Energy Conservation and Students Collaborative Skills Analysis Through Car Experiments in Junior High School

Abstract

Many studies develop laboratory activities or worksheets on specific topics and on one of the 21st-century skills, but not on energy or collaboration. This research aims to provide comprehensive insights into the experiment on energy materials and students’ collaboration skills during the experiment. The method of this research was the experiment-based practicum learning (EBPL) method. This study found that to pass through the loop successfully, a car must meet the 5gR rule. Although the law of conservation of energy states that the total mechanical energy at the bottom must equal the sum of the kinetic and potential energy at the top, in real life there is a decrease in the top of the loop due to non-conservative forces such as friction and air resistance. Moreover, the average across all measured indicators of student collaboration skills is 84.5%, which is categorized as a very high level. In conclusion, the hands-on laboratory experiment combined with tracker video analysis successfully engaged students in collaborative scientific practices and fostered the development of essential teamwork competencies.