Energy is something that is very hard to explain/ define, and yet it is all around us, everywhere. Energy is something that can be found everywhere, and is the reason why anything moves, without energy nothing would be able to move. Even things that dont move alos have energy, for example rocks and books can store energy. Energy is everywhere and without it day to day life would be impossible, nothing woule be able to function.
Law of conservation of energy: energy cannot be destroyed nor created, either transfered or transformed between objects and energies.
- Transfer of energy- When energy is transfered it is moved from one object to another without changing energy types;
- Transformation of energy- When energy is transformed it is moved from one object to another and the type of energy is changed or "transfomred" in the process.
Types of energy:
- Mechanical energy: is the combination of potential and kinetic energies; this energy includes both these main energies, so the term mechanical energy refers to the sum of these two forms.
- Kinetic energy: Is the energy associated with moving objects, and is referred to as the most fundamental from of energy. The size of the KE is determined by an object's speed and its mass.
- Gravitaional Potenital energy: Is the energy of position; the size of the GPE is determined by the object's mass and its height above the ground.
- electromagnetic energy: is the energy of waves. THis from of energy is often referred to as solar energy or light energy. Electromagnetic energy is energy that is carried by electromagnetic waves.
- Heat energy: is the random kinetic energy of particles. This type of energy is known as the "graveyard of energy". Thermal energy is another term often used as a synoym for heat energy.
- Chemical Potential Energy: The Energy of bonds. This is the enrgy that is stored in the bonds that hold particles in a substance together. In most cases when this energy is being moved to another it is transformed into other forms of energy
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Sound energy:The energy of vibrating particles. This form of energy is transferred by mechanical waves, and travels best through matter. The particles that make upa substance vibrate in a highly organized manner and tranfer energy through a substance.
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Elastic Potential Energy: Energy of deformed materials. This form of energy comes from the stretching or compressing o elastic materials. When an elastic objects is streched or compreseed it exerts a force, eleastic force, to return to its regulare shape. Ex. when this rubber is streched above it has elastic potential energy.
Energy Chains and Diagrams
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Energy chains -are pictures that show the movement (transfer/transformation) of energy between several objects. For example there is heat energy from the sun and it is transformed into chemical energy in a plant during photosynthesis. Then the energy is transferred as chemical energy into an animal when it eats the plant, and then it can be transferred again into our bodies if we eat that animal. The energy chain could continue on and one, but basically it shows the flow of energy.
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Energy Diagrams- These show how the energy in a situation is distributed, to be more specific it shows how much of each type of energy there is in a situation. For Example......
KE KE KE KE KE KE KE
PE PE PE PE PE PE PE
This is an energy diagram which shows that as the KE decreases the PE increases, and it shows how the energy in this situation is distributed.
