Energy is transferred — Physics, 11–13 years
Understand energy as something that can be stored and moved between objects, often changing form without simply disappearing.
Stored and moving energy
Energy is a way to describe what can make a change happen. A stretched elastic stores energy, a moving ball carries energy, and a lamp changes electrical energy into light and heat. Energy can be transferred or transformed, but it is not used up into nothing.
Why track energy?
When a phone goes flat or a swing slows down, it can seem that energy has vanished. Tracking transfers explains where it went: into sound, heat, movement or another object. This helps people make machines that waste less useful energy.
A falling object
A 2-kilogram ball is held on a shelf, then falls. Before release, its stored gravitational energy is greatest; while falling, that energy changes into movement energy. Just before the floor, movement energy is greatest, and impact transfers much of it into sound, heat and deformation.
The trap: energy is not fuel
People often say that energy is “used up”, because batteries and food run out. What runs out is a useful store, not energy itself: some energy has spread as warmth or sound. The phrase is understandable, but it hides the transfer that happened.
Energy in technology
Solar panels transfer energy from sunlight into electrical energy, while insulated houses slow the transfer of heat. Batteries store energy for later use, and electric motors transfer it into movement. Engineers study these paths to improve efficiency, not to make energy appear from nowhere.
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