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Mr. Funke

Kinetican

Grades: 4th Grade
Subjects: STEAM

Student Instructions

Follow the step by step directions to build your Kinetican. When you are finished, bring your Kinetican to your teacher so that a weight can be added. Once your Kinetican is complete, take it back to your table and wait for directions. To complete this activity, record a short video of your Kinetican in motion as you gently roll it towards your partner. Do not roll it too hard or you will not see what the Kinetican can do. Upload your video to the first slide. Then click on the record frame and record yourself explaining what you observed about potential and kinetic energy in this activity. Where was the potential energy and how was it converting into kinetic energy? Click on the check when you are finished to turn in your work.

Teacher Notes (not visible to students)

This is an adaptation of the Kinetican activity from the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) 4th grade Energy Conversion unit (4.2.1). My students found it very difficult to build the Kineticans with actual pop cans and this build is not only a lot faster, it allows them to see the weight and the rubber band winding and unwinding as they roll it. I am still using the same nuts and bolts for the weight inside the can but am attaching that part myself to save time and frustration.

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