Potential & Kinetic Energy Worksheet Design a Roller Coaster Energy Transfer
$3.56
This roller coaster energy project is a high-engagement 4th grade physical science investigation on potential energy, kinetic energy, and energy transfer. Students design a working roller coaster and explain how energy changes along the track.
Using foam tubing, marbles, and high-friction surfaces, students design within real-world constraints, test their models, and improve them. The project supports NGSS 4-PS3.A through D and ETS1.A.
What’s Included
- Printable student worksheets: short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and drawing
- Engineering challenge directions
- Task cards: short answer, multiple choice, and visual
- Assessment questions with answer key
- Extension activity with a video link
- Google Slides and Google Forms links for digital use
Skills Covered
- Identifying potential and kinetic energy
- Modeling energy transfer
- Understanding the law of conservation of energy
- Applying friction as a stopping force
- Designing within constraints
- Constructing and testing models
- Using evidence to explain energy transformations
Ways to Use This Resource
- Use as part of a science station rotation
- Run as a STEM challenge
- Use in project-based learning
- Review before state testing
- Use the digital version for science notebooks
Why Teachers Love It
- Easy prep with common materials
- High engagement through building
- Differentiated formats
- Aligned to NGSS
- Encourages collaboration and creativity
This roller coaster energy project lets students apply what they know about energy to a design they can build, test, and improve.
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28 reviews for Potential & Kinetic Energy Worksheet Design a Roller Coaster Energy Transfer
4.89 out of 5 stars
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Miranda W. –
My students enjoyed making their roller coasters. This activity was a great extension to a unit on energy.
That Kentucky Teacher Mom –
Thank you so much for creating! This was a perfect added resource for my 4th grade students in science!
HappyDay13 –
exactly what I was looking for, thank you. This helped them stay engaged.
Tiffany F. –
This was a great resource for our science unit. I like the variety of activities in the different lessons that are available. Students were engaged with the activities.
clifton C. –
My students loved using this resource! It lined up with the standard perfectly.