Photo/Illustration Credits: Cover: p.

2: (l) Royalty-Free/Corbis; (r) Royalty-

Free/Corbis; p. 3: Photodisc Green/Getty Images; p. 4: Hemera Photo-Objects;
p. 5: Harcourt; p. 6: Jonathan Massie/Wilkinson Studios, Inc.; p. 7: Harcourt; pp. 8–9:
Jonathan Massie/Wilkinson Studios, Inc.; p. 10: Photodisc Green/Getty Images;
p. 11: Harcourt; p. 12: Erich Schrempp/ Photo Researchers, Inc.; p. 13: Harcourt;
p. 14: Photodisc Green/Getty Images; p. 15: Image Factory/ Photo Researchers, Inc.

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  039  10 09 08 07 06 05
What Is Energy? ......................... ........................ 2

From One Form to Another ................................... 4

Catch the Waves!................................................ 6

Waves of Light ................................................... 8

Traveling Light ........................... ........................ 10

Bending Light............................ ........................ 12

Letting Light Through .......................................... 14

Glossary. . . . . . ............................. ........................ 16









 






 









 








 What Is Energy?
The sun warms your skin on a bright afternoon. Your alarm rings
and wakes you up. You ride your bike down a big hill. All of these
things happen because of energy. Energy is the ability to cause
change in matter.
Energy comes in many different forms, and it can change from one
form to another. Picture yourself on your bike at the top of a big hill.
You have a lot of potential energy. Potential energy is the energy that
is due to the position or condition of an object. Another way to think
of it is “stored” energy. You have more potential energy on a big hill
than a little hill.
As you head down the hill, you have less and less potential energy.
On the other hand, you’re gaining more and more kinetic energy.
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. As soon as you stop, your
kinetic energy is gone. Any object in motion has kinetic energy, even
a tiny leaf falling from a tree.
At the top, the skateboard has
the most potential energy. As it
descends, it gains kinetic energy.


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What are some other forms of

energy? Heat from the oven. Light
from your desk lamp. Sound
coming out of your radio.
Electricity that powers your
TV. The chemical energy
stored in a battery. There’s
also solar energy from the
sun and nuclear energy
used in some power plants.
Even you run on
energy! All living things
store chemical energy in their
cells that helps them move and
grow. Your chemical energy comes
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3
 From One Form to Another
Think about what happens when you turn on your stereo. Lights
flash on. Sound comes out. After it has been playing awhile, it may
even start to feel a little warm. You’ve just seen how one form of
energy can change to many other forms. In your stereo, electrical
energy has been turned into light, sound, and thermal energy.
If you look around your home, you’ll find many more examples of
how electrical energy changes into other forms of energy. But where
does the electricity come from? At electrical plants, electricity is
formed from other forms of energy. Hydroelectric plants convert the
mechanical energy of moving water into electricity. Electrical plants
that burn oil convert chemical energy in fuel into electricity.
Some plants use nuclear energy or solar
energy to produce electricity.
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4
 A wind turbine turns the
kinetic energy of the wind
into mechanical energy
which is then used to
produce electrical energy.

The way a car works is another good example of energy changing

forms. When you start a car, the chemical energy in the gasoline is
released in a controlled explosion in the cylinders. Chemical energy
has turned to thermal energy. The energy from the explosion causes
pistons to move, a form of mechanical energy. The pistons cause other
parts of the engine to move. They attach to parts which turn the
wheels. Some of the energy from the explosion is used to turn the
alternator. This energy produces electrical energy for the rest of
the car. The electricity lights the dashboard and runs the radio.
You might think that once energy is used, it’s gone. It’s not. Energy
changes from one form to another. The amount of energy doesn’t
change. The law of conservation of energy states that the total
amount of energy in a system is always the same. In other words,
energy cannot be created or destroyed.
MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS  What form of energy is used by a
toaster? How does this energy change form when you’re making toast?


 Catch the Waves!
When you see waves rolling across the ocean, it may look as if
the water is moving toward you. But if you dropped a plastic ball
on the water, you’d notice that the ball moves very little. That’s
because the water isn’t moving forward. The wave isn’t carrying
water. It’s carrying energy.
A wave is a disturbance that carries energy through matter
or space. An ocean wave carries energy through water. When an
earthquake hits, the energy is carried through Earth by waves.
Both of these are mechanical waves.
Another kind of mechanical wave is a sound
wave. Sound waves can’t travel without matter.
Most of the time, sound waves travel through
Sound waves don’t air. Since there’s no air in space, sound can’t
just travel through travel there.
air. They can travel All waves have different parts, which are shown
through liquids and in the diagram below. The highest part of a wave
solids, too. In fact, is the crest, and the lowest part is the trough. The
they travel faster distance from one crest to the next, or from one
through water, and trough to the next, is called a wavelength. How
even faster through far matter—a plastic ball on the water—is displaced
solids! from its resting position is the amplitude of a wave.
It is the distance from the crest or trough to the
resting position.

