Energy

Energy is the ability to do work or make something happen. Everything that moves or changes needs energy. Your body uses energy to run and play. Plants use energy from the sun to grow. There are many kinds of energy all around us.

Types of Energy

There are many types of energy. Light, heat, sound, and electricity are all forms of energy. Moving things have kinetic energy. Things that are stored up, like a stretched rubber band, have potential energy. Food gives your body chemical energy to use.

Bright lightning bolts flash across the sky during a big storm.
Bright lightning bolts flash across the sky during a big storm. (Mircea Madau (crop and edit by Lucas) / Wikimedia Commons)

Energy Changes

Energy can change from one kind to another. A light bulb changes electricity into light and heat. A car changes the chemical energy in gas into motion. Energy cannot be made from nothing or destroyed. It only moves or changes form.

Fun Facts

  • The sun is the biggest source of energy for our planet.
  • Wind and flowing water can be used to make clean electricity.
  • Your brain uses about one fifth of your body's energy every day.

Did You Know?

The food you eat for breakfast is changed into the energy you use to jump, think, and play all day long.