Transformation and conservation of energy
Energy is changing from one form to another whereby an energy chain is set up.
Example:
- Solar energy makes food grow.
- By eating the food we can create a store of chemical energy inside us.
- We can use this stored energy to do work like wind an alarm clock
- The clock now has potential energy.
- When the alarm rings, the potential energy is converted into kinetic energy and sound energy.
Energy is converted whenever work is done. When you lift something heavy, chemical energy in your muscles is converted into the potential energy of the raised object. The more work is done, the more energy is converted.
Energy has to be converted from one form into another to be of practical use.
Example:
By burning, the chemical potential energy of petrol is changed to the kinetic energy of gas. The kinetic energy is changed into useful mechanical energy that propels the car.
Conservation of energy:
The principle of conservation of energy states that: “energy can neither be created nor destroyed.”
Energy may change in form, but it cannot be made out of nothing and neither can it be destroyed.
Example:
The power station changes the chemical energy of the fuel into electrical energy.
When we use electricity, we are not destroying the electrical energy. We are simply changing it into another form of energy, such as heat, light or sound.
The total energy in the universe remains the same. The energy only gets transformed and transferred from one body to another.
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