Activity 1: Dominoes Unleashed

Materials needed:

• dominoes

If time permits you may add ramps and other things to make the domino toppling more interesting.

Procedure:

1. Set up a few dominoes on a table where the students can see them. Line them up on end next to each other and space them so that when each falls, the force of each domino topples the next domino.
2. Tell the students, "A bunch of dominoes quietly standing around may not seem very energetic. They have a lot of what scientists call potential energy. Give them a push," (here you should push the first domino to start them all falling) "and all that potential energy is unleashed and changed into kinetic energy. This is the energy of mass in motion. Kinetic means moving."
3. Divide the students into groups of four or five and give each group some dominoes.
4. Tell the students to set up their dominoes and experiment with how potential and kinetic energy work. If there is time, give them materials to make their dominoes climb up and down, etc.