Activities

1. What is happening when energy travels through a wire and lights a bulb?
   1. Energy is being lost as heat.
   2. Energy is changing forms.
   3. Energy is moving from one place to another place.
   4. All of the above.
      
      
2. In Pennsylvania there are power plants that burn coal to provide power to homes and businesses. What is one energy conversion that takes place in a power plant?
   1. Fire to nuclear energy
   2. Fire to momentum
   3. Heat to electrical energy
   4. Electrical energy to thermal energy
      
      
3. What are some forms energy can take? List and describe three forms.
   
   
4. Summarize what happens when energy is converted from one form to another.
   
   
5. A wind turbine is used to generate electrical power when the wind is blowing. The table below displays the electrical power produced by the wind for seven different wind speeds. Create a line graph that shows how the power generated changes with the speed of the wind. Use the graph to explain one disadvantage of relying only on wind power for electricity.
   
   
   
   

Answer Key/Rubric

1. D.
   
   
2. C.
   
   
3. Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:
   • Electrical energy is when electricity creates motion, light or heat.
   • Mechanical energy is the energy of motion that does the work.
   • Chemical energy is energy that is caused by a chemical reaction.
   • Light energy is energy that travels in straight lines called rays that fan outward from the source of the light.
   • Sound is the movement of energy through materials in longitudinal waves.
   • Nuclear energy is energy that is stored in the nucleus or center core of an atom.
     
     
4. When energy is converted to a different form, the total amount of energy before and after is the same.

5. Acceptable responses might include, but not be limited to:

• Student creates a line graph with an appropriate title (e.g. Electrical Power Generated by Wind), X-axis labeled “Wind Speed m/s” with units in multiples of 5, and Y-axis labeled “Power Generated (kW)” with units in multiples of 100.
• One disadvantage of wind power is unless the wind is blowing the turbines will not turn and create electricity.