Law of Conservation of Energy
potential energy | energy stored within an object due to its position or configuration, most commonly energy due to an object’s height from the ground (gravitational potential energy) |
kinetic energy | the energy of motion |
mechanical energy | the sum of the potential and kinetic energy in a system |
lightenergy | the energy of electromagnetic waves, such as visible light and UV light |
thermal energy | the portion of internal energy responsible for temperature |
electrical energy | the energy available to move charges through an electrical circuit |
sound energy | energy carried by sound waves in the vibration of particles |
chemical energy | energy stored within the bonds of atoms and molecules, also called nuclear energy |
Click here to join Tim & Moby at BrainPop© as they explore forms of energy. BRAINPOP© DIRECTIONS: 1) Click “Play Movie” to begin the movie. You can click “full screen movie”to watch the movie in a larger screen. 2) Check out the “Q&A” to review important ideas about forms of energy. 3) Want to learn some more? Go to “FYI” to learn cool facts about forms of energy. 4) How well do you understand forms of energy? Take the “Review Quiz” to find out. This is not an assessment – just practice! Your score is not recorded. 5) Close the window and return here to learn more! |
Types of Systems
- Open System – An open system allows mass and energy to travel in and out of the system freely. A cup of ice water is an open system as heat can enter it and warm the drink over time, and more ice cubes could be added later to cool it back down.
- Closed System – In a closed system mass cannot travel in and out of the system. Energy may or may not travel in and out of the system. The Earth is almost a closed system, as energy enters (from the Sun) but mass seldom enters or leaves the system.
- Isolated System – An isolated system is the most restrictive. In an isolated system neither energy nor mass can leave the system. Isolated systems rarely, if ever, occur naturally but can be created in a laboratory setting. These are called calorimeters. A Styrofoam coffee cup with a lid tries to be an isolated system by letting out as little heat as possible.
![]() Click HERE to watch the conversion of potential energy to kinetic energy on a roller coaster.
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For each of the situations lists describe what type of energy transfer is occurring. For example, a cell phone ringing. The energy transfer is electrical energy to sound energy.