3.2 Energy and Energy Transformations

Energy

Having the ability to function (moving, using your brain, doing work…)

Where does energy come from?

food, vitamins, nutrients

How do animals use energy?

Finding food/shelter, breathing, eating…

How do plants use energy?

Photosynthesis

Kinetic Energy

The energy that somethings has due to its motion

Potential Energy

The energy something has due to its position, state, or shape

What are some examples of kinetic energy?

Light, mechanical, thermal, sound, electric

What are some examples of potential energy?

Nuclear, chemical, gravitational, magnetic

Law of conservation of energy

Energy is neither created nor destroyed- it can merely be transferred from one object to another and transformed from one form into another

Mechanical Energy

Energy associated with the motion of an object

Electrical Energy

Energy associated with moving electrical charges

Thermal Energy

The kinetic energy of all the atoms and molecules in an object (heat)

Light

A form of electromagnetic radiation that has the ability to affect the physiology of an organism (sense of sight, photosynthesis)

Chemical Energy

Stored in the bonds that hold atoms together in molecules

Conduction

Heat transferred by direct contact between objects (ex. heat travelling through a metal bar into a hand)

Convection

Hear flows through a fluid (liquid or gas) as a result of differences in density (ex. a heater supplying warm air and it rising, therefore pushing down the cooler air)

Radiation

Transference of thermal energy by emission of electromagnetic radiation (light)