Sixth Grade Physics of Energy

Getting Started

Energy is the mover and shaker of the universe. Heat from the sun, sounds from your radio, riding a bike and watching a movie are all expressions of different forms of energy.

As you sit there reading this, there is energy flowing all around you in the form of light waves, sound waves, radio waves, heat and more. You are constantly being bombarded by energy.

Energy is everywhere, all the time. We’re going to focus on simple machines (pulleys, levers, and pendulums) that make use of mechanical advantage as well as studying several methods of finding, converting, storing and using renewable and alternative energy.

Here are the scientific concepts:

• Temperature measures thermal energy. Thermal energy is how much the molecules are moving inside an object.
• The faster they move, the higher the temperature.
• The movement of thermal energy is called heat. Heat flows from hot to cold.
• Heat capacity is how much heat is needed to raise the temperature of a substance.
• Energy can be carried from one place to another by heat flow (either in the gaseous atmosphere or currents in the oceans); by physical waves (like water waves); by light waves and sound waves; or by moving objects.
• Motion energy is called kinetic energy; it is proportional to the mass of the moving object and grows with the square of its speed.
• Objects contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their position.
• When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object.

By the end of the labs in this unit, students will be able to:

• Know how to demonstrate how solar energy reaches Earth through radiation, mostly in the form of visible light.
• Understand how to determine that energy can be carried from one place to another by waves, such as water waves and sound, by electric current, and by moving objects.
• Differentiate observation from inference (interpretation) and know scientists’ explanations come partly from what they observe and partly from how they interpret their observations.
• Measure and estimate the weight, length and volume of objects.
• Formulate and justify predictions based on cause-and-effect relationships.
• Conduct multiple trials to test a prediction and draw conclusions about the relationships between predictions and results.
• Construct and interpret graphs from measurements.
• Follow a set of written instructions for a scientific investigation.