Skip to content

Energy makes things go

Energy and power · level 1, lesson 1 of 6

A question to start

A toy car with a flat battery sits still. A lamp with no electricity stays dark. A cold oven bakes nothing. What is missing in all three?

The idea

All of them are missing energy. Energy is what it takes to make something happen:

  • to make things move, like a car, a ball, or you;
  • to make things warm, like an oven or a heater;
  • to make light, like a lamp or a torch;
  • to make sound, like a radio;
  • to make living things grow.

You cannot see energy itself, but you can see what it does. When something moves, warms up, lights up or makes a sound, energy is being used.

movinglightwarmthsound

We get energy from many places: food, sunlight, batteries, wind, and fuels like gas. The next lessons look at each one.

On Mars, everything a family needs, warm rooms, light, clean air and water, cooking, growing food, would need energy. There is no oil or coal on Mars, and no power station, so people there would have to make all their own.

Worked examples

1. A football. You kick it, and it moves. Your leg gave it energy.

2. A torch. Switch it on, and it shines. Energy from its battery becomes light.

3. A plant. A seed grows into a plant. It uses energy from sunlight to do it.

Try it

  1. Name four things energy can do.
  2. A drum makes a loud bang when you hit it. Is energy being used?
  3. Where does a torch get its energy?
  4. What would a home on Mars need energy for? Name two things.
Answers
  1. For example: make things move, warm, light up, make sound, grow.
  2. Yes: your arm's energy makes the sound.
  3. From its battery.
  4. For example: keeping warm, light, making air and water, cooking, growing food.

Common mistake

"Energy is a kind of stuff you can hold." Energy is not a thing like water or sand. It is what lets things move, warm up or shine, and it can be stored in food, batteries and fuel.

Where it leads