Spangler Phenomenon - Egg Drop Investigation

This Spangler Phenomenon lesson about potential energy is crafted to include a video created by Steve Spangler exclusively for Kesler Science. The interactive investigation will keep your students on the edge of their seats and engage their analytical skills with this Really Big Question: How does changing the distance between the two objects affect the potential energy stored in the system?

Science education gets an upgrade as Steve Spangler and Chris Kesler become a force of nature in this collaborative series. Created in the 5E framework, each lesson aligns to middle school NGSS physical science.

Spangler Phenomenon: Brain-bending Lessons to Engage Student Curiosity

Lesson: Egg Drop

Standard: MSPS3-2: Develop a model to describe that when the arrangement of objects interacting at a distance changes, different amounts of potential energy are stored in the system.

Learning Objective: How does changing the distance between the two objects affect the potential energy stored in the system?

CCC/SEP: Structure and function; Obtaining, evaluating, communicating information

Lesson Contents:

In Part 1: Think Like a Scientist, students think and behave like real scientists and engineers as they analyze inspiring phenomenon related to potential energy. They get inspired by a Steve Spangler video, Egg Drop, and then students will drop a bouncy ball and record the results.

In Part 2: Study Like a Scientist, students gather facts from an engaging article that relates to potential energy. You can also pause here to add other activities and experiments like Station Labs and Inquiry Labs to expand their experiences.

In Part 3: Work Like a Scientist, students reevaluate their conclusions after watching the exclusive Steve Spangler explanation video. They then engage in a writing, drawing, or building activity – or all three! – to demonstrate what they have learned about the essential question: How does changing the distance between the two objects affect the potential energy stored in the system?

Each topic includes:

• Complete teacher directions with materials list, usage tips, learning objectives, and answer key
• Hand-outs for classroom use
• Two Steve Spangler videos to introduce and conclude the investigation
• Crisp, clear presentation slides in standard and digital interactive formats
• PowerPoints that can be uploaded cleanly to Google Slides
• Vimeo links to the videos to remove the concern over inappropriate ads and comments

Be on the lookout for more products in the future from this fantastic partnership between Kesler Science and Steve Spangler!

File Formats: PowerPoint and PDF; can be uploaded to Google Slides.