Wavelength
Crest

Height
Amplitude
Trough


 For any type of wave, amplitude and wavelength can vary a lot.
Just think of a tiny ripple on the ocean compared with a giant wave. In
sound waves, these variations affect the sounds you hear. A greater
amplitude produces a louder sound. A sound’s wavelength determines
whether you hear a high pitch or a low pitch.
Sound waves have different frequencies. The frequency of a
wave is the number of vibrations, or wavelengths, that pass a point
in a given time. A sound wave with a short wavelength has a high
frequency and creates a high pitch. A soundwave with a long
wavelength has a lower frequency and produces a low pitch.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST  How are ocean waves and sound waves
alike and different?

This ocean wave may look like it’s

carrying water, but it’s carrying energy.


 Waves of Light
You have learned that heat and light are different forms of energy.
Like sound, these forms of energy travel in waves. But unlike sound
waves, these waves don’t need matter in order to travel. They can
travel through empty space. That’s why we can feel the heat and see
the light from the sun.
These waves are different from sound waves in another way,
too. They are actually waves of vibrating electric and magnetic fields.
These kinds of waves help make up the electromagnetic spectrum.
Electromagnetic waves carry energy. All electromagnetic waves travel
at the same speed, but they have very different wavelengths
and frequencies.
The diagram of the electromagnetic spectrum shows the range
of different wavelengths. Humans can see only a tiny part of the
spectrum as visible light. The longest waves of visible light are red,
and the shortest are violet.

GAMMA RAYS AND X RAYS ULTRAVIOLET RAYS VISIBLE LIGHT INFRARED

WAVES

Wave Gamma Rays X Ray Ultraviolet Waves

About the size of: An atom’s nucleus An atom A molecule


 Ultraviolet waves have even shorter wavelengths. The shorter the
waves, the more energy they carry. That’s why ultraviolet waves from
the sun cause sunburns, while visible light does not.
X rays have even shorter wavelengths and carry more energy.
You’re probably familiar with X rays that travel through your body and
help make pictures of teeth and bones. Gamma rays are the shortest of
all and carry the most energy. These waves are used to kill cancer cells
in the body.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are longer waves with less
energy. Humans can’t see infrared waves but do feel them as heat. You
have probably seen microwaves at work cooking food. Radio waves are
the waves that carry signals to your television and radio.
MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS  What are electromagnetic waves?

Here’s a look at the different waves

along the electromagnetic spectrum
and the approximate size of each.

MICROWAVES RADIO WAVES

Visible Light Infrared Wave Microwave Radio Waves

Ranges from a
An amoeba A mosquito A bee person to a
building


 Traveling Light
Most people don’t usually think about how light travels. When you
flip a switch, light fills a room. But light behaves in very particular
ways. Think about what happens when you use a flashlight on a dark
night. A beam of light shines out from your flashlight. That’s because
light travels in a straight line.
If you shine the flashlight at a wall, the
light will bounce off the surface. When
light bounces off the surface of an object,
Your eyes aren’t the only
it’s called reflection. Some objects reflect
things that receive light.
light better than others. A smooth surface
Light produces the pictures
such as a mirror reflects light very well. A
you take with your camera.
rough surface such as a rocky plain
A remote control works by
reflects less light.
sending and receiving light.
The sun provides light, but the planets
Plants grow because of light
and the moon don’t. You see the planets
energy from the sun.
and the moon shining because they
reflect sunlight.

A laser beam shows how

light travels in a straight
line. Unlike a flashlight, a
laser releases a very strong,
concentrated beam of light.

10
 We see a rainbow
because tiny drops of
water in the sky act like
prisms, separating white
light into different colors.

The reflection of light also gives an object its color. You’ve already
learned that visible light may look white, but it’s really a combination of
different colors. When white light hits a prism, the light is separated
into different wavelengths, so you can see a rainbow of colors. Every
color has a different wavelength.
Different objects reflect different wavelengths of light. An apple
looks red because it reflects red light and absorbs the other colors. A
white object reflects all the wavelengths of visible light. Very few light
waves reflect off a black object.
You’ve probably figured out that light is responsible for everything
you see around you. Where does light come from? There are many
sources of light, such as the sun, a lightbulb, a flame, and a flash of
lightning. A few animals, such as lightning bugs and deep-sea fish,
produce their own light!
COMPARE AND CONTRAST  Why do you think a smooth, white wall
makes a room look brighter than a rough, black wall?

11
 Bending Light
A prism separates white light into different colors. How does this
happen? When light travels through a medium such as water or glass,
it slows down. When light changes speed, it bends. Refraction is the
bending of a light as it passes from the surface of one medium to
another. Different wavelengths of light bend different amounts. Violet
light bends a lot, while red bends the least. The different wavelengths
and amounts of bending account for the
different colors we see from a prism. A straw in a clear glass of
Refraction is also what makes water looks bent because
your legs look short and the light you see is traveling
through different media, air
funny in a pool. You see and water.
your legs because of light that
reflects off them.
When this light leaves the
water and enters the air, it
changes speed. The light
bends, making your legs
look different than they
would out of water.

Did you know light travels

fastest in empty space?
On Earth, it travels fastest
through air, and more
slowly through glass or
water. In short, the denser
the medium, the slower
light travels.

