Oklahoma Science PH.PS3.2
The Standard
Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as either motions of particles or energy stored in fields.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Science (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students draw models of falling, rolling, and warming objects. They show energy as particle motion or energy stored in fields, then use their models to track where energy goes.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can label energy stored in the gravitational field of a ball and Earth before the ball falls. They can show the ball's particles moving together as it falls, then moving randomly in the ball and floor after impact.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think only visible movement counts as particle motion, so they miss the random motion in a warm object. They may place gravitational energy inside a raised book or say energy vanishes when a moving object stops.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Draw three frames of a ball rolling down a ramp onto a rug: at the top, rolling, and stopped. Label gravitational field energy, shared particle motion, and random particle motion where each applies.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Roll a marble down a cardboard ramp propped on books, then sketch the marble and Earth with motion arrows and gravitational field labels.
Ask: Why does a raised book have energy before it moves? Have students write two sentences using Earth and the gravitational field.
Give pairs cards labeled warm mug, rolling ball, raised book, and stretched rubber band; have them sort by particle motion or field energy.
Show a bicycle braking photo; students draw arrows for the bike's particle motion before braking and random particle motion in the brakes afterward.
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Printable PH.PS3.2 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to PH.PS3.2, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 7.PS3.2
Develop or modify a model to describe that when objects interacting at a distance change their arrangement, different amounts of potential energy are stored in ...
- PS.PS3.2
Develop and use models to illustrate that energy at the macroscopic scale can be accounted for as either motions of particles or energy stored in fields.
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