NGSS Resource Hub
Three-dimensional breakdowns, phenomenon ideas, misconceptions, and engagement activities for every NGSS standard.
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4th Grade NGSS Standards
Pick any standard. Each page is your full lesson-planning workspace for that standard.
Energy & Collisions: When Things Crash, the Energy Goes Somewhere
"Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide."
"Emphasis is on the change in the energy due to the change in speed, not on the forces, as objects interact."
"Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy."
The three dimensions packed into this standard
Every standard bundles a DCI (the content), a SEP (the science practice), and a CCC (the crosscutting lens). They run in the same task, not in sequence.
"Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents."
"Energy is present whenever there are moving objects, sound, light, or heat. When objects collide, energy can be transferred from one object to another, thereby changing their motion. In such collisions, some energy is typically also transferred to the surrounding air; as a result, the air gets heated and sound is produced."
"When objects collide, the contact forces transfer energy so as to change the objects' motions."
This standard lives in the moment two things crash. Before the crash, a moving object carries energy. During the crash, that energy moves into whatever it hits. After the crash, 4th graders see the change: one object slows, the other speeds up, you hear a sound, and the air warms a tiny bit.
"Ask questions that can be investigated and predict reasonable outcomes based on patterns such as cause and effect relationships."
4th graders aren't handed the question. They watch a crash, notice it changes something, and ask a question they could actually test, like "What happens to the still marble if I roll a faster one into it?" Then they predict the outcome using a pattern they've seen: faster crash, bigger change.
"Energy can be transferred in various ways and between objects."
Here's the idea 4th graders carry out the door: in a crash, energy doesn't disappear, it moves. When the rolling marble hits the still one, its energy of motion transfers over and the still marble takes off. Some energy also leaks into a sound and warms the air. It's all still there.
📍 Where This Standard Fits in the K-12 Progression
Use this to plan the year. Knowing what students should already know and what they're heading toward keeps the lesson focused.
Energy is a new idea in 4th grade. 4th graders arrive from 3rd grade knowing that balanced and unbalanced forces (pushes and pulls) change an object's motion. They have not yet thought about energy moving between objects when those objects crash.
Energy & Collisions: When Things Crash, the Energy Goes Somewhere
In middle school, students stop just tracking energy and start reasoning about how much changes. They construct and use evidence to argue that when an object speeds up or slows down in an interaction, energy was transferred to or from it.
🌎 Phenomena for 4-PS3-3
Anchor the lesson in one puzzling phenomenon kids keep coming back to. Use the two investigative phenomena to sharpen specific facets.
One Marble Stops, the Other Takes Off
Roll a marble into a line of still marbles sitting tight against each other. The rolling marble nearly stops. But the marble at the far end takes off, all by itself. Nothing touched it directly. Roll the first marble faster and the far one flies away faster. Same marbles every time, but the energy keeps showing up at the other end.
"How does the marble at the far end take off when the marble that hit the line stopped?"
- "The rolling marble nearly stopped, so where did its energy go?"
- "Did the energy travel through the marbles in the middle?"
- "If I roll the first marble faster, will the far marble fly off faster?"
Crash the Carts
Send one toy car rolling into a parked car, first slow, then fast. The parked car gets knocked forward every time, and the harder crash sends it farther. Use this to sharpen the anchor's big question: the energy of the moving car transfers into the still car, and a faster crash hands off more energy.
"What happens to the parked car when a faster car crashes into it, and why?"
- "Where does the rolling car's energy go when it hits the parked one?"
- "Why does a faster crash push the parked car farther?"
- "Does the rolling car keep all its energy, or does it give some away?"
Listen for the Energy
Drop a ball onto a hard floor from low, then high. The higher drop hits faster, bounces higher, AND makes a louder bang. Same setup as the anchor, but now 4th graders hear something. Some of the crash energy turns into sound, which is a clue that energy spreads into more than just the bounce.
"Why does the ball make a louder sound when it hits the floor faster?"
- "Is the sound made out of some of the ball's energy?"
- "Why is the bang louder on the high drop than the low drop?"
- "Does the ball lose a little energy each time it bounces?"
⚠️ Misconceptions Your Students Will Walk In With
These come up almost every year. Knowing them in advance lets you head them off in the first lesson.
"When the rolling marble stops, its energy just disappears."
The energy doesn't disappear in a crash. It transfers. The rolling marble hands its energy of motion to the marbles in the line, and the far marble takes off with it. A little also turns into sound and warms the air. Add it all up and the energy is still there, just moved.
"In a crash, both objects always end up moving the same way."
Not always. Watch closely: often the object that was moving slows down or stops, and the object that was still starts moving. The energy shifted from one to the other. The motion changed because the energy changed hands, not because both objects do the same thing.
"A faster crash and a slower crash give the same result."
