Teaching Energy and Momentum – My Daily Schedule

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A complete, day-by-day schedule of how I teach energy and momentum to high school students in my own classroom.

The complete Energy and Momentum unit can be found here.

If you have any questions, please email me – devon@teachwithfergy.com

Day 1:

• Lesson 1 – Work and Force

Day 2:

• Work and Energy Lab Station Activity or Work and Energy Digital Scavenger Hunt
  • You could do both on sequential days or just one

Day 3:

• Lesson 2 – Kinetic and Gravitational Potential Energy
• I’ve created a walkthrough video for some common questions. Please feel free to provide the link to your students. You can access it via this link – https://youtu.be/yI4VzF998nU

Day 4:

• Lesson 3 – The Conservation of Energy
• Once the lesson is done, I typically take my students to our main stairwell. From the top, we drop a ball all the way down and time how long it takes to land. We also measure the drop distance. We then go back to the room and calculate the final velocity using both energy (note: you’ll also need the ball’s mass) and kinematic calculations.

Day 5:

• Work / Catch-up Period

Day 6:

• Lesson 4 – Elastic Potential Energy and Simple Harmonic Motion
  • Stop after tire gauge pressure slide

Day 7:

• Quiz Lesson 1-3
• Activity (informal)
  • Have students determine the k value of a spring
  • Launch objects (usually ping pong balls) and using that k value, see if they can land the ball at certain distances
  • Note: They will need knowledge of projectile motion

Day 8:

• Lesson 5 – Momentum and Impulse
• Momentum and Impulse worksheet

Day 9:

• Basketball and Tennis Ball demonstration
  • Go to a stairwell in your school with a basketball and a tennis ball
  • Place the tennis ball on top of the basketball and drop them together
  • If done properly, with the tennis ball staying on top of the basketball during the fall, the tennis ball will skyrocket up due to the conservation of momentum
  • This demonstration is an excellent way to show your concept in a really entertaining and obvious way
• Lesson 6 – Momentum Conservation (Just introduce a few slides and connect to demo)

Day 10:

• Lesson 6 – Momentum Conservation

• Theodore Chip Monks scene
  • Assuming this scene could happen, having your students figure out:
    • How fast Theodore would need to be moving
    • What would be the ramifications of this collision for both Theodore and Miles?
  • The clip is found here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XPHLLiUyHs

Day 11:

• Test Review Day

Day 12:

• Momentum, Conservation of Momentum, and Impulse Lab Station Activity

Day 13:

• Energy and Momentum Test