Primary years 4 - 5 ENERGY for WORK
What is energy? Energy is the ability to do work.
There are many different sources of energy like the sun, wind, water, gas and electricity. The sun transfers radiant energy to the earth each day. This energy is used by both nature and people. For example, plants use the sun's energy to help them grow.
In order for people to use energy to do work, it must travel to the place where it will be used. Electricity is the most widely used form of energy. Electricity is generated at power stations and transported through overhead and underground powerlines. These powerlines make up the electricity network which delivers electricity to homes and places of work. Click here to see how energy gets to your home.
At the place of use, energy is transformed to do different types of work - like operating a lift in a building or turning on a light. Plants do this naturally. People must use gadgets or devices to do this.
Depending on the work that is needed, the energy will be transformed into different types. Gadgets or devices transform energy into heat, chemical or motion energy. Energy can also be stored until it is needed - this is called hidden energy.
Energy is used in many different ways. Can you identify:
- The sources of energy being used
- What will happen as a result of this energy?
A community gains many benefits from a reliable supply of electricity. An energy supply allows a community to live day to day and also allows it to plan for the future.
Have a go at these activities to learn more about how we use energy everyday.
| Going Green Experiment | Natural and Processed Materials 2.1 | Complete a simple experiment to learn about the Greenhouse Effect. |
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| Gadgets and Gizmos | Energy and Change 2.2 | Electricity can be transformed to do many different types of work. It can heat things up, cool things down and shake things up. To complete the worksheet, think of gadgets and gizmos that transform electricity to do different things. |
| What if? | Science and Society 3.1 & 3.3 | Look at the way energy is used to power our community. Write down the different ways it is used and what might happen if we did not have energy for these things. |
| Electra and the Electric person | Energy and Change 3.2 | Want to make your mate’s hair stand on end? Have a look at this experiment. |
| Electric ‘Fleas’ | Energy and Change 3.2 | Rub a piece of wool cloth or fur on a piece of plastic and watch the ‘fleas’ dance. While the fleas are dancing, put your ear on the plastic plate. Listen to the tapping of the fleas as they hit the plastic. |
| World of Energy | Energy and Change 3.3 | Different types of energy are used in our communities. Identify the source of energy and describe what it does. |
| Montage Masterpiece | Science and society 4.1 | Choose one form of energy. Collect as many different pictures as you can to show the different ways that type of energy is used. Your montage could be a powerful masterpiece! |
| Charge and Carry | Energy and Change 4.1 | You can produce electric charges which create sparks you can feel, see, and hear. You can carry these charges using an electrophorus (Greek for charge carrier). |
| Jumping Jack | Energy and Change 4.1 | Any object that contains an electric charge holds an 'invisible' electric field around it. This invisible field can produce static electricity in nearby objects. Let's put this into action by making Jack jump. |
| From coal to home | Energy and Change 4.2 | Draw a chart showing the process that brings electricity to your home. |
| Particles in the air | SOSE PS4.3 | Work in pairs to collect samples of air around your school and compare. |
