There are six basic forms of energy: mechanical, electrical, heat, light, sound, and chemical energy. Mechanical energy includes potential energy, which is stored energy due to an object's position, and kinetic energy, which is energy of motion. Potential energy can be gravitational or elastic. Electrical energy comes from the movement of charged particles and can be transformed into other forms of energy. Heat energy is how hot or cold an object is and is transferred between objects. Light and sound energies are forms of wave energy that travel away from their sources. Chemical energy is stored energy due to molecular arrangements.

1. By: Glover Bullock (GIT)
Forms of Energy

2. Benchmark: SC.5.P.10.1 Investigate and describe some basic
forms of energy, including light, heat, sound electrical, chemical,
and mechanical.
Objective: Students will identify and describe some basic forms of
energy.
Essential Question: What are some basic forms of energy?
Home Learning:

3. Word Wall

4. Forms of Energy
Energy is the ability to do work.
Energy can make things move or change and can be transferred
from one form to another and from one object to another.
Energy comes in many different forms, including:
o mechanical energy
o electrical energy
o heat energy
o light energy
o sound energy (acoustic energy)
o chemical energy

5. Mechanical Energy
Mechanical Energy is the energy that an object has due to
its motion or position.
Mechanical Energy encompasses two types of energy:
o Potential Energy (energy of position) – stored energy.
Energy that is not causing changes now but could cause
changes.
o Kinetic Energy (energy of motion) – energy due to motion.

6. Energy of Position
Potential Energy is energy that in not causing any changes
now, but could cause changes in the future.
2 Types of Potential Energy
o Gravitational Potential Energy - is the amount of energy an
object has based on its weight and height.
o Elastic potential energy - is the amount of energy an object
has based on being bent or stretched.
Click on each camera to view videos
Potential Energy

7. Cornell NotesCornell Notes
Energy is the ability to do work. Energy
can come in many different
forms but there are six basic
forms of energy:
1. mechanical energy
2. electrical energy
3. heat energy
4. light energy
5. sound energy
6. chemical energy
Mechanical
energy
is the energy that an object
has due to its motion or its
position.
Potential (energy of position) –
energy not causing any
changes but could cause
changes.
Kinetic (energy of motion)
– energy due to motion.

8. Electrical Energy
Electrical energy comes from the movement of charged
particles, such as electrons.
 Electrical energy is also referred to as electricity.
 Machines can change electricity into many other forms of energy
like heat, light, sound, or mechanical energy.
 Electricity travels through conducting materials, such as wires.
 Electrical energy can be changed into other kinds of energy.

9. Heat Energy
Heat or thermal energy is how hot or cold an object is.
Heat energy is transferred from warmer objects to
colder objects.
Heat energy can be produced from other forms of
energy.
The temperature of an object is related to how
much thermal energy that an object has.

10. Light Energy
Light energy is a type of wave energy which can be sensed by
the eyes.
 Other types of energy can produce light energy.
 Light energy produced by the Sun is called solar energy.
 Light energy always travels away from its source.

11. Light Energy
 Light travels away from its source in a straight line until it strikes
an object or travels from one medium to another.
 Things that give off light often also give off heat.
Light can:
 Reflect – the bouncing back of light from a surface.
 Refract – the bending of light as it moves through one
material.
 Absorb – when light is absorbed by an object.

12. Chemical Energy
Chemical energy is the energy found in a substance due to
the arrangement of its particles.
Chemical Energy is a type of potential energy or stored energy.
Chemical energy is present in several situations of energy
transfer.

13. Sound Energy
Sound energy is the energy of sound waves as they travel.
 Sound is created by the vibration of an object.
 The speed of a sound wave depends on what
 the wave is traveling through.
 Sound travels more quickly through a solid than through a liquid or
through air.
 Sound waves cannot travel through a vacuum such as outer space
because there is nothing there for the waves to travel through.

14. Sound energy can be produced by other forms of energy.

15. Pitch
Factors that Affect Pitch
 Speed of the Vibrations
 Tightness (or tension)
 Size, such as the length or thickness of
string, can affect pitch.

16. Share and Write
Accountable Talk

17. 1
2345
6
789101112
Which number would have the highest pitch?
Explain.
Discussion Point

18. Class Work
Forms of Energy Examples

19. Exit Slip
Pitch Elastic potential Refract Acoustic
Vibrations Gravitational Reflect Friction
Volume Kinetic Absorb Heat
Loudness Potential Solar Electrical
Size Shape Texture Mass
Light Chemical Mechanical Sound
Using the following words to summarize what you learned about the
basic forms of energy.

20. Checks for Understanding
1. When an overhead fan is turned on, what kind of energy is
used?
a. light
b. chemical
c. electrical
d. sound
FCAT Explorer

21. 2. Jose can throw a baseball from the outfield all the way back to home plate. Why
does he have to move his arm in order to make the ball fly all that way?
A. He has to get the ball high enough in the air so the air can support it.
B. The ball's energy can only be released if he lets it go above the ground.
C. Moving his arm makes the ball's own energy take it in the right direction.
D. He has to transfer some of his muscle's energy to the ball to make it move.
Checks for Understanding

22. 3. Judy is getting ready for school on a cold day in February. She wants to make sure
her hair is completely dry before she leaves her house. She plugs her hair dryer into
the wall outlet and turns it on. Which of the following describes one of the steps
involved in using energy to dry Jennifer's hair?
A. Thermal energy is changed into mechanical energy, which makes the motor in
the hair dryer move.
B. Electrical energy is changed into heat energy, which makes the motor in the
hair dryer move.
C. Mechanical energy is changed into heat energy, which makes the motor in the
hair dryer move.
D. Electrical energy is changed into mechanical energy,
which makes the motor in the hair dryer move.
Florida Achieves
Checks for Understanding

23. 4.Which of the following lists the forms of energy that electricity can
be transformed into?
A. heat, kinetic, light, and sound energy
B. chemical, heat, light, and solar energy
C. heat, kinetic, nuclear, and sound energy
D. gravitational, kinetic, solar, and sound energy
Florida Achieves
Checks for Understanding

24. 5.While on a hiking trip, Franklin noticed that the mosquitoes flying around him
had a much higher pitch than the bees he had heard earlier in the day.
Which of the following best explains why mosquitoes sound so different from
bees?
a. Their bodies are very different sizes.
b. They make noises for different purposes.
c. Their wings vibrate at different speeds.
d. They ingest different kinds of foods.
FCAT EXPLORER
Checks for Understanding

25. Online Energy Resources
 The Energy Story: http://energyquest.ca.gov/story/index.html
 Mechanical Energy (animation) http://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/?assetGuid=2768797e-
a7a0-45f5-b7a4-
812cd3422f7d&fromMyDe=0&isPrinterFriendly=0&provider=&isLessonFromHealth=0&productco
de=DETB&isAssigned=false&includeHeader=YES&homeworkGuid=
 Energy and the Environment:
http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/interactives/science/energy
 Energy http://www.energyeducation.tx.gov/energy/section_1/topics/index.htm
 Kids and Energy http://www.kids.esdb.bg/index.html
 Science for Kids: Sound and Hearing
http://acswebcontent.acs.org/scienceforkids/index.html#Sound
 Gizmos: Heat Absorption