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Inside Collection (Course): Natural Sciences Grade 5
The energy of the sun reaches us in the form of radiation, light and heat.
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Now let’s see in which other forms energy occurs.
Energy in stored form
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The sun’s energy is taken up by the plant and stored in food. Energy is therefore in food in a stored form. Animals and people eat the plant for nourishment and use the energy. Plants from millions of years ago that were not eaten by animals changed into coal. Stored energy therefore also occurs in coal and oil.
Energy is also stored in electrical cells (batteries). When the cell is connected to a light bulb, energy is released.
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Kinetic energy
Energy can be used to get something moving, like when a person is running, for instance, or a wheel is rolling or an engine is turning. We could also speak of this as mechanical energy.
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Sound energy
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Sound reaches your ear in the form of waves travelling through the air. The sound waves set the eardrum vibrating and your brain perceives the vibration as sound. We refer to the energy that causes the vibration of the eardrum as sound energy.
Electrical energy
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An electrical current is a quantity of energy that flows from one point to another. The strength of the current (amount of energy) is measured in amperes (A).
Atomic energy
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You would have heard of nuclear power and nuclear power stations. Nuclear power is the energy that occurs in atoms. Atoms are the smallest particles of matter from which substances are made. Matter is a substance that is visible or has mass that can be weighed, e.g. gold, water, and copper. Do you know anything about uranium?
Conversion of energy from one form to another.
You have been learning about the different forms in which energy occurs. Do you think that energy that occurs in a specific form can be converted to another form of energy? Think about two of the forms of energy that we have discussed when you try to answer this question.
LEARNING OUTCOME 2:
ConstructinG scienCE knowledgeThe learners will know and be able to interpret and apply scientific, technological and environmental knowledge.
ASSESSMENT STANDARDS
We know this when the learner:
2.1 recalls meaningful information: the minimum requirement is the ability to describe the features and characteristics of objects, materials and organisms in simple terms.
2.1.3 say whether energy can be converted from one form to another.
Conversion of energy: Yes. There are many examples, e.g.
Sunlight energy that is used for nutrition by plants. Thus heat / light / radiation energy is converted to stored energy.
Energy in stored form can be converted to any other form.
Electrical energy is converted to light / heat energy.
Electrical energy can be converted to sound energy.
Atomic energy can be converted to electrical energy.
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Last edited by Siyavula Uploaders on Mar 14, 2009 5:37 am -0500.