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Hey there! Today we are going to explore the invisible superpower of the universe: energy! Let's find out how it makes everything move and shake.
In science, energy is defined as the ability to do work or cause change. Every time something moves, heats up, lights up, or makes a sound, energy is hard at work!
Energy can be stored up, waiting to be released. This is called potential energy! Think of a roller coaster car sitting at the very top of a tall hill, just about to drop.
When that roller coaster zooms down the hill, that stored energy turns into kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion—anything that is moving has it!
Identify whether a stretched rubber band sitting in your hand has potential or kinetic energy, and what happens when you let it go.
- 1. Think about the state of the rubber band: it is stretched out but not moving yet.
- 2. Stretched objects have stored energy because of their shape. This means the sitting rubber band has Potential Energy.
- 3. When you let go, the rubber band snaps back and flies through the air.
- 4. Because it is now actively moving, that stored energy has transformed into Kinetic Energy.
