1. Adventures in Science 5.6A
Energy All Around Us
Adventures in Science
5.6A

2. Energy All Around Us
A soccer field is an exciting place to be! You can see energy all around you. Energy makes things happen.
Look carefully at this page. What is the soccer player doing? If you were a fan watching this soccer game, what might you be doing? What things in the picture need energy to make them work? 2

3. Vocabulary Energy—the ability to do work or cause change
Electrical energy—a form of energy that moves in the form of charges
Force—a push or a pull
Light energy—a form of energy that travels in waves and moves through different mediums
Mechanical energy—the sum of an object’s kinetic and potential energy
Motion—a change in an object’s position

4. Vocabulary Sound energy—a form of energy made by vibrations
Thermal energy—a form of energy resulting from the movement of particles in matter
Work—the result of a force moving an object in the direction of the force

5. Kinds of Energy
How many different ways do you use energy each day? Energy makes it possible for you to get up in the morning.
Energy makes a lamp and a computer work.
Energy moves a roller coaster!
There are two kinds of energy:
Kinetic energy—the energy of motion
Potential energy—stored energy

6. Kinds of Energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. All moving objects have kinetic energy.
Potential energy is stored energy.
Objects have store energy because of their position or condition.
A roller coaster car at the top of the hill has potential energy because it can move forward.
A battery has potential energy because it contains chemicals that can release energy at a later time.
Describe the difference between kinetic and potential energy. Share your ideas with the class.

7. Forms of Energy: Mechanical
Kinetic and potential energy can have many different forms:
The mechanical energy of an object is the sum of its kinetic energy and potential energy. The robot above has kinetic energy because it is moving. It has potential energy because of its position.
The robot’s mechanical energy is the sum of both it kinetic and potential energy.

8. Forms of Energy: Light Light energy is energy that you can see.
Light travels in a straight line until it strikes an object or moves from one medium to another.
Light that strikes shiny surfaces, such as mirrors, is reflected.
Light that passes through some substances, such as water, is refracted.

9. Forms of Energy: Thermal
The tiny particles in matter are always moving, so they have some energy.
This energy of moving particles in matter is called thermal energy.
The amount of heat energy an object possesses is measured as its temperature.

10. Forms of Energy—Electrical
Electrical energy is the movement of charged particles.
Electrical energy is produced inside the particles of matter.

11. Forms of Energy—Sound
If you tap the table top, it makes vibrations in the air around the table.
The vibrations of objects produce sound energy which travels through the air to your ears.