12
 Light doesn’t bend
just when it passes from
one medium to another.
It also bends when it
passes around the edge
of an object. This is
called diffraction.
Diffraction causes the
edge of a shadow to be
blurry. This happens
because light bends
around the object
creating the shadow.
Light waves aren’t
the only waves that are
diffracted. You can hear
a fire engine’s siren
blocks away because
sound waves bend
around houses and
other objects in the way.

Light waves travel in many

different directions. This makes
different parts of a shadow.

CAUSE AND EFFECT  What causes a rainbow to appear when

light shines through a prism?

13
 Letting Light Through
When you look out a window, light from outside passes through
the glass to give you a clear view. Clear glass is said to be transparent
because it lets almost all of the light pass right through it.
If you close sheer curtains, you won’t be able to see out very clearly
because sheer curtains are translucent. A translucent material allows
some light to pass through.
Say you want to shut out the light altogether. You close thick, lined
curtains. If they’re opaque, they won’t let any light through them. The
light that hits an opaque object will be either reflected or absorbed.
CAUSE AND EFFECT 
Why can’t you see through
an opaque material? White curtains are translucent.
They let only some light pass
through, and you can’t see
clearly through them.

14
 There is a range of wavelengths for
each color. For example, blue has a
range of 435 to 500 nanometers.

Summary
Energy is the ability to cause change in matter and is found in
many forms. Potential energy is an object’s energy due to its position
or condition. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Other forms of
energy include light, sound, electricity, and solar energy. Energy can
change from one form to another, but it cannot be created or
destroyed. This is the law of conservation of energy.
Light, sound, and some other forms of energy travel in waves. All
waves carry energy, but they have very different wavelengths and
amplitudes. Some waves, such as ocean waves and sound waves, travel
through a medium, but electromagnetic waves such as light can travel
through empty space. Different types of electromagnetic waves make
up the electromagnetic spectrum. The spectrum ranges from very
short, powerful gamma rays to long, low-energy radio waves. In the
middle of the spectrum is visible light, which is made of different
wavelengths or colors. Light travels in a straight line, can bounce off
objects, and bends as it passes through different media or around the
edge of an object.

15
 Glossary
amplitude  (am•pluh•tood)  The distance in a wave from the resting
position to the top of the crest or the bottom of the trough (6, 7, 15)

diffraction  (dih•frak•shuhn)  The bending of light around the edge of

an object (13)

electromagnetic spectrum  (ee•lek•troh•mag•net•ik spek•truhm)  All

energy waves that travel at the speed of light in a vacuum; includes
radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays (8, 9, 15)

energy  (en•er•jee)  The ability to cause change in matter (2, 3, 4, 5, 6,

8, 11, 15)

frequency  (free•kwuhn•see)  The number of vibrations or waves in a

given amount of time (7)

kinetic energy  (kih•net•ik en•er•jee)  The energy of motion (2, 3, 5, 15)

law of conservation of energy  (law uv kahn•ser•vay•shuhn uv en•er•jee) 

The rule stating that the total amount of energy in a closed system is
always the same—energy cannot be created or destroyed (5, 15)

opaque  (oh•payk)  Not allowing any light to pass through (14)

potential energy  (poh•ten•shuhl en•er•jee)  Energy that is due to the

position or condition of an object (2, 3, 15)

reflection  (rih•flek•shuhn)  The bouncing of light off a surface (10, 11)

refraction  (rih•frak•shuhn)  The bending of light as it passes from the

surface of one material to another (12)

translucent  (tranz•loo•suhnt)  Allowing some light to pass

through (14)

transparent  (tranz•par•uhnt)  Allowing almost all light to pass

through (14)

wave  (wayv)  A disturbance that carries energy through matter or

space (6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15)

wavelength  (wayv•length)  The distance from the middle of the crest

of one wave to the middle of the next crest (6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15)
16
Think and Write
1. Describe how a skateboarder’s potential and kinetic
energy change as the skateboarder rides up and down
a double-sided ramp.
2. CAUSE AND EFFECT  Think about the objects you see in
outer space. Which ones produce light? Which ones reflect
light? Where does the reflected light come from?
3. COMPARE AND CONTRAST  How are radio waves and
gamma rays alike? How are they different? Why do you think
it’s safe for radio waves to travel through the air, while gamma
rays are very dangerous?
4. Narrative Writing  Imagine yourself taking a walk in the
woods on a sunny day. You might walk along a river, pass a
waterfall, or watch animals scurrying about. Write a journal
describing your walk. For each sight, describe the energy
that’s being used and how it’s changing into other forms
of energy.

Hands-On Activity
Draw a random object out of a box of objects (mirror, translucent
marbles, flashlight, etc.) and describe how light behaves with that
object. Use words such as reflection, refraction, transparent, opaque,
diffraction, and colors.

School-Home Connection
Tell a family member what you’ve learned about energy. Together,
think about kinds of energy you see every day. Find at least five
different examples of how energy is used in your daily life, and tell how
that energy changes.