
Click Play, and record the water’s final temperature in the table below. Repeat the experiment
at each cylinder height to complete the second column in the table.
Cylinder height (m) Final temp. (°C) Change in temp. (°C) Cylinder GPE (J)
100 m 26.17 1.17 4900
200 m 27.34 2.34 9800
500 m 30.86 5.86 24500
1,000 m 36.72 11.72 49000
3. Calculate: Subtract the water’s initial temperature from its final temperature to complete the
third column of the table.
An object’s GPE can be calculated by multiplying its height (h) by its mass (m) and acceleration
due to gravity (g): GPE = mgh. On Earth, g = 9.8 m/s2. Calculate the cylinder’s GPE for each
of the trials you completed and fill in the last column of the table.
4. Analyze: Study the data you collected.
