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5th grade · Science · Unit 9 of 10

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.

Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 5P.3.2.1.1; 5P.1.1.1.1 · how an object's speed relates to its energy, and energy changes in collisions

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 Minnesota

In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 9 of 10 in 5th grade Science, after Energy on the Move and before Sun, Stars & Shadows.

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: Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

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 toaster changes electrical energy into…

    • motion only
    • light only
    • sound only
    • heat

  2. Question 2

    Why do helmets protect you in a crash?

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

  3. Question 3

    A speaker changes electrical energy into…

    • sound
    • water
    • light
    • heat only

  4. Question 4

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

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

  5. Question 5

    Which has the most energy of motion?

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

  6. Question 6

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

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

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