Conceptual Physics - Energy
Day 1 | Day 2 | Lab | Day 4 | Reading Assignment         9 weeks test review

This Unit's
Process Standards: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 3.3, 3.5, 4.2, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4
Content Standards: 2.1, 2.2, 3.1
Instructional Technology Standards: 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4

vocabulary for the week
  • Energy
  • Mechanical energy
  • Heat energy
  • Chemical energy
  • Electromagnetic energy
  • Nuclear energy
  • Fission
  • Fusion
  • Potential energy
  • GPE
  • Kinetic energy
  • e = mc2
  • Speed of light

Energy   link to an Internet Website the ability to do work.

click to find the answer to today's question What form of energy runs the human body?

Five main forms of energy: link to the Duracell website

Mechanical - associated with motion.
Heat - internal motion of particles.
Chemical - bonds atoms and ions together.
Electromagnetic - moving electric charges.
Nuclear - in the atomic nucleus.link to an Internet Website

the key points to useful information on this page
Describing energy with motion:

Practice Problems:
  1. A 12 pound bowling ball is held 20 feet above the floor. Calculate its GPE.
  2. A 2kg object is traveling at 4m/s. Calculate its KE.

Experiment withlink to an Internet Websitekinetic energy.

In-class Assignment 271:
This assignment must be turned in by the end of class today to receive credit.
Scoring criterialink to a local webpage

  1. List 3 ways that use of each of the five main forms of energy impact your life daily.
  2. Answer the following questions about GPE and KE:
    1. An object with a mass of 5 kilograms is raised to a height of 4000 meters. What is its GPE at this height?
    2. What is its KE while it is held in this position?
    3. The object is released and allowed to fall. When it is half-way to the ground, what is its GPE?
    4. What is its KE at this time?

  3. How does "daylight savings time" conserve energy?
     

  4. Read this explaination of Daylight Savings Time. link to an Internet Website
    1. What part of the U.S. and its territories do not observe Daylight Savings Time?
    2. What is the name of the U.S. law under which Daylight Savings Time was established?
    3. The idea about changing times to conserve energy has been around a long time. What data is available to support the fact that Daylight Savings Time conserves energy?
    4. When Daylight Savings Time begins and ends has been changed several times for various reasons. The last time it was changed was in 1986.
      • Exactly when does Daylight Savings Time begin?
      • Exactly when does Daylight Savings Time end?

Day 2

Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy:
the total matter and energy in the universe is always conserved.

click to find the answer to today's question Can energy be changed into matter?

e equals m c squared (15 min) Think of matter and energy as two forms of the same thing that can be converted from one to another.

Energy conversions:

The two most common energy conversions are:
  • Potential energy changing into kinetic energy.
  • Kinetic energy changing into potential energy.

Other common energy conversions:
  • Chemical energy into heat energy.
  • Heat energy into mechanical energy.
  • Nuclear energy into heat energy.
  • Mechanical energy into electromagnetic energy.

Concept Understanding:

  1. Assume that all the matter in your body could be converted into energy, how many Joules of energy would that be?
    • Hint: 1 pound = 0.5 kg
    • Show all your work used to solve this problem.
  2. Give one example of each of the following energy conversions:
    1. Chemical energy changing into heat energy.
    2. Heat energy changing into mechanical energy.
    3. Nuclear energy changing into heat energy.
    4. Mechanical energy changing into electromagnetic energy.

  3. Use Albert Einstein Online link to an Internet Websitelink to an Internet Website to answer these questions:
    1. When and where was he born?
    2. When and where did he die?
    3. In what year was Einstein awarded the Nobel Prize?
    4. His Nobel Prize was not for his work on energy or relativity. What was it for?

Day 4

click to find the answer to today's question Where did the worst nuclear accident occur in the United States?

 
click for a career
Power Plant
Operator
 Electricity is a form of electromagnetic energy that we have become very dependent upon. Can you imagine how your daily life would change if there were no electricity in your home?

Most of the electricity used in our homes today is produced by burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas. It is recognized that fossil fuels are resources that are only available in a limited supply. Some 40 years ago, nuclear fuel was suggested as a replacement for fossil fuels and the developed countries of the world began to build nuclear powered generating plants.link to an Internet Website



There are about 110 nuclear powerplants in the United States.
Click on a map to learn more about the powerplants in that region.

From the beginning, the use of nuclear fuels carried a risk of radiation exposure but this risk was considered small link to an Internet Website when faced with the possibility of running out of electricity. Countries around the world set up safeguards to prevent accidents, but there have been accidents at nuclear power plants through the years. Most have been minor, but the United States, Russia, and Japan have had serious accidents. Although these accidents are spaced about 10 years apart, the United States has become uneasy link to an Internet Website about the use of nuclear fuel. link to an Internet Website

Homework Assignment 274:
This assignment must be turned in by the beginning of class tomorrow to receive credit.
Scoring criterialink to a local webpage

  1. Write a paragraph explaining what you believe to be the three most important reasons why the United States should continue operating nuclear power plants?
  2. Write a paragraph explaining what you believe to be the three most important reasons why the United States should not continue operating nuclear power plants?
  3. Write a paragraph comparing the good things and the bad things above, do you believe the use of nuclear power plants should be increased or decreased throughout the world, and why?

Research Links:


Physical Science

Sample problem solutions:

1.
First convert pounds to Newtons and feet to meters
GPE = weight X height
GPE = (5.5 Newtons) (6 meters)
GPE = 33 Joules

2.
KE = mv2 / 2
KE = (2kg) (4m/s)2 / 2
KE = 16 Joules

The human body runs on chemical energy from food.

Yes, Einstein's equation shows it is possible to change energy into matter.

   

The worst nuclear accident in the U.S. took place at the Three Mile Island power plant, in 1979.