8th grade · Science · Unit 4 of 9
Kinetic & Potential Energy
Energy of motion and stored energy.
What your child practices
Practices how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed, how potential energy changes with position, and how energy transfers change an object's motion.
Washington State Learning Standards learning standard: MS-PS3-1; MS-PS3-2; MS-PS3-5 · kinetic energy, mass and speed, potential energy and position, and energy transfer
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Pushing a cart transfers energy to it, so the cart…
- slows down
- stops
- gets lighter
- speeds up
speeds up
Hint: Energy in, motion changes.
Question 2
Food and batteries store…
- chemical potential energy
- sound energy
- kinetic energy
- gravitational energy
chemical potential energy
Hint: In chemical bonds.
Question 3
Lifting a book higher increases its…
- kinetic energy
- potential energy
- temperature
- mass
potential energy
Hint: Higher = more stored.
Question 4
A pendulum swings fastest at…
- it never moves
- the side
- the top
- the bottom of its swing
the bottom of its swing
Hint: Lowest point, most KE.
Question 5
A stretched rubber band has…
- elastic potential energy
- kinetic energy only
- sound energy
- nuclear energy
elastic potential energy
Hint: Stretch stores energy.
Question 6
Why do skateboarders crouch at the top of a ramp before dropping in?
- To get heavier
- To stop gravity
- To lose energy
- They start with potential energy that becomes kinetic
They start with potential energy that becomes kinetic
Hint: Height becomes speed.