What is energy?
What are some ways in which you use the word “energy”? Eating meals gives you the energy you need to play outside. Putting gasoline in a car gives it energy to drive. When your toy car runs out of batteries, it has no more energy. Plants need the energy from sunlight to make their food.
So… what is energy?
At its most basic, energy is what makes things go! Its definition is “the ability to do work.” If that sounds confusing, think about some of those examples from above:
Eating food gives your body the ability to do work (play). Gasoline gives your car the ability to do work (drive), batteries give your toy the ability to work (move), and sunlight gives plants the ability to do work (live and grow)!
One of the neat things about energy is that it comes in lots of different forms! There is heat energy, light energy, chemical energy, electrical energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, and more! Different forms of energy each work with different things.
For example, electrical energy will power a toaster but it won’t help plants grow, and the energy stored in food can be used by humans and animals but will not turn on your computer!
Forms of energy can also change into each other. A lamp is a good example: Electrical energy becomes heat and light energy!
The forms of energy are divided into two types: Stored energy (a.k.a. “potential energy”) and moving energy (a.k.a. “kinetic energy”). Batteries, gasoline, and a ball sitting at the top of an incline are types of stored energy – they contain energy that is waiting to happen.
A waterfall or a ball rolling down a hill are types of moving energy – this type of energy applies to things that are actively in motion!
Just like forms of energy can change into each other (as in the lamp example), so can the two kinds of energy, potential and moving. For example, you can use moving energy to climb to the top of the slide.
Once you’ve made it to the top, you’ve created the potential energy to slide down! The potential energy then becomes moving energy again when you ride down. Whee!
So… what is energy?
At its most basic, energy is what makes things go! Its definition is “the ability to do work.” If that sounds confusing, think about some of those examples from above:
Eating food gives your body the ability to do work (play). Gasoline gives your car the ability to do work (drive), batteries give your toy the ability to work (move), and sunlight gives plants the ability to do work (live and grow)!
One of the neat things about energy is that it comes in lots of different forms! There is heat energy, light energy, chemical energy, electrical energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, and more! Different forms of energy each work with different things.
For example, electrical energy will power a toaster but it won’t help plants grow, and the energy stored in food can be used by humans and animals but will not turn on your computer!
Forms of energy can also change into each other. A lamp is a good example: Electrical energy becomes heat and light energy!
The forms of energy are divided into two types: Stored energy (a.k.a. “potential energy”) and moving energy (a.k.a. “kinetic energy”). Batteries, gasoline, and a ball sitting at the top of an incline are types of stored energy – they contain energy that is waiting to happen.
A waterfall or a ball rolling down a hill are types of moving energy – this type of energy applies to things that are actively in motion!
Just like forms of energy can change into each other (as in the lamp example), so can the two kinds of energy, potential and moving. For example, you can use moving energy to climb to the top of the slide.
Once you’ve made it to the top, you’ve created the potential energy to slide down! The potential energy then becomes moving energy again when you ride down. Whee!
What is electricity?
Have you ever heard electricity referred to as “electrical energy”? You might not have thought about electricity being a form of energy, but it is!
At its most basic, energy is what makes things go! Its definition is “the ability to do work.” One of the neat things about energy is that it comes in lots of different forms, such as heat energy, light energy, chemical energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, electrical energy, and more!
Different forms of energy each work with different things. (For example, batteries will power a remote but they won’t help plants grow.) Forms of energy can also be converted into other forms of energy; this is the case with how we get electricity.
Electrical energy is generally made by converting movement into charged particles. The energy of something like burning coal or solar power is used to turn a metal wire (like copper) between two magnets.
This creates a charge similar to the type of charge that builds up in clouds during a bolt of lightning, or the type of charge that sometimes causes a metal doorknob to shock you. – The charge that is created is electricity which then travels through wires and into our homes, schools, offices, and more!
Here are two important things to remember about electricity:
° Because electricity is charged, it can be dangerous if you aren’t careful! Never put your fingers or any other objects that don’t belong near an outlet, and always ask a grown-up for help with plugging or unplugging any electrical devices.
If you have power lines in your neighborhood, don’t play near them and always keep electrical devices away from water. If you’re always careful and you follow the rules and instructions of the grown-ups in your house, you should have nothing to worry about!
° Even though electricity flows readily through your home, it’s not something that should be wasted! Electricity often requires us to use up natural resources in order for it to be made, so wasting it is not good for the environment.
Turn off the lights when you leave a room and have a grown-up help you unplug appliances when you aren’t using them. Lots of things like TV’s and DVD players use up electricity when they’re plugged in, even if they aren’t on!
