Spangler Phenomenon - Desktop Catapult Investigation

This Spangler Phenomenon lesson about kinetic energy, speed, and mass 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 do the mass and speed of an object relate to its kinetic energy?

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: Desktop Catapult

Standard: MS-PS3-1: Construct and interpret graphical displays of data to describe the relationships of kinetic energy to the mass of an object and to the speed of an object.

Learning Objective: How do the mass and speed of an object relate to its kinetic energy?

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 kinetic energy, speed, and mass. They get inspired by a Steve Spangler video, Desktop Catapult, and then students will make their own desktop catapults.

In Part 2:  Study Like a Scientist, students gather facts from an engaging article that relates to kinetic energy, speed, and mass. 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 do the mass and speed of an object relate to its kinetic energy?

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.