Exploring Energy: Kinetic and Potential
Energy exists in many different forms.Copyright Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/results.aspx?qu=climb&ex=1#ai:MP900427841|mt:2|
Students makes sense of kinetic and potential energy, including various types of potential energy: chemical, gravitational, elastic and thermal energy. They identify everyday examples of these energy types, as well as the mechanism of corresponding energy transfers. They learn that energy can be neither created nor destroyed and that relationships exist between a moving object's mass and velocity. Further, the concept that energy can be neither created nor destroyed is reinforced, as students see the pervasiveness of energy transfer among its many different forms. A PowerPoint® presentation and post-quiz are provided.
A firm understanding of energy types and energy conversion is essential to understanding the different forms of energy (and energy transfers) so common in our everyday lives, as well as a basis for comprehending more advanced concepts in engineering, physics, renewable energy, electrical generation and other fields. It takes energy to power vehicles, but the same task may be performed by energy in different forms (gasoline, lithium-ion batteries, etc.), as designed by engineers to meet specific functional requirements.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Explain the relationship between a moving object's kinetic energy and its mass and velocity.
- Identify different forms of kinetic and potential energy.
- Relate daily life experiences to different types of energy.