At its most basic, energy is what makes things go! Its definition is “the ability to do work.” One of the neat things about energy is that it comes in lots of different forms, such as heat energy, light energy, chemical energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, electrical energy, and more!
Different forms of energy each work with different things. (For example, batteries will power a remote but they won’t help plants grow.) Forms of energy can also be converted into other forms of energy; this is the case with how we get electricity.
Electrical energy is generally made by converting movement into charged particles. The energy of something like burning coal or solar power is used to turn a metal wire (like copper) between two magnets.
This creates a charge similar to the type of charge that builds up in clouds during a bolt of lightning, or the type of charge that sometimes causes a metal doorknob to shock you. – The charge that is created is electricity which then travels through wires and into our homes, schools, offices, and more!
Here are two important things to remember about electricity:
° Because electricity is charged, it can be dangerous if you aren’t careful! Never put your fingers or any other objects that don’t belong near an outlet, and always ask a grown-up for help with plugging or unplugging any electrical devices.
If you have power lines in your neighborhood, don’t play near them and always keep electrical devices away from water. If you’re always careful and you follow the rules and instructions of the grown-ups in your house, you should have nothing to worry about!
° Even though electricity flows readily through your home, it’s not something that should be wasted! Electricity often requires us to use up natural resources in order for it to be made, so wasting it is not good for the environment.
Turn off the lights when you leave a room and have a grown-up help you unplug appliances when you aren’t using them. Lots of things like TV’s and DVD players use up electricity when they’re plugged in, even if they aren’t on!
What is rainbow?
To understand where rainbows come from, first you have to understand where color comes from; color is the way our eyes interpret the energies contained within a beam of light. White (uncolored) light contains a large spectrum of colors.
When light touches an object, some of these energies are absorbed (taken in) by it, and others are reflected (cast back). – It’s the energies that are reflected which your eyes collect and then interpret as a specific color!
But the situation with reflected and absorbed colors is a little different when the object being hit by light is a droplet of water: When light hits something like a droplet of water from the right angle, it bends and splits the energies so that when they’re reflected back at you, they’re fanned out into the colorful display of a rainbow!
That’s why rainbows mostly come out after it rains and there are more water droplets for light to hit! – Neat!!
Lots of people will describe rainbows as having seven specific colors: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. When you look at a rainbow, you might even be able to see each of these individual colors.
However, these are actually just some of the many, many colors contained within the beam of light creating the rainbow! Have you ever seen a color wheel? If so, then you already know that there are an endless number of shades any one color can be!
We often name the “seven colors of the rainbow” or the “seven colors of light” because it can be a helpful way of dividing up the endless colors that are really there!
When light touches an object, some of these energies are absorbed (taken in) by it, and others are reflected (cast back). – It’s the energies that are reflected which your eyes collect and then interpret as a specific color!
But the situation with reflected and absorbed colors is a little different when the object being hit by light is a droplet of water: When light hits something like a droplet of water from the right angle, it bends and splits the energies so that when they’re reflected back at you, they’re fanned out into the colorful display of a rainbow!
That’s why rainbows mostly come out after it rains and there are more water droplets for light to hit! – Neat!!
Lots of people will describe rainbows as having seven specific colors: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. When you look at a rainbow, you might even be able to see each of these individual colors.
However, these are actually just some of the many, many colors contained within the beam of light creating the rainbow! Have you ever seen a color wheel? If so, then you already know that there are an endless number of shades any one color can be!
We often name the “seven colors of the rainbow” or the “seven colors of light” because it can be a helpful way of dividing up the endless colors that are really there!
What is a computer?
You are probably already familiar with what a computer looks like – in fact, if you are reading this, then you are quite possibly sitting in front of one! But aside from what you can see, what exactly is a computer??
By definition, a computer is a machine that can process and store information, like pictures, words, video, numbers, and sounds. Computers complete tasks based on the instructions they are given; for example, if you push a certain key the computer might type the letter “A,” and if you push a different key, it might play a selected song.
Computers are used in all sorts of ways. Computers help professionals to forecast the weather and edit movies. Some factories have computers that help them build their products.
Some planes and cars have computers built into them too. At home and in offices, computers let people send emails, write letters, create graphs, store their photos, access the Internet, and play games. – Pretty amazing!
By definition, a computer is a machine that can process and store information, like pictures, words, video, numbers, and sounds. Computers complete tasks based on the instructions they are given; for example, if you push a certain key the computer might type the letter “A,” and if you push a different key, it might play a selected song.
Computers are used in all sorts of ways. Computers help professionals to forecast the weather and edit movies. Some factories have computers that help them build their products.
Some planes and cars have computers built into them too. At home and in offices, computers let people send emails, write letters, create graphs, store their photos, access the Internet, and play games. – Pretty amazing!