4-PS3-1: How Speed Relates to Energy
Also called NGSS 4-PS3-1 · Topic: Energy · Physical Science
The Official Wording
Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measures of changes in the speed of an object or on any precise or quantitative definition of energy.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 4-PS3-1 Means in Plain English
Fourth graders gather evidence that a faster object carries more energy than a slower one. They drop or roll the same object at different speeds and compare what it does when it lands, like how big a dent it leaves.
The comparison stays in words: faster or slower, more or less energy. Students do not time speeds or calculate energy, which waits until middle school (MS-PS3-1). The idea leads straight into 4-PS3-3, where moving objects collide and energy changes.
4-PS3-1 I Can Statements
- I can tell which of two moving objects has more energy.
- I can use evidence, like dent size, to compare energy.
- I can explain why a faster object causes bigger changes when it hits.
4-PS3-1 Worked Example
A drop test a class can run on a tabletop with one golf ball, a pan of flour and a meter stick.
Does a golf ball that hits the flour faster leave a bigger crater?
Set It Up: A golf ball, a baking pan filled with flour about 5 centimeters deep, a meter stick and a ruler.
- Smooth the flour flat and drop the ball from 25 centimeters above it.A small, shallow crater
- Measure the crater across with a ruler, then smooth the flour again.About 5 cm wide
- Drop the same ball from 50 centimeters, then from 100 centimeters.Wider, deeper craters
- Drop from each height three times and record every crater width.3 drops per height
- Compare the crater sizes from the lowest drop to the highest.Highest drop: widest craters, about 7 cm
Balls dropped from higher up hit the flour faster and left wider, deeper craters every time.
Why it works: A ball falling from higher is moving faster when it lands, and a faster ball has more energy to push flour aside.
Common Mistakes with 4-PS3-1
Changing the ball and the height together
Swapping to a heavier ball for the highest drop
Try this: Use the same ball for every drop so the only difference is how fast it is moving when it hits.
Thinking energy only means electricity or food
“A ball can't have energy, it's not plugged in.”
Try this: Energy is in anything that moves. A rolling, falling or flying object has energy because of its motion, and more speed means more energy.
Trusting one drop
“The 50 cm crater was bigger than the 100 cm one!” after a single try
Try this: Drop from each height three times and compare all the craters. One odd drop can happen if the flour was packed unevenly.
Where 4-PS3-1 Fits
Practice 4-PS3-1
Quick Check
- Two identical balls roll down a hall. One is fast, one is slow. Which has more energy?
- Why use the same ball for every drop?
- A bowling ball rolled hard knocks down more pins than one rolled slowly. What does that show?