Your Forms of Energy

Potential Kinetic
(energy due to position) (energy of motion)

A girl at the top of a slide An airplane

A yoyo toy before it is released Skateboarding

A sleeping child Water falling over the fall

Riding a rollercoaster An insect flying

A compressed string An object rolling down on a hill

Nuclear Fission A baseball thrown by a pitcher

A car parked in the parking lot A child jumping on the bed

Gasoline before it is ignited A car traveling down the road

An archer’s bow with the string pulled back A yoyo toy in motion

A stretched rubber bands Bullet from a gun

Your Forms of Energy - Questions:

1. Increasing the height or mass of an object can increase its gravitational potential energy. Do
you have any examples of potential energy that you could increase? List them here and explain
how you would increase the energy.

Roller Coasters
- The higher the motor raises the pressure; the more potential energy is produced.

If I fire a cannonball straight up into the air

- Since gravity is pushing the cannonball toward the planet, it speeds down as it rises. The
gravitational potential energy of the ball increases as it grows, while the kinetic energy
decreases.

A pen being held above a table

- Instead of pulling it on the table, I decided to put the pen above the table in this
illustration so my pen would catch more energy in terms of gravity, explaining that the higher
the height, the more the energy.

2. The more mass and speed of an object, the more kinetic energy. Pick four of your examples of
kinetic energy and rank them in order of most to least amount of kinetic energy. Explain your
reasons.

An airplane

A baseball thrown by a pitcher

A car traveling down the road

An insect flying

- Because of its large mass and high velocity, the airplane is ranked first in this list. A
baseball hurled by a pitcher, considering its limited mass, may have a lot of kinetic energy
because of its high velocity. Following that, due to the density of the vehicle, a car going
down the road has less kinetic energy. Finally, because its mass and speed are
comparatively small, an insect flying has a small amount of kinetic energy.
 Law of Conservation of Energy:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change form.

Examples:

Chemical Energy (food) Kinetic Energy (running to

class)

Radiant Energy (Sun) Chemical Energy (plants as Kinetic Energy (running to

food) class)

Chemical Energy (wood) Thermal Energy (heat from Radiant Energy (light from
fire) fire)

Come up with your own example:

Electrical Energy (Electric Heat Energy (runs its Light Energy (will provide
Lamp) engine) light)

Chemical Energy (Natural Chemical Energy (Burning) Thermal Energy (cooking)

gas)

What is the one source that all energy can be traced back to?

Every source of energy, with the exception of atomic energy, can be traced back to the
sun. Thankfully, the earth is at the largest possible distance from the sun, allowing the sun's
radiation to supply this energy for life. Plants use solar energy to produce food from air, water,
and soil minerals. This energy is stored by plants that are the key contributors of the
environment. All the electricity comes out of the sun. In fact, all ancient sun energy supplies found
in plants and animals eating plants that are thousands or millions of years old are energy
resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas, and fossil fuels. All the life on earth can be tracked
back to the sun.
 Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency describes how much energy is being changed into useful work. For example, a
light bulb changes electrical energy into light. The problem is, the electric energy is also converted into
heat. Since you aren’t using a light bulb to heat your house, the efficiency of a standard light bulb is
pretty low. The new CFLs (compact fluorescent light bulbs) convert that electricity to light without as
much energy being lost to heat, making them more efficient.

Pick three of the following examples and explain how you could increase its efficiency (limit the amount
of energy lost).

• Air Conditioner
• Refrigerator
• Lifting something heavy
• Driving your car
• Hot water heater
• Heating your home
• Riding your bike
• Cooking on your stove
• Raking leaves
AIRCONDITIONER

Unblock and Vacuum Your Vents

- To clear any debris from your indoor air source vents, take some time. If you want
to keep the system's airflow consistent, this is a must-do. Even if you clean and scrub
on a daily basis, blinds, rugs, games, or furniture will still obstruct your vents.

Close All the Doors and Windows

- If you leave your home's doors or windows open, the conditioned air in your home
can easily escape to the outside. This will result in major inefficiencies.

If you want to air out the room, make sure you turn off the air conditioner first. It's
important to note that it's not your duty to keep the whole neighborhood calm.

Clean Around the Condenser Unit Outside

- If it is clean and totally free and clear of all clutter, your outdoor device will be at
its most effective. Cleaning the condenser, on the other hand, can be challenging, so
make sure you know what you're doing and how to do it before you begin.

Keep All Heat-Producing Appliances Away from Your Thermostat

- Your thermostat position plays an enormous role in the total quality of your air
conditioning unit. If your thermostat, such as next to a sunny window, lamp, or
appliance, is mounted in an especially hot area of your house, it does not accurately
determine the temperature of your home.
HOT WATER HEATER

Buy an energy efficient water heater

- While these higher-end versions are more costly than regular water heaters, the savings
accumulate over time and gradually offset the price gap. On your latest water heater, make
sure to look for the Energy Star logo and pick the correct style depending on your needs.
For a water heater and your fuel sort, you will need to weigh the scale you have available in
your home to choose the best water heater for you. Solar water heaters, for instance, use
electricity from the sun to heat the water, while tankless coils and indirect water heaters
use the heating system of your house. It's important to consider the various types of
heaters before picking an energy-efficient unit.

Lower the temperature

- The majority of water heaters are set at 140 degrees Fahrenheit by suppliers, but most
households only require water heaters set at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. A water heater set at
140 degrees not only places you at risk of coming into contact with scalding water, but also
results in mineral deposition and corrosion. Turn the power off to lower the temperature
and put the thermostat on the water heater. Thermostats are normally concealed under
screw-on plates in electric water heaters, although they are at the bottom of the tank in
gas storage water heaters.

Insulate your water heater

- With insulation, you will slash the energy costs by 4-9 percent and reduce standby
heating losses by 25-45 percent! The only expense would be supplies so this job will be done
easily and without the support of a specialist. Fortunately, most water heaters can fit into
pre-cut insulation materials available at the nearest hardware store for about $20. Switch
off the water heater until you have the supplies and tie the insulation around the tank,
temporarily taping it in place. Break holes in the insulation so that you can still touch the
controls of the tank. Tape the insulation permanently in place until this is finished and
switching the water heater back on.
REFRIGERATOR

Take Its Temperature

- Using a thermometer, check the temperature of your fridge and freezer. Set
them to whatever temperature causes your refrigerator to last between 35 and 38
degrees and your freezer to stay between 0 and 5 degrees. Up to 25 percent more
space is used from a refrigerator placed ten degrees cooler.

Clean the Coils

- At least once a year, clean the condenser coils. Make sure that the device is
unplugged and the coils are carefully cleaned or vacuumed. This could increase the
productivity of your refrigerator by 30 percent.

Don’t Forget to Defrost

- Refrigerators without an automatic defrost setting consume less energy than
others, but they must be manually defrosted to preserve their performance. Manually
defrosting once ice becomes 1/4 inch thick is good technique.

Regulate Room Temperature

- For each 1 degree above standard ambient room temperature, refrigerators will
use 2.5 percent more energy (70 degrees). This means that in an 80-degree space,
your refrigerator could use 22 to 25 percent more electricity, and 45 to 50 percent
more in a 90-degree room. If it is near an oven or dishwasher, your refrigerator can
also use more fuel. The thermostat, on the other hand, does not operate its cooling
and defrost cycles properly if the room's air temperature falls below 40 degrees.