Year 8 Science

We have been studying our Physics Unit ‘Energy’. The students further developed their understanding that at first, when the marble is raised off the ground, you give it gravitational potential energy. 

Potential energy is the energy an object stores due to its height off the ground and its mass). Students were then able to investigate that when you release the marble, gravity starts to pull it down the track. Its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. 

The marble also loses a small amount of energy due to friction, or when it collides with the walls of the track. This energy does not disappear, however—it is converted into other forms like heat and sound. The total amount of energy in the system remains the same. This is called conservation of energy.

The students were challenged to see if their marble made it all the way down the run that they built or did the marble get stuck if two adjacent tubes weren’t aligned properly. It might have slowed to a stop on a long, flat section, or been unable to get over a hill because it was not going fast enough. It might even have flown off the track because it was going too fast!

The marble runner demonstrated how potential energy could really roll into action……