Making Things Happen How long can you run or sing or even stay awake before you get tired No one can do these activities forever Eventually you run out of energy Energy makes things happen Energy is the ability to move and do work 4
Energy is around us all the time It’s in sunlight in wind in our homes and our bodies People use energy to do all kinds of work from driving cars to heating homes Explaining Energy Scientists who study the physical world including energy are called physicists A great physicist of the 20th century was Albert Einstein 1879 1955 He explained how energy works in the universe 5
Energy exists in two basic forms kinetic energy and potential energy Kinetic energy is energy in motion A ball rolling or a car whizzing by are examples of kinetic energy Potential energy is stored energy Amazing Physicist One of the greatest physicists was Marie Curie 1867 1934 She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in science the world’s top science award And she won it twice 6
Imagine taking a rubber band and stretching it as far as you can If you let go the rubber band shoots across the room Stretching it stores up potential energy Potential energy gets changed or converted into kinetic energy when you release the band and it travels across the room Fuel such as gasoline for a car also contains potential energy That energy gets released by burning the fuel Potential Energy Kinetic Energy 7
