| Your son or daughter comes home from school | | | | considered mechanical energy. |
| with questions about energy. How do you begin | | | | When teaching kids about energy it’s |
| to explain such a vast concept? Teaching kids | | | | important to relay that besides the motion of |
| about energy starts with conveying that there | | | | objects, other types of kinetic energy include |
| are many forms of energy around us and even | | | | radiant energy, or light; radiant heat energy; |
| inside us. Life as we know it would not exist | | | | acoustic energy, or sound; and electrical energy, |
| without energy. Energy is so important that all | | | | or electricity through wires. Other types of |
| food packages list Calories, an old energy unit. | | | | potential energy include electrical energy stored in |
| Energy is either stored or involved with motion. | | | | a battery, chemical energy, nuclear energy, |
| The property of an object or a system (a | | | | magnetic energy, and solar energy; all stored |
| group of objects) which enables it to do | | | | energy in atoms or molecules. Elastic energy is |
| work is called energy. You need energy to do | | | | potential energy within a fluid or solid that can be |
| work, or to apply a force across a distance, | | | | converted into mechanical energy. |
| meaning to move something. If energy does | | | | Can there ever be a perpetual motion machine? |
| involve moving an object, it is called kinetic | | | | That is, a machine that never stops moving and |
| energy. A ball rolling downhill has kinetic energy. | | | | constantly creates its own energy as it works? |
| Energy can also come from the position of an | | | | Most machines noticeably heat up as they |
| object or its arrangement. This type of energy is | | | | operate. This heat is from friction. The energy |
| called potential energy, or stored energy. A ball | | | | that goes into a machine is always greater than |
| that is stationary, on the slope of a hill, before it | | | | the amount of work it produces, because some |
| begins to roll down, has what is known as | | | | of the initial energy changes into friction. Because |
| gravitational potential energy. As the ball rolls | | | | friction is never completely eliminated, the energy |
| downhill, the potential energy it had is changed into | | | | going into a machine is always going to be larger |
| kinetic energy. That is an example of the law of | | | | than the machines output. A machine can never |
| energy conservation; energy cannot be created | | | | run indefinitely, so a perpetual motion machine |
| or destroyed, it changes form from one type to | | | | cannot exist. |
| another. | | | | When teaching kids about energy you can explain |
| Since energy does change from one form to | | | | the different types of energy. Energy is either |
| another, sometimes it is difficult to determine | | | | kinetic, involving motion, or potential, stored. |
| whether energy is potential or kinetic. Some | | | | Energy changes form from one to another, |
| energy is potential energy and kinetic energy | | | | leading to the law of energy conservation. Energy |
| simultaneously, such as thermal energy, or heat. | | | | cannot be created or destroyed, it transforms |
| Even a moving object can have both potential | | | | from one type to another type. A perpetual |
| energy and kinetic energy at the same time. As | | | | motion machine cannot exist, since such a device |
| the ball rolls downhill, its potential energy is | | | | would counteract the law of energy conservation. |
| changed into kinetic energy. As it rolls, at any | | | | Energy is a fascinating and vast subject but by |
| specific time, the total amount of energy that the | | | | remembering these energy basics teaching kids |
| ball has does not change; the law of energy | | | | about energy can be simple and fun. |
| conservation holds. This type of energy is | | | | |