OK Go: This Too Shall Pass (Energy Transfer Phenomenon)

Contributor
OK Go
Type Category
Instructional Materials
Types
Animation/Movie , Music , Phenomenon
Note
This resource, vetted by NSTA curators, is provided to teachers along with suggested modifications to make it more in line with the vision of the NGSS. While not considered to be "fully aligned," the resources and expert recommendations provide teachers with concrete examples and expert guidance using the EQuIP rubric to adapted existing resources. Read more here.

Reviews

Average Rating

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Most Recent Review

1 curse word in video

Reviewed by: Jackie (Lexington, KY) on 1/14/2020 2:19:27 PM

I love this video, but be careful using it with your class. It has the word hell in it, which some would consider a curse word. I have used different Rube Goldberg machine videos with success. There are several on his website and on YouTube.

Description

OK Go’s music video, “This Too Shall Pass,” was created by musicians, artists, and engineers working collaboratively to perfectly synchronize the events in a Rube Goldberg-style chain reaction. The video provides multiple opportunities for students to explore energy transfer. The video begins with a truck pushing over a domino. Could that small amount of energy be transferred throughout the machine? As students watch, they can try to figure out where the energy in each segment is coming from, where it goes, and how it changes as it is transferred and transformed.  

Intended Audience

- none -
Educational Level
- none -
Language
English
Access Restrictions

- none -

Performance Expectations

4-PS3-3 Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the change in the energy due to the change in speed, not on the forces, as objects interact.

Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include quantitative measurements of energy.

This resource was not designed to build towards this performance expectation, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Performance Expectation
After watching the video once all the way through, watch it again, pausing to give students the opportunity to discuss and ask questions about how energy is changing as objects collide. For example, why does the energy from one falling domino topple all the dominoes? (Each domino has energy stored because it is positioned vertically.) Students should then be given the opportunity to explore energy transfer in chain reaction machines by creating their own. See this related resource to further explore how energy can be stored by placing a block in a vertical position: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgvcCiPpO_o

Science and Engineering Practices

This resource was not designed to build towards this science and engineering practice, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Science and Engineering Practice
After viewing the video, students should select one or more questions to investigate. For example they might investigate how size or weight affects motion of an object or objects. Or they might wonder about how varying the length of a lever arm or the height of a ramp affects motion as collisions occur.

Disciplinary Core Ideas

This resource was not designed to build towards this disciplinary core idea, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Disciplinary Core Idea
While light and heat are certainly present in the chain reaction machine, changes in energy will be more easily observed as objects collide, move, and make sounds. Further investigations into friction, heating, and sound will be necessary to fully develop this Disciplinary Core Idea.

Crosscutting Concepts

This resource was not designed to build towards this crosscutting concept, but can be used to build towards it using the suggestions provided below.

Comments about Including the Crosscutting Concept
Some possible ways students may notice energy transfer include the following: Energy stored because an object is raised off the ground causes the object to move when it is released. Energy stored because flags are on springs cause the flags to move when they are released. When objects collide they make a sound. Objects (dominoes, book) that are positioned vertically fall when another object hits them.

Resource Quality

  • Alignment to the Dimensions of the NGSS: - none -

  • Instructional Supports: - none -

  • Monitoring Student Progress: - none -

  • Quality of Technological Interactivity: - none -