Students who demonstrate understanding can: Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.
Clarification statement: Emphasis is on relative amounts of potential energy, not on calculations of potential energy. Examples of objects within systems interacting at varying distances could include: the Earth and either a roller coaster cart at varying positions on a hill or objects at varying heights on shelves, changing the direction/orientation of a magnet, and a balloon with static electrical charge being brought closer to a classmate's hair. Examples of models could include representations, diagrams, pictures, and written descriptions of systems.
Assessment boundary: Assessment is limited to two objects and electric, magnetic, and gravitational interactions.
Official wording from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the NGSS were involved in the production of this page, and they do not endorse it. View on nextgenscience.org
Potential energy is stored energy that depends on how the parts of a system are arranged. When two objects interact at a distance, through gravity, magnetism or electric charge, moving them closer together or farther apart changes how much energy is stored between them.
For gravity the system is the object and Earth. A roller coaster cart at the top of the first hill stores more potential energy than at the bottom, and a book on a high shelf stores more than one on a low shelf. Lift it higher and you put more energy into the system. For magnets the direction matters: pushing two north poles together stores energy, which is released when you let go and they fly apart. A charged balloon near a classmate's hair works in a similar way.
Students develop models such as labeled diagrams, pictures or written descriptions that compare relative amounts of stored energy in different arrangements of two objects. Comparisons are qualitative, so no calculations are needed.
Students say the book has potential energy. More precisely, the energy is stored in the book and Earth system, because it depends on their interaction.
Magnets and charged objects also store energy when their arrangement changes, which is why repelling magnets jump apart when released.
For attracting objects, separating them stores more energy. For repelling objects, such as like poles, pushing them closer stores more.
A cart at rest at the top of a hill has not lost its energy. The energy remains stored until the cart starts rolling and it changes into kinetic energy.
Two ring magnets are on a pencil with their north poles facing. The top magnet floats above the bottom one. A student pushes the top magnet down and holds it. Describe the potential energy and what happens on release.
Answer: Pushing repelling magnets closer increases the potential energy stored in the two-magnet system; releasing them lets that energy turn into the motion of the top magnet.
Use a ramp with balls released from several heights, a pair of floating ring magnets, and a balloon rubbed on hair. For each, students draw before and after diagrams with energy bars showing more or less stored energy, then explain the pattern.
Assessment often shows two or three positions of an object, such as a coaster cart or shelf book, and asks which has the most potential energy, or asks what happens to stored energy when magnets are rotated. Students should name the system and the force each time.
Original questions written for this standard. Choose an option or type your answer, then press Check. Every question has a worked explanation.
Answer: C) At the top of the hill
The greater the height above the ground, the more gravitational potential energy the cart and Earth system stores.
Answer: B) It increases
Pushing repelling poles together requires work, which is stored as potential energy in the system.
Answer: potential energy (also accepted: potential)
Potential energy is stored energy that depends on the arrangement of objects in a system.
Answer: D) The book and Earth system now stores more potential energy
Lifting the book increases its distance from Earth's surface, so more gravitational potential energy is stored.
Answer: C) Stored potential energy changes into kinetic energy
The potential energy stored by pushing them together is released as kinetic energy when they are free to move.
Answer: yes
It is not moving, so its kinetic energy is zero, but the ball and Earth system does store potential energy.
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 positions of particles (objects).
A full lesson with slides, activities and an exit ticket on potential energy and arrangement, pitched to grades 6-8 and editable in PowerPoint or Google Slides.
Make a lesson βA printable, differentiated worksheet on MS-PS3-2 with an answer key, ready in about a minute.
Make a worksheet βTurn potential energy and arrangement into a quiz students answer online that marks itself, with a class summary for you.
Build a test βNo. The emphasis is on relative amounts of potential energy, not calculations.
Assessment is limited to two objects interacting through electric, magnetic or gravitational forces.