DJ Bauer

EGEE 101H

Initial Essay

Based on my previous experiences in science classes, what energy means to me

is likely different from what energy means in this class. In high school, energy was

discussed in two different classes: physics and biology. In physics, energy was only

discussed merely as a means for doing work. Potential energy and kinetic energy were

briefly discussed in the background when we mainly focused on force and distance. In

biology, energy was discussed as a biological function. The body needs energy to

perform basic functions, and that energy typically comes in the form of ATP. Activation

energy, the energy required to begin a reaction, was another way that we discussed

energy. As for power, I hardly ever heard the term before when discussed in context

with energy. In fact, today's class was probably the first time I ever learned what power

truly is.

From what I've gleaned in the first two days of class, I think that my definition and

perception of energy are going to be changing. I'm hoping to learn about the different

ways to view energy, why energy is important to the world, and how it ties in to the

environment and into human life. I expect I will be able to learn about these things in

EGEE 101H. After only two days of classes, I've already learned things that I hadn't

learned before in 18 years of life, so I think that's definitely a good sign. Hopefully I learn

a lot about energy in this semester.