When Things Collide is a free printable Grade 4 science worksheet on asking and predicting what happens to energy in a collision, aligned to Common Core standard 4-PS3-3. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two pupils in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 1 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
A record of one marble rolled into a still marble, from three release heights.
STRIKING MARBLE AND STRUCK MARBLE
Released from 5 cm: striker nearly stopped, struck marble rolled 6 cm
Released from 10 cm: striker stopped, struck marble rolled 13 cm
Released from 15 cm: striker stopped, struck marble rolled 21 cm
The struck marble was still before every collision.
Same two marbles, same track, same surface.
1. How far did the struck marble roll after the 10 cm release?
2. What happens to the struck marble as the release height rises?
3. What would a release from 20 cm probably do?
4. What happened to the striking marble at 10 cm?
2.A rolling marble hits a still marble and stops. What happened to its energy?
A.It was transferred to the marble it hit
B.It stayed in the first marble
C.It disappeared
3.You predict a 20 cm release will beat 21 cm of travel. What is that prediction based on?
A.The colour of the marble
B.The pattern of increasing travel with increasing height
C.A guess
4.Why keep the same track and surface for every trial?
A.So only the release height differs between trials
B.It does not matter
C.To save time
5.A collision makes a clicking sound. What does that tell you?
A.Some energy left as sound
B.The marbles gained energy
C.Sound has no energy
6.What would you measure to compare two collisions?
A.How loud you shout
B.How far the struck object moves afterwards
C.The colour of the marbles
7.Two identical marbles collide head on and both stop. Where did the energy go?
A.Into the table's colour
B.It was destroyed
C.Into sound, heat and squashing at the moment of contact
LessonPrint · 4-PS3-3 · Set 1 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — When Things Collide
Set 1. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. 13 cm. 2. It rolls further each time. 3. Send the struck marble further than 21 cm. 4. It stopped.
2.It was transferred to the marble it hit
3.The pattern of increasing travel with increasing height
4.So only the release height differs between trials
5.Some energy left as sound
6.How far the struck object moves afterwards
7.Into sound, heat and squashing at the moment of contact
Questions about When Things Collide
What does the When Things Collide worksheet cover?
It practises asking and predicting what happens to energy in a collision — 7 questions for Grade 4, all on Common Core 4-PS3-3: Ask and predict what happens to energy when objects collide. The instruction to pupils is “Read the record, then answer the questions”, and the answer key follows on the next sheet.
Which Common Core standard does When Things Collide practise?
4-PS3-3 — 4-PS3-3, in the Physical Science domain for Grade 4. The published standard reads: “Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide.” The worksheet assesses that standard rather than a paraphrase of it.
What age or grade is this worksheet for?
When Things Collide is written for Grade 4, typically ages 9-10. It is one of the sheets on 4-PS3-3, so it suits any pupil working at that standard — including older pupils revisiting it and younger ones working ahead.
Does When Things Collide come with an answer key?
Yes. All 7 answers are generated from the same problems as the questions, so the key cannot drift out of step with the sheet. It starts on a fresh sheet of paper, after the questions, so it is not handed out with the class by accident.
How many different versions of When Things Collide can I print?
25 — one per pupil, and all 25 ask different questions. Set 1 downloads the whole class as a single PDF. Every version is fixed to its own address, so a sheet printed today holds the same problems when you reopen it next week.
Is When Things Collide free to print and photocopy?
Yes. When Things Collide, its answer key and its 25 versions are free to print and photocopy for your own class, with no account, no email capture and no subscription at the download step. Please do not resell them or republish them as your own.
Is there a lesson plan to teach 4-PS3-3?
Yes — “When Things Collide” is a 55-minute Grade 4 plan for 4-PS3-3, timed section by section, with the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. When Things Collide is the practice that follows it.
More practice for 4-PS3-3
Ask and predict what happens to energy when objects collide.
Teaching this next? When Things Collide is the 55-minute plan for it, with the misconceptions to expect.