Speed changes everything in this standard. A faster object carries more energy of motion into the crash, so it can transfer more. That's why a fast crash knocks the other object farther and makes a louder sound than a slow one. Same objects, different speed, different result.
"The sound from a crash has nothing to do with the energy."
The sound is part of the energy story. When objects collide, some of the energy doesn't go into moving the other object. It goes into the air as sound and a tiny bit of heat. A louder crash is a clue that more energy was moving around. The sound is energy too.
🙋 Common Student Questions and How to Respond
These come up almost every time this standard gets taught. Plan a response and you'll keep the lesson focused.
Don't hand it to them. Ask, "What moved right when the rolling marble stopped?" Steer them to the far marble. The energy of motion transferred through the line and into that last marble, which is why it took off. A little also became sound and warmth.
Great noticing. Ask them to watch the middle marbles closely. They barely move, but they pass the energy along, one to the next, like handing off a baton. The energy travels through them and pops out the far end. Let them test it by adding more marbles to the line.
Yes, and let them discover it. Ask, "Where could the energy go besides into the other object?" Then point at the bang they just heard. Some crash energy turns into sound and a tiny bit of heat in the air. Louder crash, more energy moving around.
In 4th grade we don't put a number on the energy. We use what we can see and hear as evidence instead. The far marble flying farther tells us more energy moved. A louder bang tells us the same thing. The effect IS our measurement.
📚 Vocabulary Students Need for 4-PS3-3
The terms students need to access this standard. Definitions in plain-English, classroom-ready language.
💡 Free Engagement Ideas for 4-PS3-3
Marble Line Energy Transfer
Groups set up a tight line of marbles and roll one marble into the end at slow, medium, and fast speeds. They watch the far marble take off, measure how far it travels each time, and write one sentence about where the energy went. This is the anchor turned into a hands-on lab.
Crash the Carts Test
4th graders roll one toy car into a parked car at three speeds and measure how far the parked car gets knocked. Because the cars don't change, the only variable is the crash speed. A clean way to see energy transfer from a moving object into a still one.
Drop & Listen Sound Test
4th graders drop the same ball from a low height and a high height onto a hard surface, listening for which crash is louder and watching which bounce is higher. They connect 'louder and higher' to 'a faster crash moved more energy.' Great for hearing energy turn into sound.
Ask-a-Question Crash Wall
After the labs, 4th graders post questions they still have about collisions on a class wall, then pick one testable question and write a prediction using a cause-and-effect pattern they saw. Turns their curiosity into the exact skill this standard asks for: asking and predicting.
📝 Assessment Ideas for 4-PS3-3
Three short tasks that hit all three dimensions. Doable in one class period each.
Show 4th graders a picture of a fast marble about to hit a still marble. They write a testable question about the crash and predict what will happen to the energy, using a cause-and-effect pattern. Mirrors the SEP wording: ask questions and predict reasonable outcomes based on patterns.
Give 4th graders the results from the marble line lab. They write a short explanation of where the rolling marble's energy went when it stopped, naming the far marble, the sound, and the warmth. Checks whether they can track energy transferring between objects.
4th graders draw a fast car hitting a parked car and label, with arrows, where the energy starts (the moving car), where it goes (the parked car), and that some becomes sound. A picture-based check that shows whether they understand energy moving in a collision.
🎯 What Proficient Student Work Looks Like
Same prompt, three student responses at different proficiency levels. Use as anchor papers when scoring.
"A fast marble is about to hit a still marble. Ask a question you could test about the crash, and predict what will happen to the energy."
- A specific claim backed by data or observation
- Use of standard-specific vocabulary in context
- Connection between what students observe and the underlying science idea
- A question they're still wondering about (curiosity stays alive)
"My question is what will happen. I think the still marble will move because the fast one hits it. The crash will be loud."
Names a real effect (the still marble moves) and notices the sound, but the question isn't very testable and the word 'energy' never shows up. The prediction stops at 'it will move' without a cause-and-effect pattern.
"My question is: if I roll the marble faster, will the still marble fly off farther? I predict yes. A faster marble has more energy of motion, so when it crashes it will give the still marble more energy and that one will go farther."
Asks a testable question and predicts an outcome using a clear cause-and-effect pattern (faster crash, more energy, farther flight). Uses 'energy of motion' correctly. This is exactly what the standard asks a 4th grader to do.
"My question is: if I roll the marble faster, will the still marble fly farther and make a louder bang? I predict yes to both. The fast marble has more energy of motion. When they crash, the fast marble's energy goes into the still marble so it flies farther, and some of it turns into the loud bang and warms the air."
Asks a testable question, predicts the outcome with a cause-and-effect pattern, AND tracks the energy moving into the other marble plus the sound and warmth. Ties speed, transfer, and energy-and-matter together in one answer. Reaches the CCC without being asked.