Unit Plan 26 (Grade 8 Science): Energy Data—Graphs & Patterns

Focus: Use tables, graphs, and models to show and compare energy patterns across multiple systems (motion, mechanical devices, thermal devices, and particle systems), connecting kinetic, potential, and thermal energy ideas.

Grade Level: 8

Subject Area: Science (Physical Science • Energy • Data & Modeling)

Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session

I. Introduction

Students step back to look at the “big picture” of energy across different systems they’ve studied: moving carts, ramps and springs, thermal devices, and particle heating/cooling. They work with data tables, graphs, and energy models they have created in previous units (or teacher-provided sample data) to identify patterns in how energy behaves: how kinetic energy changes with mass and speed, how potential energy depends on mass, height, and distance, how thermal energy transfer depends on material and mass, and how changes in kinetic energy always signal energy transfer. By the end of the week, students can read, construct, and interpret multiple representations (table → graph → model → written argument) and use them to explain energy behavior in different contexts.

Essential Questions

• How can tables and graphs help us see patterns in energy that we might miss from single experiments?
• What do our data show about how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed?
• How do potential energy patterns show up in mechanical systems like ramps, springs, and pendulums?
• How can we use data to compare thermal energy transfer in different materials and masses?
• How do graphs and models support arguments that when kinetic energy changes, energy has been transferred to or from an object?

II. Objectives and Standards

Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:

1. Construct and interpret graphs that show relationships between kinetic energy & mass and kinetic energy & speed for motion systems (e.g., carts on ramps).
2. Develop and interpret models (bar models, diagrams, graphs) showing how potential energy depends on mass, height, and distance/stretch in mechanical systems (ramps, springs, pendulums).
3. Analyze data tables and graphs from thermal investigations to describe how energy transfer, type of matter, and mass affect temperature change and average particle kinetic energy.
4. Use tables, graphs, and models to evaluate the performance of thermal devices (insulators/warmers) and connect design features to energy transfer principles.
5. Construct and present a coherent argument that when an object’s kinetic energy changes, energy has been transferred, using multiple representations (data, graphs, models) as evidence.
6. Synthesize patterns across multiple systems (mechanical, thermal, particle) to articulate general energy principles supported by data.

Standards Alignment — 8th Grade (NGSS-based custom)

• MS-PS3-1 — Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships between kinetic energy and mass or speed.
• MS-PS3-2 — Develop a model to describe how stored potential energy depends on mass, height, and distance between objects.
• MS-PS3-3 — Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer (revisited here through data analysis/comparison).
• MS-PS3-4 — Plan and conduct an investigation to determine the relationships among energy transfer, type of matter, mass, and change in average kinetic energy (revisited through deeper data analysis and representation).
• MS-PS3-5 — Construct, use, and present arguments that when the kinetic energy of an object changes, energy has been transferred to or from the object.

Success Criteria — Student Language

• I can read and create graphs that show how kinetic energy changes with mass and speed, and describe those relationships in words.
• I can use models (bar models, diagrams, graphs) to show how potential energy depends on mass, height, and distance/stretch in different systems.
• I can interpret data tables and graphs to explain how energy transfer, material type, and mass affect temperature change.
• I can use data and models from multiple systems to support a clear energy argument, such as “When kinetic energy changes, energy has been transferred.”
• I can build a multi-representation summary (table + graph + model + explanation) that shows energy patterns across different systems.