Download Types of Energy and Waves - Reading Community Schools

• Energy is defined as the ability
to do work or cause change
• Work is done when a force
causes an object to move in the
direction of that force
– Examples: Pushing a book off of
the table is work and energy
allows this work to take place
• Energy is all around us all of the
time being harnessed and
expressed in different ways
• Kinetic energy is the energy of
motion and/or movement
– This is dependent on the mass and
speed of an object
• Note: Speed has more of an effect
• Potential energy is energy that is
stored and has the potential to do
something
– There are three types of P.E.
• Elastic – Rubber band pulled back
• Gravitational – Raising an object off of
the ground (height & mass)
• Chemical – A log being placed on a fire
• Mechanical – The total kinetic and potential energy of
motion and position of an object
• Thermal – The kinetic energy due to random motion of
the particles that make up an object (Temperature and
Number of Particles)
• Chemical – The potential energy of a compound that
changes as its atoms are rearranged
• Electrical – The potential or kinetic energy of charged
electrons
• Sound – The kinetic energy caused by an object’s
vibrations
• Light – The kinetic energy caused by the vibrations of
electrically charged particles
• Nuclear – The potential energy caused by changes in the
nucleus of an atom
• Conservation of Energy is the
idea that energy is not created or
destroyed, but it can only change
forms
• Energy conversion explains this
change from one form to another
and happens all around
us…everyday…all the time!!!
– Example: A car uses chemical
energy in a battery to create
electrical energy to power an
electric starter motor. This motor
uses the electrical energy to create
mechanical energy to start a
vehicle. The vehicle converts
chemical energy into mechanical
energy to make the vehicle go.
• Waves are a disturbance which transfer energy from one
point to another with little or no transfer of matter
• There are several parts of a wave:
– Crest – The section of the wave above the undisturbed portion
– Trough – The section of the wave below the undisturbed portion
– Amplitude – The positive and negative amount of energy due to
the disturbance
– Wavelength – The distance between any two corresponding
positions
• Crest to Crest, Trough to Trough, Cycle to Cycle
– Cycle – Start of the crest to the end of the trough
– Period – The time of one complete cycle
• Mechanical Waves
– Require a material medium
to travel (air, water, ropes,
etc.)
• Three types of M.W.
– Transverse; Up and Down
(Pebble in a Pond)
– Longitudinal; Side to Side
(Sound)
– Surface; Both transverse &
longitudinal
(Earthquakes)
• Electromagnetic Waves
– Do not require a material
medium to travel
(Light, Radio, Gamma)
• Energy is defined as the ability to do work or cause change
• Kinetic energy is the energy of motion and/or movement
(mass and speed) and potential energy is energy that is
stored
• The conservation of energy is the idea that energy cannot
be created or destroyed but can only change forms
• There are several types of energy; mechanical, thermal,
chemical, electrical, sound, light and nuclear, this is
constantly being converted from one form to another due
to energy conversion
• Waves are a disturbance which transfer energy from one
point to another with little or no transfer of matter
• Mechanical waves require a medium in which to travel and
an electromagnetic wave does not require a medium