ENERGY

-Energy is all around us. It provides us with light, sound and heat. It
makes things move and it also makes machines work.

-Energy can also be transformed from one form to another.

TYPES OF ENERGY

-When an object moves, it has kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is

produced through movement.

-We use electrical energy for many things at home. Electrical

energy can make machines work. We can transform it into light,
sound, heat and movement.
A lot of electricity is still produced by burning fossil fuels. However,
electricity can also be made by using solar energy, wind energy
and hydropower. Electricity can be produced in nuclear power
stations too.

-Most of the light energy on Earth comes from the Sun. This is a
natural source of light. (Sun, the stars, meteor showers and
lightning). At night, we have to use artificial sources of light, (light
bulbs, torches and candles)

-Thermal energy flows from a warm object to a cooler object. The

Sun is our main source of thermal energy. Coal, oil and gas are
fossil fuels.

-Sound energy is made by vibrations. These vibrations travel

through the air until they reach our ear. When the vibrations are
large, the sound is loud. When the vibrations are small, the sound is
soft.
 -Chemical energy is released when a chemical reaction occurs.
Example: a car burns petrol.

LIGHT ENERGY

-Light sources produce light. They can be natural, like the Sun, or
artificial, like light bulbs.

● Light is the fastest form of energy. Light travels at about 300 000 km per
second.
● Light travels in all directions from its source.
● The light from the Sun looks white but it is made up of seven different
colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
● Light always travels in a straight line.
● Light can be reflected, absorbed or it can pass through objects.

-Light cannot pass through opaque materials such as wood or metal.

These materials reflect or absorb the light.

-Light passes through translucent materials. These materials scatter the

light, which means the image is not clear.

-Light also passes through transparent materials. These materials do

not scatter the light so we can see the image clearly.

THERMAL ENERGY

-All matter is made up of tiny particles.

These particles have energy and move about constantly. When matter
gets warmer, the particles move faster and become further apart.
-CHANGE OF STATE

Matter can be a solid, liquid or gas. When we heat an object, we are

increasing the thermal energy. A change in the thermal energy of a
substance can make it change state.

If we heat ice, it will become water. If we continue to heat the water, the
liquid will turn to gas.

-MOVEMENT OF THERMAL ENERGY

The transfer of thermal energy from a warm substance to a cooler

substance is called heat.

When we touch something hot, thermal energy passes to our hand.

When we touch something cold, thermal energy passes from our hand
to the object.

Heat insulators do not transfer heat well. Materials (wood, plastic and
wool).

Heat conductors can transfer heat quickly. Metals (iron, copper and
aluminium).

SOUND ENERGY

Sound is produced when objects vibrate. When an object vibrates, it

causes the air particles around it to vibrate. When these air particles
vibrate, they in turn cause the air particles around them to vibrate. The
vibrations move through the air until they reach our ear. We call these
travelling vibrations sound waves.

-Like light, sound travels in all directions from the source.

-Sound can travel through air and through water. Unlike light, it can
also travel through solid, opaque objects. However, when sound
travels through a liquid or a solid, the sound we hear can seem distorted
and strange

-Sound, like light, can also reflect off an object. If a sound reflects off an
object which is far away, we hear an echo.

-Sound cannot travel when there is no air. This means that there is not
any sound in space. When there is no air, there are none of the air
particles that need to vibrate in order to produce sound.

-Like all forms of energy, sound can produce changes in other objects.
The sound of an explosion can break the glass in a window.

-Sound can travel very quickly, but not as fast as light. When an object
travels faster than the speed of sound, it produces a loud, explosive
sound called a sonic boom.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOUND

-Intensity depends on the strength of the vibrations that produce the

sound. Loud sounds are the most intense and transfer the most
energy.

-Pitch depends on how quickly vibrations are produced. If the rate of

vibration is high, the sound is high-pitched. If the rate of vibration is low,
the sound is low-pitched.

-Tone helps us to identify the source of the sound. T