2 Physical Science Energy

ENERGY

WHAT IS ENERGY? How do you move? Do you walk, run, or jump? Do you leap over mountains, fly through the sky, or barrel through brick walls? If you do, you use me! I'm ENERGY! Energy makes things move and do work. Cars, trains, and airplanes use energy to take us from place to place.

People and animals use energy to live and grow. Energy is all around us. The light and heat that you feel from sunshine... The sounds that you hear around you... And the electricity that powers lights are all forms of energy!

WHAT CAN ENERGY DO? Energy can set objects in motion. When you push something, you can make it move forward. When you pull back, you cause it to stop. Pushing and pulling is the use of energy to move this wheelbarrow. That's a lot of work!

Energy can also cause an object to change form. You need to use me if you want to bend metal. When you burn wood, the heat energy from the fire turns the wood to ash. If you apply fire to a pot of water, it will eventually boil. Heat energy causes the boiling water to change from a liquid into a gas. Look at all that energy!

WHERE DOES ENERGY COME FROM? Almost all of the energy on Earth comes from the sun. Think about that for a second. Light and heat energy from the sun are what make life on Earth possible. Plants use energy from the sun to make food. They use this food energy to live and grow. Many animals eat plants for energy. You're an animal! Even animals that eat other animals get their energy from plants. Without plants to collect this energy, animals would be in serious trouble!