Potential and Kinetic Energy Activity

The other day I was watching my oldest son play with one of his toys, and I realized he was engaging in a potential and kinetic energy activity with his Hot Wheels track. He had the track clamped to a table on one end , and let the other end of the track hang down to the floor.

So, I asked him, “What would happen if you changed the height of the track? Would the car stop closer or farther from the end of the track?”

We gathered a few items and tried this activity to see how height and distance are related to potential and kinetic energy.

Supplies

6 wooden blocks, approximately 5″ by 12″
Long plank of wood
Hot wheels track with clamp. We used this set.
Extra hot wheels tracks
You can also check a dollar store for racetrack pieces.
Hot Wheels type cars

Kinetic and Potential Energy Activity

Using toy cars, racetrack pieces, and pieces of wood, this kinetic and potential energy activity will help students explore how height and distance affect the energy of an object.

Instructions

Find six wooden blocks all about the same size
Use 4 blocks and a longer plank of wood to create the first height.
Next, clamp the track onto the long plank of wood. Also, add length to the track as needed to make sure the track touches and runs along the floor a bit.
Run a toy car down the track, and mark where it stops with a piece of tape.
Add one block to each side to create a second height.
Run the same car down the track and mark where it stops with a piece of tape.

Observations, Discussion, and Calculations

The second distance (the one with the highest starting point) was greater than the first distance! In other words, as the starting point of the car got higher, the car traveled farther.

Below is an explanation, definitions, and calculations. We have put this information in a hand-out. You can request this handout at the end of this post.

Do our results make sense?

The two types of energy my son was playing with were potential energy and kinetic energy. Potential Energy (or PE for short) is the energy stored in an object because of its height from the ground. Potential energy is expressed as:

PE=mgh
where m=mass
g=gravity
h=the object’s height from the ground

Kinetic Energy (or KE for short) is the energy in an object when it is moving. Kinetic energy is expressed as:

KE=½mv²
where m=mass
v=velocity (speed) of the object

According to the law of conservation of energy, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Energy can, however, change forms. In the case of my son’s toy, the energy of the car was changing from potential to kinetic energy.

To guess the answer to the question I asked my son “What would happen if you changed the height of the track? Would the car stop closer or farther from the end of the track?”, let’s look at the math first:

Since energy can neither be created nor destroyed, then the energy the car has at the top of the track is equal to the energy the car has going down the track. In other words, the potential energy of the car is equal to its kinetic energy:

PE=KE

Substituting in the equation for each forms of energy, you get:

mgh=½mv²

Thinking about speed, how is it usually expressed? In miles per hour, or inches per second, right? In other words, speed is distance traveled (d, miles) divided by time (t, hour), or d/t .

So substituting in d/t for v, the equation changes to:

mgh=½m(d/t)²

mgh=½md²/t²

In the equation above, how does height (h) relate to distance (d)? Focusing on just the two variables we’re interest in (height and distance), you’ll see they relate to each other as follows:

h=d²

Height is directly related to distance. Directly related means that when one variable gets bigger, the other variable also gets bigger (or as one variable gets smaller, the other variable gets smaller). In our example, directly related means that as the starting point of the car gets higher, the car will travel farther, which is exactly what we saw!

And that is just another way kids’ toys can teach them engineering!

Download the handout

Download the handout and use alongside your own experiment. Have students record height and and distance, along with the mass of the car. Then plug the numbers into the given equations. Ask students to write the definitions of the terms used in the handout.

I hold a master’s degree in child development and early education and am working on a post-baccalaureate in biology. I spent 15 years working for a biotechnology company developing IT systems in DNA testing laboratories across the US. I taught K4 in a private school, homeschooled my children, and have taught on the mission field in southern Asia. For 4 years, I served on our state’s FIRST Lego League tournament Board and served as the Judging Director. I own thehomeschoolscientist and also write a regular science column for Homeschooling Today Magazine. You’ll also find my writings on the CTCMath blog. Through this site, I have authored over 50 math and science resources.