Energy
HOW WE USE ENERGY - Energy Use in Transportation, Energy Use in Industry, Energy Use in Homes and Buildings
Energy is used to light up this house. There are three main ways we use energy. We use it to travel, to manufacture goods, and in our homes and businesses. Which of these three uses the most energy? You might be surprised at the answer! Motor vehicles are everywhere. There are over 240 million motor vehicles in the United States alone! All of them need energy to run. Think of all the energ…
KINETIC VS. POTENTIAL ENERGY - Kinetic Energy, Potential Energy
There are two types of energy, called kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is the energy of movement. Potential energy is stored energy. Skiing is a form of kinetic energy. Batteries are potential energy. Think of a ballerina leaping through the air, or a baseball pitcher throwing a fastball. These involve movement, so they are examples of kinetic energy. Objects can also have kinet…
FORMS OF ENERGY - Heat Energy, Radiant Energy, Electrical Energy, Chemical Energy, Nuclear Energy
While there are only two types of energy, kinetic and potential, there are many more forms of energy. Some of these forms are kinetic and some are potential. Some of the forms of kinetic energy we will examine in this book are heat (thermal), radiant, and electrical. The forms of potential energy we will look at are chemical and nuclear. Tea kettles are a form of heat energy. Car batte…
CONSERVATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF ENERGY
When you think of energy conservation, you probably think of ways to save energy in your home. When scientists speak of the Law of Conservation of Energy, they mean something very different. This law states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. In other words, the amount of energy that exists remains the same, but it is often changed from one type into another. Think of that day when …
RENEWABLE VS. NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY - Non-Renewable Energy Sources, Renewable Energy Sources
A century ago, before there were so many electrical appliances and automobiles, we didn't need to produce much energy. Today, just about everything we use needs some form of energy. To meet the high energy requirements of all the things we need and want to do, we must produce energy from many sources. Using trees for energy. These sources are either renewable or non-renewable. Renewa…
ENERGY CONSERVATION - Conservation and You, Conserving Heat, Conserving Oil (Petroleum), Recycling
In 1900, there were about 1.6 billion people on Earth. Today, there are more than 6 billion. Each of these people will use energy. We must find ways to meet the demand. It is easy to say that we should produce more and more energy, but many sources just won't last forever. Renewable sources cannot meet the demand. To make matters worse, using more energy will mean creating more pollution. …
THE FUTURE OF ENERGY
Will there be enough energy to last us into the future? Can we expect to have all the energy we need? The answers to these questions will depend on how wisely we use the non-renewable resources we have, and how we can improve or find new sources of renewable energy. Solar energy may help us meet our increasing energy demands. The amount of solar energy that reaches the Earth in an hour is greater…
GLOSSARY
biomass energy (BI-oh-mass) — plant material and animal waste burned as fuel chemical energy (KHEM-eh-kul) — the energy released through a chemical reaction conservation (con-sur-VAY-shun) — the wise use of the resources we already have electrical energy (e-LEC-trih-kul) — the movement of electrons through a conductor energy (EN ur gee) — the ability to do work …