About the Science Reasoning Center

Highly Recommended
Like all our Science Reasoning Center activities, the completion of the Energy Stored in Fields activity requires that a student use provided information about a phenomenon, experiment, or data presentation to answer questions. This information is accessible by tapping on the small thumbnails found on the bottom right of every question. However, it may be considerably easier to have a printed copy of this information or to display the information in a separate browser window. You can access this information from this page.





The Standards
The Energy Stored in Fields engages students in an analysis of two situations involving the storage of energy in electric and magnetic fields. The first situation involves an electric charge suspended from a string and moving within the electric field created by a large positive charge. The second situation involves two magnetic carts moving along a horizontal track that includes some friction.

This NGSS-inspired task consists of four parts. Each part involves a different type of skill or understanding. Collectively, the four parts were designed to address the following NGSS performance expectation:

HS-PS3-5:
Develop and use a model oftwo objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objectsdue to the interaction.



As a whole, the questions in this task address a wide collection of disciplinary core idea (DCI), crosscutting concepts (CCC), and science and engineering practices (SEP). There are 40 questions organized into 16 Question Groups and spread across the four activities. Each question is either a 2D or (preferrably) a 3D question. That is, the task of answering the question requires that the student utilize at least two of the three dimensions of the NGSS science standards - a DCI, a CCC, and/or an SEP.


The following DCI, SEPs, and CCCs are addressed at some point within Energy Stored in Fields:

DCI: PS3.C: Relationship Between Energy and Forces

• When two objects interacting through a field change relative position, the energy stored in the field is changed.

SEP 2.3: Developing and Using Models
Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system.


CCC 2.3: Cause and Effect
Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.



Here is our NGSS-based analysis of each individual activity of the Energy Stored in Fields Science Reasoning task. The core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices that we reference in our analysis are numbered for convenience. You can cross-reference the specific notations that we have used with the listings found on the following pages:

Disclaimer: The standards are not our original work. We are simply including them here for convenience (and because we have referenced the by number). The standards are the property of the Next Generation Science Standards.

Part 1: Modeling Force in Electric Fields

This activity consists of 8 forced-choice questions organized into four Question Groups. Students are provided two representations (graph, pie chart, or bar chart) of the scenario and must decide which representation is accurate and identify the reasons why. Students earn the Trophy for this activity once they demonstrate mastery on all four Question Groups.


NGSS Claim Statement: Use a model oftwo objects interacting through electrical fields to illustrate how the forces between objects change due to the interaction.

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Relationship Between Energy and Forces PS3.C When two objects interacting through a field change relative position, the energy stored in the field is changed.	Developing and Using Models SEP 2.3 Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system. .	Cause and Effect CCC 2.3 Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.

Part 2: Modeling Energy in Electric Fields

This activity consists of 8 forced-choice questions organized into four Question Groups. Students are provided three representations (graph, pie chart, or bar chart). Two are accurate and one is not; they must identify the one inaccurate representation. Students earn the Trophy for this activity once they demonstrate mastery on all four Question Groups.

NGSS Claim Statement: Use a model oftwo objects interacting through electrical fields to illustrate the changes in energy of the object due to the interaction.

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Relationship Between Energy and Forces PS3.C When two objects interacting through a field change relative position, the energy stored in the field is changed.	Developing and Using Models SEP 2.3 Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system. .	Cause and Effect CCC 2.3 Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.

Part 3: Modeling Force in Magnetic Fields

This activity consists of 8 forced-choice questions organized into four Question Groups. Students are provided two representations (graph, pie chart, bar chart, or equation) of the scenario and must decide which representation is accurate and identify the reasons why. Students earn the Trophy for this activity once they demonstrate mastery on all four Question Groups.

NGSS Claim Statement: Use a model oftwo objects interacting through electrical fields to illustrate how the forces between objects change due to the interaction.

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Relationship Between Energy and Forces PS3.C When two objects interacting through a field change relative position, the energy stored in the field is changed.	Developing and Using Models SEP 2.3 Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system. .	Cause and Effect CCC 2.3 Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.

Part 4: Modeling Energy in Magnetic Fields

This activity consists of 8 forced-choice questions organized into four Question Groups. Students are provided three representations (graph, pie chart, or bar chart). Two are accurate and one is not; they must identify the one inaccurate representation. Students earn the Trophy for this activity once they demonstrate mastery on all four Question Groups.

NGSS Claim Statement: Use a model oftwo objects interacting through magnetic fields to illustrate the changes in energy of the object due to the interaction.

Target DCI(s)	Target SEP(s)	Target CCC(s)
Relationship Between Energy and Forces PS3.C When two objects interacting through a field change relative position, the energy stored in the field is changed.	Developing and Using Models SEP 2.3 Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system. .	Cause and Effect CCC 2.3 Cause and effect relationships can be suggested and predicted for complex natural and human designed systems by examining what is known about smaller scale mechanisms within the system.

Complementary and Similar Resources
The following resources at The Physics Classroom website complement the Energy Stored in Fields Science Reasoning Activity. Teachers may find them useful for supporting students and/or as components of lesson plans and unit plans.

The Physics Classroom Tutorial, Work, Energy and Power Chapter

Physics Video Tutorial, Work, Energy, and Power: Force and System Analysis

Physics Interactives, Work and Energy: Roller Coaster Model

Physics Interactives, Work and Energy: Chart That Motion

Concept Builders, Work and Energy: What's Up and Down with KE and PE?

Concept Builders, Work and Energy: Words and Charts

Concept Builders, Work and Energy: LOL Charts

Concept Builders, Work and Energy: Energy Analysis 1

Minds On Physics, Work and Energy Module: Mission WE6, Energy Bar Charts

Minds On Physics, Work and Energy Module: Mission WE8, Energy Analysis

The Calculator Pad, Work, Energy, and Power: Problem Sets WE6 - WE14 Return to Screen Reader Navigation