We have become proficient at developing performance tasks closely aligned to NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards). Of course, a good performance task aligns to standards across multiple disciplines. The following task was developed for middle grades and for these learning goals.
Please watch the video and then try the performance task. We’d love to hear your feedback!
You have been asked to make the jump safe. The video below explains how to set up a simulation to investigate.
Your Task
Click “Playground” in the PhET® simulation below and set up a jump as shown in the video. Remember to set friction to zero and always release the skateboarder from a height of 5 meters.
Then modify the setup to make the jump safe, where “safe” is defined as converting less than 1/4 of the total energy into thermal energy.
Use your observations of the skateboarder’s motion to explain why reducing thermal energy transfer reduces the risk of injury.
Credits:
The Skate Park simulation was developed by PhET.
PhET Interactive Simulations, University of Colorado Boulder, http://phet.colorado.edu.
The performance task was developed and designed by Victory Productions, Inc.
© 2015 Victory Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
