Motion and Energy | Te Neke me te Hau

Convert stored energy into useful movement

Every launch, roll, and flight loses energy somewhere. Find where — then redesign.

Wero — the big question

How can stored energy be converted to useful movement — and how do we redesign systems using evidence?

What you will investigate

Curriculum strands

Physical Science Yr 9: Newton's Laws, forces, friction, fluids and pressure
Physical Science Yr 10: Energy conservation, efficiency, work, energy flow diagrams
Technology Yr 9–10: Spatial & Product Design, Materials & Processing

Technology strands

Materials and Processing
Spatial and Product Design

1 termSupport level: Full teacher guidance throughout

Studies in this world

See all studies →

starter3–5 sessions

Elastic Band Car Challenge

An elastic band, a chassis, and a question: what makes this car go further? You will find out.

Fair-test motion data builds shared community insights about friction, alignment, and elastic energy — the foundation for redesign.

You will design a simple elastic-band-powered car and test how one change at a time affects how far it travels.

Venture/WeroObserve/KiteInfer/Whakaaro

developing4–6 sessions

Elastic Band Car Redesign Using Community Insights

Other groups noticed something you missed. Can their insight help you build a better car?

Community insights turn individual car trials into collective design knowledge — when students apply others' evidence carefully.

You will read approved community insights from the Elastic Band Car theme and use them to design and test a second-version car.

Infer/WhakaaroCreate/AuahaEvaluate/Tohu

developing5–8 sessions

SkyLab Flight Investigation

A seed, a paper glider, and a bird — all flyers. What makes one stay in the air longer than another?

Flight investigations connect fluid forces to design choices — insights peers share about drag, lift, and biomimicry.

You will design and test flying objects (paper gliders, falling seeds, or simple winged models) and figure out what affects flight time and distance.

Venture/WeroObserve/KiteInfer/WhakaaroCreate/Auaha

developing4–6 sessions

Energy Transfer and Efficiency Challenge

Energy moves through every system — but not all of it does useful work. Where does the rest go?

Energy is never created or destroyed — only transferred. Communities redesign systems when efficiency data shows where energy is wasted.

You will track energy through a multi-stage setup, calculate efficiency, diagram the flows, and redesign one part with evidence.

Venture/WeroObserve/KiteInfer/WhakaaroCreate/AuahaEvaluate/Tohu

What this inquiry community is discovering

Patterns from guided studies in this world — useful ideas to test, not answers to copy.

seen across groups

More elastic bands increased power but reduced consistency

Groups using more elastic bands often achieved greater distance, but their results varied more between trials.

Evidence pattern

Across saved runs, cars with higher band counts tended to have higher peak distance, but also a wider spread between best and worst trials within the same setup.

What it might mean: The extra energy from more bands may cause wheel slip or an uneven release, adding variability even when distance increases.

Try this next

Test the same number of bands with a lighter chassis to separate band count from car mass.

early pattern

Surface type affected distance more than expected

Several groups found that changing from smooth to rough surfaces reduced distance more than changing elastic band count.

Evidence pattern

In side-by-side comparisons, the same car and band setup travelled noticeably less on rougher surfaces, even when groups expected band count to dominate the result.

What it might mean: Rolling resistance and traction changes can absorb energy quickly. If surface isn’t controlled, it can hide or exaggerate design effects.

Try this next

Measure the same car on two surfaces with identical elastic band setup before changing anything else.

See all Motion and Energy community findings →

What you might make

Maker pathways connect your evidence to a real prototype or build.

Redesigned chassis3D print
Lighter or stronger car frame based on distance data
Your best distance run tells you what mass and shape to aim for.
Launch guideLaser cut
Consistent release mechanism to reduce trial variation
If your results vary a lot between trials, a consistent launch guide could help.
Wheel spacer3D print
Change wheel alignment or friction based on steering data
If your car drifted during testing, a wheel spacer targets that variable.