Indiana Science HS-PS2-3

ScienceGrades 9–12Physical Science

The Standard

Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device for example, one that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision. [Clarification Statement: Examples of evaluation and refinement could include determining the success of the device at protecting an object from damage and modifying the design to improve it. Examples of a device could include a football helmet or a parachute.]

Indiana Academic Standards for Science (2023) · Forces and Interactions

Teacher's field guide

What This Standard Means

What Students Need to Do: Students build a device to protect an object during a collision. They test it, use the results to judge how well it worked, and change the design. They explain how a longer stop can lower impact force.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students keep the object and drop height the same when comparing designs. They record damage or motion data, change one feature, and retest. They explain that a longer stopping time reduces average force when the change in momentum stays the same.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think padding prevents momentum from changing, rather than changing how long the stop takes. They may assume thicker padding always helps, even if it compresses fully. Some compare two drops from different heights and credit the design for the difference.
How to Assess It: A 0.5 kg cart moving at 4 m/s stops against pad A in 0.02 s or pad B in 0.10 s. Ask students to calculate each average force and suggest one change to pad A.

Lesson moves

Ways to Teach It

Build egg holders from cups, foam, and tape; bag each egg, drop from one meter, record cracks, revise, and retest.
Ask: Why can a foam-lined helmet lower impact force even when the rider’s head still comes to a stop?
Give pairs collision cards with mass, speed, and stopping time; have them calculate average force and rank the impacts.
Open a shipping box with foam inserts; have students draw where the inserts compress if the box falls.

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