Intro to Energy

8th Grade Science

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 Contents

Energy Resources

The nature of energy

Energy resources

Fossil fuels

Summary activities

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 What is energy?

• Energy is the ability to do work. It can

not be created nor destroyed just
transferred from one form to another.

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 Different types of energy
There are many different types of energy:

thermal Can you think of

light examples of each
type of energy?
sound
elastic
gravitational
kinetic
electrical
chemical
nuclear

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 Which type of energy?

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 Energy transfer
Energy can be changed from one form to another.

For example:

 Chemical energy in food is

converted to thermal energy
and kinetic energy by our bodies.

 Gravitational energy in a ball is

converted to kinetic energy
when it falls to the ground.

What other energy transfers can you think of?

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 What is the energy transfer?
What energy transfer takes place in each device?
 burning match chemical to heat and light
 portable torch chemical to heat and light
 microphone sound to electrical
 radio electrical to sound and heat
 television electrical to sound and light and heat
 catapult elastic to kinetic and heat
 mobile phone chemical to sound and microwaves
(EM radiation) and heat
 car chemical to kinetic and sound and heat

In all these transfers the energy is not lost, it is conserved.

Energy cannot be destroyed or created.

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 Contents

7I Energy Resources

The nature of energy

Energy resources

Fossil fuels

Summary activities

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 Using energy
Humans use chemical energy (from food) to live and function.
However, in a modern society we also use large amounts of
energy from other sources.

Can you think of some activities requiring energy?

 travelling and communicating over long distances;

 controlling our environment, e.g. air conditioning/heating;

 manufacturing and building many kinds of materials and

products, e.g. roads, cars, buildings, prepared food.

Where does the energy for these type of activities come from?

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 Energy resources in North Carolina
Energy resources can be divided into two types:
 renewable (e.g. hydroelectric);
 non-renewable (e.g. coal, oil, nuclear and natural gas).

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 Energy resources in the UK
Compare the data between the two areas.
Why might they differ?
Record ideas in notebook.
gas
oil
32% coal
41%
nuclear
renewables

2% 17%
8%

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 Non-renewable energy resources
Oil, coal and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels.
They were formed from biological deposits over the course
of millions of years.
oil coal natural gas

There is a finite amount of fossil fuels on the Earth and

they will eventually run out.
Once fossil fuels are used they cannot be regenerated
and used again, so they are called non-renewable.
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 Renewable energy sources
Renewable energy resources
will not run out because they
can easily be regenerated.
Examples of renewable energy
resources are:
 wind power
 solar power
 tidal power
 biomass

Only 2% of our state’s energy comes from renewable sources.

Can you think of a reason why?

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 Renewable or non-renewable?

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 Energy and the Sun

The Sun
The Sun is the original source
of most energy resources.
Plants store the Sun’s energy
through photosynthesis.
Animals then eat the plants.

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 Energy resources from the Sun

oil waves coal

The Sun is
biomass the original source
of most energy
resources.
wind
food
natural gas

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 Contents

7I Energy Resources

The nature of energy

Energy resources

Fossil fuels

Summary activities

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 Fossil fuels

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 How coal was formed
About 300 million years ago, trees
and other plants photosynthesized
and stored the Sun’s energy.

Dead plants fell into swampy water

and the mud prevented them from
rotting away.

Over the years, the mud piled up and squashed the plant
remains.

After millions of years under this pressure, the mud became

rock and the dead plants became coal.

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 Coal formation

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 How oil and gas were formed
Oil and gas are also biological in origin. Millions of years ago
tiny animals lived in the sea. Like today, their ecosystem was
dependent on heat and light from the Sun and
photosynthesis by plants. When they died they fell into mud
and sand at the bottom of the sea but did not rot away.
Over millions of years, they got buried deeper by the mud
and sand. The temperature and pressure (caused by the
weight of the sediments and deep burial) changed the
mud and sand into rock and the dead animals into crude
oil and natural gas.
This sample of crude oil was formed in
Europe. Crude oil formed in other parts of
the world can be very different in
appearance and viscosity.

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 Oil and gas formation

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 Contents

7I Energy Resources

The nature of energy

Energy resources

Fossil fuels

Summary activities

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 Glossary
 energy – The ability to do work – it exists in different forms
such as chemical, electrical, heat and light.
 energy transfer – Changing energy from one form to
another.
 energy resource – A substance that is a source of energy.
 fuel – A substance that releases energy when it burns.
 fossil fuel – A fuel that is formed from the remains of dead
plants and animals, such as coal, oil and natural gas.
 non-renewable – An energy resource that cannot be
replaced and will eventually run out.
 renewable – An energy resource that can be replaced and
will not run out.

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 Anagrams

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 Multiple-choice quiz

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