4-PS3-2: How Energy Moves from Place to Place
Also called NGSS 4-PS3-2 · Topic: Energy · Physical Science
The Official Wording
Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
Assessment boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.
NGSS Lead States, 2013 · Read it on nextgenscience.org · checked October 15, 2026
What 4-PS3-2 Means in Plain English
Fourth graders observe energy traveling from one place to another in four ways: as sound, as light, as heat and as electric current. They watch for the effect at the far end, like a warm spoon handle, a buzzing balloon or a glowing bulb.
Students describe what they see rather than measuring how much energy moves, so no meters or calculations are needed. This builds on what speed tells us about energy (4-PS3-1) and sets up building a device that changes energy from one form to another (4-PS3-4).
4-PS3-2 I Can Statements
- I can show that sound carries energy from place to place.
- I can show that light and heat carry energy too.
- I can trace how electric current moves energy through a circuit.
4-PS3-2 Worked Example
Four quick stations a class can rotate through in one science period, each showing energy arriving somewhere new.
How can energy get from one place to another?
Set It Up: A mug of hot tap water, a metal spoon with a dab of butter near the top of the handle, a balloon, a small speaker, a battery with two wires and a bulb, and black paper on a sunny windowsill.
- Stand the spoon in the hot water and watch the butter dab for a few minutes.Heat: the butter softens
- Hold the balloon against the speaker while it plays music.Sound: the balloon trembles in your fingers
- Connect the battery to the bulb with both wires.Current: the bulb lights up
- Feel the black paper from the sunny window, then a sheet kept in the shade.Light: the sunny paper feels warmer
At every station something changed in a spot the energy had to travel to, so energy really does move from place to place.
Why it works: Heat, sound, light and current in a circuit all carry energy, and it shows up as warmth, vibration or brightness where it arrives.
Common Mistakes with 4-PS3-2
Thinking cold travels
“The cold from the ice moved into my hand.”
Try this: Heat energy moves from the warmer thing to the cooler thing. Your hand feels cold because it is losing heat to the ice.
Thinking sound is not energy
“Sound is just noise, it can't move anything.”
Try this: Sound is vibration traveling through air. Its energy can shake a balloon, rattle a window or move grains of salt on a drum.
Missing the circuit loop
One wire from the battery to the bulb, and nothing lights
Try this: Electric current needs a full loop. Run one wire from each end of the battery to the bulb so current can flow around and back.
Where 4-PS3-2 Fits
Practice 4-PS3-2
Quick Check
- A metal spoon sits in hot soup. Why does the handle get warm?
- How does a battery make a bulb light up?
- Name two ways energy reaches you from the Sun.