Much of Earth’s energy comes from the Sun. Nearly all life on Earth depends on solar energy since plants use sunlight to make food through the process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis was the process that fed plants and animals, which in turn, over the course of millions of years, became fossil fuels. The Sun heats some areas of Earth more than other areas, which causes wind. The Sun’s energy also drives the water cycle, which moves water over the surface of the Earth. Some of these types of energy can be harnessed for use by people.
Everything requires energy. Even when you are sitting as still as you possibly can, your body is using energy to breathe, circulate blood, digest food, and perform many other functions. Producing light or heat requires energy. Making something requires energy. Plants and animals all require energy to function. To repeat, everything requires energy!
Energy is the ability to do work or produce change. Every living thing needs energy to perform its daily functions and even more energy to grow. Plants get energy from the “food” they make by photosynthesis, and animals get energy directly or indirectly from that food. People also use energy for many things, such as cooking food, keeping ice cream cold in the freezer, heating a house, constructing a skyscraper, or lighting their homes. Because billions of people all around the world use energy, there is a huge need for energy resources. Energy conservation is something everyone can do now to help reduce the strain on energy resources.
The law of conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed. This means that even though energy changes form, the total amount of energy always stays the same. How does energy get converted from one type to another when you kick a soccer ball? When your body breaks down the food you eat, it stores the energy from the food as chemical energy. Chemical energy is stored within chemical bonds. But some of this stored energy has to be released to make your leg muscles move. The chemical energy is converted to another form of energy called kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of anything in motion. Your muscles move your leg, your foot kicks the ball, and the ball gains kinetic energy from the kick. So you can think of the action of kicking the ball as a story of energy changing forms.
Credit : Lumen Learning
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