Energy Basics
What is energy?
This is defined as the ability to do work.
What is chemical potential energy?
Energy stored in chemical bonds of matter.
What is temperature?
The measure of the average kinetic energy of
particles in an object.
What are renewable resources?
A resource remade by natural processes as
fast as it is used.
What is a force?
A push or pull that can change motion, size,
or shape.
What is a system?
A group of parts that function together as a
whole to achieve a purpose; can be open or
closed.
What is solar (radiant/light) energy?
Energy from the sun that travels as
electromagnetic waves.
What is heat?
The energy transferred between objects at
different temperatures.
What are non-renewable resources
(fossil fuels)?
A resource that took millions of years to
form and is not easily replaced.
What is friction?
Force that opposes motion between two
touching surfaces.
What is the Law of Conservation of
Energy?
Rule that states energy cannot be created or
destroyed.
What is electrical energy?
Energy that comes from the motion of
electrons.
What is conduction?
Transfer of heat through direct contact.
What is sustainability?
Using resources without preventing future
generations from meeting their needs.
What is work?
When a force causes an object to move;
measured in joules.
What is kinetic energy?
The energy something has because it is
moving.
What is wind energy?
Energy produced by harnessing moving wind
with windmills.
What is convection?
Transfer of thermal energy by movement of
a liquid or gas.
What is availability?
Accessible quantity of resources within an
ecosystem.
What is elastic potential energy?
Stored energy in an object that can be
stretched.
What is gravitational potential energy?
The energy stored in an object due to its
position above a lower reference point.
What is nuclear energy?
Energy released when changes occur in an
atom’s nucleus.
What is thermal expansion?
Process where a substance increases in size
when temperature increases.
What is biomass?
Using organic plant matter to create
electricity.
What is kinetic energy?
Energy that depends on mass and speed.