Harness the power of rubber bands of all things. A hands-on activity has scholars design and build paddle boats. They learn how the elastic potential energy of rubber bands can be converted to the kinetic energy associated with motion.

Concepts

kinetic energy, boats, engineering design, rubber bands, potential energy

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the extension activity as an extra credit assignment
  

Classroom Considerations

• Requires some basic materials, such as cardboard, rubber bands, scissors, duct tape, and straws
  
• A sink or container with water is necessary for testing the boats
  

Pros

• Includes printable handouts with illustrated directions
• A video is available that shows each step of the process
  

Cons

• None