Download Topic: Energy Transformations

Topic: Energy
Transformations
Essential Question:
Describe the
transformation of energy
from one form to another.
 Energy
is the ability to do work or
cause change
 Mechanical
energy: the sum of
potential and kinetic energy of an
object
 Potential
energy: energy that
results from the position or shape of
an object
Forms of Potential energy:
1.
Nuclear – stored in the nucleus of an
atom (sun’s energy)
2.
Chemical – potential energy stored
in chemical bonds; when the bonds
are broken the energy is released
(food)
 Kinetic
energy: energy that results
from the motion of an object
Forms of Kinetic Energy:
 Thermal
– the energy related to the
temperature of a substance
 Electrical – energy of electrical
charges (batteries, electrical lines)
 Light – energy carried by light and
other kinds of electromagnetic
waves
 Sound – energy carried by sound
waves
 Energy
transformation –
change from one form of
energy into another
 Energy transfer – energy
moves from one object to
another object
Examples of single transformations:
 Chemical energy in food to
mechanical energy to move the
muscles in your body
 Chemical energy in food to thermal
energy for your body to maintain its
temperature
Examples of multiple transformations:
 Car
engine: electrical energy
produces a spark, thermal energy
from the spark releases chemical
energy in the fuel, chemical energy
in fuel into mechanical energy to
cause wheels to turn
 Power
Plants: chemical
energy released from the coal
to thermal energy to change
water to steam, thermal
energy to mechanical energy
to cause turbines to spin,
mechanical energy to
electrical energy
 Law
of Conservation of
Energy – scientific principle
that energy is neither lost
nor created during a
transformation; it is only
changed from one form to
another