Energy Makes Things Happen

Energy Makes Things Happen

The sun shines in the sky. Two children run with a kite. A boy sails a boat across a pond. A girl hits a baseball. A family cooks hot dogs on a campfire. A big rock sits high on a hill. All these things have different kinds of energy.

Energy makes things happen. It can make things hot or bright or loud. It can make things move. Energy can be used to do work. There are many different kinds of energy. When the sun shines, it gives us light. The sun also gives us heat. Both heat and light are kinds of energy. When you run or jump or hop or skip, that's energy too. Everything that moves uses energy.

Energy is transferred from one thing to another. When a boy throws a baseball, he transfers energy from his arm to the ball. Then the ball can move through the air. (The more energy he gives the ball, the faster it goes! ) When a girl swings a bat, she transfers energy from her arms to the bat. When the bat hits the ball, the energy in the bat goes into the ball and sends it flying.

Wind is air that moves-it's air with energy. The energy from wind lifts kites into the sky. It makes windmills go around and hot-air balloons soar. Wind energy sails sailboats across a pond.

Things that release energy as they are burned are called fuels. Gasoline, oil, and wood are all fuels. When we put gasoline into a car, we are putting fuel into it. As the car runs, its engine burns the gasoline. The gasoline gets used up. The energy from the gasoline makes the car go forward. When we build a campfire to cook hot dogs, we are burning wood fuel to turn its stored energy into heat energy for the hot dogs.