Transformers: Energy in Disguise

Transformers: Energy in Disguise is a Launch level Science Unlocked curriculum kit. It can't be created nor destroyed, but you can design, build, and test devices to convert energy from one form to another. Engage in memorable physics activities, including building a wind turbine, blowing over obstacles with light, and using a motor as a generator.

Transformers comes with a full-color Student Workbook and detailed Teacher Guide. It is a phenomenon-based approach, designed to fully engage students in the science of energy conversion. Through a series of experiments, students will learn why reactions happen and how to explain them using the periodic table. As part of a special program from Home Science Tools, this Launch level kit will provide over 15 hours of engaging instruction, helping your student gain knowledge and confidence while doing real science.

In this kit, the student will do these activities and more:

1. Spark fun with steel wool and a battery.
2. Use a simple design to understand energy transfer.
3. Build a wind turbine and make it spin.
4. Use mathematics to explain describable patterns.
5. Blow over obstacles with light.
6. Follow the engineering process to build the most efficient tool to turn on a light.
7. Keep the physics fun going with a variety of optional extensions.

Use Transformers to answer questions such as:

• What is energy?
• How does energy work?
• What are the forms of energy?
• How does energy conversion impact society?

Our Transformers kit is a part of the Science Unlocked Launch series and is recommended for grades 8-12.

Interested in learning more? Check out our Student Workbook Sample and Teacher Guide Sample!

This kit contains:

• 2 Alligator Clips
• 1 Pie Plate
• 2 Dowels
• 1 Battery, 9 volt
• 2 Cardstock Sheets
• 5 Cups
• 1 DC motor, 0.5-6 volt
• 1 Green LED
• 1 Masking Tape
• 1 Propeller
• 1 Rubber Bands
• 1 Solar Cell
• 2 Straws
• 1 Steel Wool

On hand, you will want to have:

• Fan (optional)
• Flashlight (can be a phone app)
• Heat source for boiling water
• Scissors
• Water

• Learning outcome: Energy can’t be created or destroyed, but you can design, build, and test devices to convert it from one form to another!
• NGSS science standards alignment

• HS-ETS1-3 Evaluate a solution to a complex real-world problem based on prioritized criteria and trade-offs that account for a range of constraints, including cost, safety, reliability, and aesthetics, as well as possible social, cultural, and environmental impacts.
• HS-PS3-1 Create a computational model to calculate the change in the energy of one component in a system when the change in energy of the other component(s) and energy flows in and out of the system are known.
• HS-PS3-3 Design, build, and refine a device that works within given constraints to convert one form of energy into another form of energy.
• HS-PS3-5 Develop and use a model of two objects interacting through electric or magnetic fields to illustrate the forces between objects and the changes in energy of the objects due to the interaction.