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4th grade · Science · Unit 1 of 14

Energy, Speed & Collisions

Faster things have more energy.

What your child practices

Practices how an object's speed relates to its energy, what happens to energy when objects collide, and devices that change energy from one form to another.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 4.1; 4.2; 4.4 · how speed relates to energy, energy changes in collisions, and devices that change energy

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Faster objects have more energy.
  2. Stored energy can change into motion, light, heat or sound.
  3. In a collision, energy moves between objects, and they change speed or direction.
  4. Rubbing things together turns motion into heat.

Example: A rolling ball hits a ball that is sitting still. What happens to the still ball? The moving ball passes some of its energy on. Answer: it starts moving

Energy, Speed & Collisions in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 1 of 14 in 4th grade Science, before Energy on the Move.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A flashlight changes electrical energy into…

    • wind
    • food
    • light
    • water

  2. Question 2

    When two cars bump, you hear a sound. The sound shows…

    • nothing happened
    • energy disappeared
    • energy grew
    • some energy turned into sound

  3. Question 3

    A ball rolls faster down a steeper ramp. It has…

    • less energy
    • no speed
    • no energy
    • more energy

  4. Question 4

    Which has the most energy of motion?

    • A truck going fast
    • A bike parked
    • A ball resting
    • A truck parked

  5. Question 5

    Why do helmets protect you in a crash?

    • They make you faster
    • They add energy
    • They absorb energy of the hit
    • They stop gravity

  6. Question 6

    A dropped egg breaks, but one dropped on a pillow does not. The pillow…

    • spreads out the energy over more time
    • stops gravity
    • adds energy
    • makes the egg lighter

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