What is energy?

1. What is energy? • Energy is the ability to do work or cause a change. • Energy has many forms. Even though one form can change into another form, energy cannot be made or destroyed. • Different forms of energy, including mechanical, light, thermal, electrical, and sound energy, have many uses.

2. Electrical Energy • Electrical energy is the movement of electrons. • Electrons are the negatively charged particles in atoms. • They can move easily from one object to another. • When an object has more electrons than protons, it becomes negatively charged. • When an object has more protons than electrons, it becomes positively charged. • The charge that results from a gain or loss of electrons is called an electric charge. • Just for fun: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/travoltage

3. Electrical Energy • Batteries store chemical energy and are often used to power circuits (converting chemical to electrical energy) • Electrons flow from the negative end (-) to the positive end (+). • You can remember this by thinking about taking away electrons from the negative end (-) and adding electrons to the positive end (+). • Electrical Energy is achieved by creating a complete or closed circuit. Circuit = wires connected to a power source • Breaks in a circuit cause the energy flow to STOP! This results in an open circuit.

4. Electrical Energy Series Circuit- one path for electrons. If one light burns out, they all go out because the circuit is broken (or open). Parallel Circuit- each light bulb has a separate path for the electrons to travel on If one light bulb burns out, the others stay lit because the electrical current can continue to flow. http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/circuit-construction-kit-dc