

IB DP Physics open-inquiry practical on conservation of mechanical energy for Topic A.3 Work, energy and power, SL and HL, first assessment 2025: a trolley released from rest down a runway. Each group picks what to change (the distance run, the slope or the load), writes its own research question and hypothesis, and tests whether the kinetic energy gained equals the gravitational potential energy lost, within the uncertainty. Editable worksheet, 69-slide lesson deck, teacher key, worked solutions and a questions-only assessment, supplied as self-contained HTML plus colour and black-and-white PDF.
What students learn
- An aim asks whether; a research question asks how one quantity depends on another, over a range.
- One row, worked with the class, propagates uncertainty through a quotient, a product, a square and a difference.
- Ek against Ep, on one scale with both bars and the line Ek = Ep, decides the verdict across the range.
- A pendulum question shows the other verdict: a loss too small to see is “not contradicted”, not “none”.
IB skills (Tools 1 and 3, and Inquiry 1 to 3):
- Formulating research questions and hypotheses, and evaluating hypotheses (taught).
- Identifying and recording relevant qualitative observations (taught).
- Independent thinking and creativity in the design (practised).
- Justifying the variables, the method and the range (practised).
- Addressing safety, ethical and environmental issues (practised).
- Propagating uncertainties in processed data (practised).
- Plotting with uncertainty bars and a line of best fit (practised).
- Justifying conclusions, and the impact of uncertainties on them (practised).
What’s included:
- Student Worksheet - 21 pages
- Teacher Key - 36 pages
- Worked Solutions - 19 pages
- Assessment - 12 pages
- Lesson deck - 69 slides
Eleven questions carry 76 marks. The teacher key works a full sample dataset, notes what the slope and load routes show, and credits the reasoning, not agreement with the sample. Bench work and processing fill a 90-minute double period, with Questions 1 to 5 as pre-lab homework and 9 to 11 as the write-up. It is a skills practical and declares no IB understanding, with a Nature of Science note on energy that goes missing. SI units, IB notation and IB command terms throughout. Suitable for grades 11-12 (ages 16-19).
Part of the A.3 Work, Energy and Power Complete Unit Bundle, 30% off buying the packs separately.
Related resources:
- Mechanical Energy and Friction, the lesson on the work friction does
- IA and Paper 1B Skills Bundle, the nine skill packs behind the write-up
- Measuring the Acceleration of Free Fall, the kinematics practical (free)
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