Station 1
Energy Presentations
Directions: One person from your group should create a Google
Presentation. Your names, block, and topic should be on the first slide. Your group will be assigned one energy topic. You will find some guiding questions or statements for each topic. Do NOT limit your research to only these questions, go above and beyond! Limit your slides to 6 (Including your title slide).
Cite all information, images, and videos using www.citethisforme.com.
Items you may include in your presentation:!
• Information (with citations)! • Images (with citations)!
• Short videos, less than 1 minute (place link in presentation from Discovery Education, TeacherTube, or any site you’re able to access for videos)!
Topics:
ALL TOPICS: should discuss how energy can be transferred from
one form to another and provide real life examples with images!!
Law of Conservation of Energy & Energy Transfer!
• these two topics are correlated, how?!
• describe the law of conservation of energy! • give examples of how energy is conserved!
another! • how does energy convert from one type of energy to another!
• provide real life examples!
Potential Energy!
• explain potential energy! • types of potential energy!
• how can kinetic energy be converted into potential energy?! • provide real life examples!
Kinetic Energy!
• explain kinetic energy! • types of kinetic energy!
• how can potential energy be converted into kinetic energy?! • provide real life examples!
Thermal Energy!
• explain thermal energy! • provide real life examples!
Solar Energy
• discuss how plants use solar energy
• how is chemical energy related to solar energy? • provide real life examples
• Chemical Energy! • explain chemical energy! • provide real life examples!
Electrical Energy!
• explain electrical energy!
• what types other types of energy can electrical energy be converted to?!
• provide real life examples (sources of electrical energy)!
Mechanical Energy!
• explain the difference between mechanical kinetic energy and mechanical potential energy! • provide real life examples!
Station 2
Go to the following website:!
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/
hew06.sci.phys.maf.rollercoaster/energy-in-a-roller-coaster-ride/
Click on Support Materials!
Read the Background Essay and respond to the following:! 1. What do roller coasters rely on/!
2. According to paragraph 2, what does the law of conservation of energy state?!
3. On a roller coaster, what 2 forms of energy go back and forth many times! throughout the ride/!
4. On a roller coaster, where is the gravitational potential energy the most?!
Click on the launch button in the middle of the roller coaster and hit the Step button and ! describe what happens to the potential and
kinetic energy of the roller coaster as it moves! from point 1 to point 6.! Complete the Set To Go Interactive that has been assigned to you in Discovery Education.! Make sure to read the boxes as you work through the interactive.!
Take a screen shot of the completed matching activity and place here:!
Station 3
Read the following article actively to yourself and then in your collaborative groups discuss the articles meaning and lessons
learned. Finally the whole class will discuss at the end of the station time.
The Universe Has Potential
The universe is full of energy. Energy is the ability to do work, whether that work is a galaxy spinning in space, a blue whale migrating thousands of miles in the ocean, or bacteria digesting food. According to the Law of Energy Conservation, energy is never created nor destroyed. Energy just changes forms. The total amount of energy in the universe is
constant. There are two main types of energy: kinetic and potential. Kinetic energy is energy an object has because of its motion. Potential energy is stored energy. Types of potential energy include gravitational, elastic, and chemical.
One form of potential energy is gravitational potential energy. This is energy stored because of an object’s vertical position or height. It takes energy to lift an object against Earth’s
gravitational pull. When an object is lifted, the energy from moving it vertically is transformed into potential energy. As the object falls back to
Earth, the energy is transformed into kinetic energy. A wrecking ball used in construction applies gravitational potential energy to knock down buildings. The higher the wrecking ball is lifted, the more energy it will have to transfer into breaking the structure. The mass of the wrecking ball will also have an effect. A wrecking ball with more mass will be able to do more damage than one with less mass because it will have more potential energy.
Elastic Potential Energy
Elastic potential energy is stored energy from an object that is stretching or
compressing. Springs and rubber bands have elastic potential energy. It takes energy to compress a spring or stretch out a rubber band. That energy is then transferred into elastic potential energy until the spring or rubber band is released. Archery bows also utilize elastic potential energy. It takes
energy to draw back the bow and pull it tight. When the bow is let go, the energy is released and pushes the arrow forward. The
The higher a wrecking ball is off the ground, the greater its potential energy and the greater destruction it can cause.
A compressed spring has elastic potential energy. The spring on the left is compressed more, so it has more potential energy.
The Universe Has Potential
more the bow is stretched, the further and faster the arrow will move because it had more potential energy. The materials used are also a factor. Some materials, like rubber, can stretch better than others. These materials can handle more potential energy before breaking. Other materials are not
elastic and will break before elastic potential energy can be stored.
Chemical Potential Energy
Chemical energy is also a form of potential energy. The bonds between atoms can be very strong. Energy is released as the atoms are broken apart and rearranged. The stronger
the bonds within a chemical, the more potential energy it has. Fuels like gasoline have potential energy. The energy is released when the fuels are burned, breaking apart the molecules. Batteries also use chemical
potential energy. The chemicals in batteries react and cause a buildup in electrons on one
side. Because of the difference in charges, electricity is able to flow through the battery. Once the chemical reaction stops, the battery is no longer usable. Some batteries may be recharged and used again, but even these will eventually lose their chemical potential energy and their ability to work. The chemicals in batteries that cause the reactions can also be toxic, which is why they should not be thrown away
with regular trash.
All life uses chemical potential energy. Life needs a source of energy to survive. For humans and many other species, that
source is food. The chemicals in food store energy in their bonds. Sugar, for example, is a molecule made of several atoms bonded together. As the human body breaks this molecule down, the energy stored in the bonds is released. The chemical
energy stored in food can be determined by looking at the nutrition labels. The more
calories a food has, the more potential energy it
has. But not all chemical energy from food is created equal. Different food molecules, like fats, proteins, and carbohydrates,
Mechanics check vehicles’ batteries to see if there is enough chemical potential energy left to safely run the vehicle.
The Universe Has Potential
hold different amounts of energy. The more complicated the molecule, the longer it takes the body to break it down. Simple sugars, or simple carbohydrates, are easily broken down. Sugary foods like candy and soda might provide a burst of energy but it quickly wears off. Complex carbohydrates like
brown rice and whole grains contain larger and more complicated molecules with more atomic bonds. It takes more energy to break down these bonds, so these foods release more energy. These molecules also release their energy over a longer period of time. Athletes carefully monitor the foods in their diet to make sure they have the best energy sources for their bodies to physically compete. Choosing the wrong foods could leave them tired and far from peak physical performance.
Regardless of the form, potential energy is important to how the universe works. Stored energy turning into other forms runs the human body, powers vehicles, moves the planet
through space, and powers the Sun. Different forms of potential energy can exist together to
power an object. The power, speed, and length of time over which potential energy is released can depend on the size, height, and complexity of atomic bonds. Regardless of the type of energy or how it is being used, the amount of energy in the universe is
unchanged. As scientists continue to study energy in all its forms, discoveries can be made as to how to use this energy more
efficiently in the human body and the world.
Energy takes many forms, but all of the forms are important to the universe.