South Dakota Science HS-PS2-3
The Standard
Design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision. (SEP: 6; DCI: PS2.A, ETS1.A, ETS1.C; CCC: Cause/Effect) Alignment may include HS-ETS1-1, HS-ETS1-3
South Dakota Science Standards (2024) · Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students design a bumper for a cart and test it against another design at the same starting speed. They use stopping time and change in momentum to explain which bumper reduces average force, then revise their design.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student keeps the cart’s mass and starting speed fixed, measures stopping time from video, and calculates average force. They can explain why a bumper that compresses fully may fail and propose a change to test.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think a soft bumper removes the force, rather than making the stop take longer. They may compare crashes at different speeds or assume thicker foam always works, even when it compresses fully.
How to Assess It
- A 0.5 kg cart moving at 2 m/s stops in 0.05 s with a rubber bumper and 0.20 s with foam. Calculate each average force and sketch one bumper change you would test next.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build foam bumpers for toy cars, roll each car down the same ramp, and time each stop using slow-motion video.
Ask students why a thin foam bumper might fail at higher speeds, then have them write a proposed fix.
Give pairs collision-time cards with a fixed mass and speed, then have them rank the cards by average impact force.
Show a car crash-test clip and ask students to mark where the car bends and where the passenger space stays intact.
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Printable HS-PS2-3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to HS-PS2-3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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