HS-PS3-3
The standard
Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to design and build a device that changes energy from one form to another, using only the materials and limits you give them. They should test it, collect input and output data, and use that evidence to improve the design.
Mastery looks like a working device with a clear energy transfer, measured results, and at least one thoughtful redesign based on data. Students often get stuck making something “cool” but not measurable, ignoring constraints, or describing energy changes too vaguely, such as saying energy was “used up.”
Ways to teach it
- Build a small wind turbine from cups, cardboard, tape, and a motor, then measure how many LEDs it can light.
- Prompt students to explain where energy enters, changes form, leaves, and where some is transferred to the surroundings.
- Use an exit ticket asking students to calculate total output for one tested input and name one design improvement.
- Compare the class devices to phone chargers, hand-crank flashlights, solar ovens, or regenerative braking in hybrid cars.
Plan a lesson for HS-PS3-3
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- MS-PS3-3
Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
- 1-PS4-4
Use tools and materials to design and build a device that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance.
- 4-PS3-4
Apply scientific ideas to design, test, and refine a device that converts energy from one form to another.
- MS-PS1-6
Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.