Energy is everywhere. You’ve probably heard of renewable energy, and been told not to waste energy. Then there’s your own energy. That get-up-and go instinct you definitely don’t feel on school mornings, and the extra spurt that hits you mysteriously on weekends. But what is energy? And why is it so important that we keep trying to get more, save it and make it more efficient?
Watch this video to find out more about what energy is, where to find it and how to use it. Then, answer the question in the Take Notes box, below. You may read the transcript to the video, and watch the segment, as many times as you like.
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
Energy is everywhere, all the time. It is one of the fundamental phenomena that make up our universe. It can never be created or destroyed, but energy can move. And as it moves, it takes on different forms, so to speak, that we experience in different ways. For instance, there’s:
Just to name a few.
Whatever the type, we can measure energy by its ability or potential to cause movement in a system, also known as its ability to do “work.” And these concepts of energy and work and movement are super important in all of the ways we interact with the world.
Because in our universe, energy is everything.
In this lesson you’ll learn some basic information about energy, work and simple machines. You’ll watch a short video and then three animations that explain mechanical energy, how work changes energy and how simple machines do work more efficiently. After taking notes and online quizzes, you’ll have a chance to review and organize what you’ve learned. Then you will produce your own project to show off your work, energy, and simple machine knowledge.
1) List four different types of energy.
2) List which type of motion is involved for each type of energy you've listed.
3) Give one example of energy transferring or moving from one object to another.
4) Give one example of energy transforming from one type of energy to another.
