ENERGY

Energy is everything in the Universe and it is indestructible. Energy is everything that produces
changes in things. We use energy, particularly electrical and chemical energy, to power the
modern world. However, it is important that we do not exhaust the world’s resources and that
we learn to harness natural forms of energy such as solar power, and wind and water energy.

FORMS OF ENERGY

Form of energy Characteristics Examples

KINETIC The energy in a moving object Wind, an insect that is flying, a
river that is flowing, a person
who is running…
POTENCIAL The energy stored in objects Water in a reservoir, a
stretched rubber band, a child
at the top of a slide…
MECHANICAL The sum or potential and kinetic energy An aeroplane that is flying,
working wind turbine, the
hammer has enough energy to
force a nail into wood
ELECTRICAL The energy produced from various sources, Static electricity, electrical
both natural and chemical appliances…
CHEMICAL This energy is stored in substances such as Food, batteries, wood, petrol…
combustibles, foods…
SOUND The vibrations which we hear as sound. Clapping, singing, playing
musical instruments…
LIGHT The fastest form of energy The Sun, stars, light bulbs, fire

HEAT The thermal energy that flows from a warm The Sun, fire, a heater…
substance to a cooler one
NUCLEAR A small quantity of these substances produces a Uranium and Plutonium. These
lot of energy substances are called
radioactive

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 THE PROPERTIES OF ENERGY

Energy has certain properties that make it very useful

1. Energy can be transferred: It can pass from an object to another. For example, a
moving tennis racket has a mechanical energy. When It hits a ball, it transfer energy.
As a result, the ball obtains mechanical energy.
2. Energy can be stored: Batteries for example, store energy.
3. Energy can be transported: It can pass from one place to another. Electrical energy, for
example, is transported through cables. Combustible fuel, for example, can be
transported in lorries or pipelines.
4. Energy can be transformed from one type to another. Chemical energy in petro, for
example, can be transformed in mechanical energy in a car. Electrical energy is easily
transformed into mechanical, light and sound energy. This easy transformation makes
electrical energy very useful.

ENERGY SOURCES

Energy sources are the natural resources from which we obtain the energy we use. They can
be:

Renewables energy: we cannot exhaust

them because they renew themselves
continually. They are the Sun, the wind,
biomass, moving water. Some negative
effects can be:

- Destruction of the environment

- Massive flooding
- Noise pollution

Non renewable: We exhaust non renewable energy sources because they don´t have time to
renew themselves. The main ones are: fossil fuel and radioactive substances (oil, coal,
uranium, natural gas). Negative effects:

o Radioactive waste
o Acid rain
o Greenhouse effect
o Nuclear accidents

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 LIGHT

- It is a form of energy.
- The different types of light we see can come from:
o Natural sources; Sun or lighting
o Artificial sources; torches or candles.
- REFLECTION AND MIRRORS
o When light hits an object, it reflects from the surface of the object.
o If the surface is smooth, all the rays reflect in the same direction.
o If the surface is rough, the rays reflect in different directions.
o The best reflector is the mirror. Mirrors reflect the rays of light and form an
image of an object placed in front of it. We often use them in our homes.
- REFRACTION AND LENSES
o Refraction occurs when light changes direction because it passes from one
substance to another with different density. The substance through which light
travels is called medium.
o Lenses: are pieces of curved glass of plastic. They can make objects look bigger or
smaller depending on the shape of the lens and on the way they refract light:
microscopes, glasses, telescopes, binoculars and camaras.
- MAKING LIGHT
o When we light a candle, we created a chemical reaction. Fuel (wax) combines
with oxygen to keep the flame alight.
o Torches consist of a battery where the energy is stored, a simple electrical circuit
with a bulb and a switch, and a lens to focus the light.
- ELECTRICITY FROM LIGHT
o Solar panels use sunlight, which is absorbed by photovoltaic cells on the panels,
to make electricity.
o Solar power plants consist of vast fields of mirrors and solar panels that produce
electricity for thousands of homes.
- How do we see colours?
Sunlight is an example of white light. This type of light is made up of seven
colours which we can see when light passes through a prism. We can simply mix
the primary colours to get white light: red, blue and green.

When light hits an opaque object, some colours are absorbed and other are
reflected. The colour we see is the
colour that the object reflects. For
example, a rose is red because it
reflects the colour red and absorbs all
the other colours. Snow is white
because is reflects all the colours. Coal
is black because it absorbs all the
colours and does not reflect any of
them.

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 HEAT

All matter contains thermal energy. Our bodies contain thermal energy too.

THREE WAYS OF TRANSFERRING HEAT

Particles in matter are always moving. The faster the particles move, the hotter the object is.
When two particles collide, heat energy is transferred from the faster (hotter particle) to the
slower (cooler one). When the temperature is the same across the material, this is called
THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM.

1. RADIATION: heat waves radiate from a hot object or from a source of heat (fire)

2. CONVECTION: It is the transfer of heat through gases and liquids. As particles heat up,
they became less dense and move apart making them rise. Cooler particles move in
below creating a circular movement.

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 3. CONDUCTION: direct contact between materials allows the transfer of heat. Metals
are excellent thermal conductors. One of the properties of materials is the way they
transfer heat.
a. Thermal insulators (wool, wood, plastic) don’t transfer heat very effectively.
Example: woollen gloves are good heat insulators.
b. Thermal conductors (metals such as iron, cooper and aluminium) can transfer
heat quickly and effectively. They are good heat conductors.

To sum up

When we add thermal energy to a substance, its state changes or the volume of the substance
increases.

- Melting: a solid becomes a liquid (a ice when is heating)

- Evaporation: a liquid becomes a gas.
- Expansion: when the volume increases too.