Energy and Matter

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: Introducing Energy

• Causes are the reasons something happened.
• Effects are the results of something that happened.
• Conduction involves the movement of energy through a substance due to the movement of atoms within the substance; it occurs most commonly in solids but can occur in liquids and gases as well.
• Convection is the transfer of heat through the movement of the heated matter. It occurs as the result of differences in temperature and density, causing a liquid or gas to rise and fall.
• Radiation is the emission of energy in the form of rays or waves, such as heat from the Sun. This energy travels through space and can warm objects or surfaces it reaches, like how sunlight warms the Earth.
• Energy is the ability to do work.
• Energy storage, also called potential energy is the energy that is stored in an object.
• Energy transfer occurs when energy is moved from one form or location to another.
• Matter is a substance that has mass, occupies space, and is convertible to energy.
• A mechanism is a method or means of doing something.

Lesson 2: Convection and Conduction

• Remember that conduction is the passage of energy, particularly heat or electricity, through something, and convection is the circulatory movement in a liquid or gas that is the result of differences in temperature and density that cause a liquid or gas to rise and fall.

Lesson 3: Energy Transfers

• Chemical energy is the energy stored in compounds and released during chemical reactions.

Lesson 4: Electromagnetic and Sound Waves

• Absorption is the ability of a substance to absorb light, noise, or energy.
• Amplitude is the height of a wave, measured from its rest position.
• Frequency is the number of times that a sound wave is repeated within a specific length of time, usually one second.
• Pitch is the level of a sound according to its frequency.
• Sound is something that can be heard in the form of vibrations traveling through air, water, or some other medium; it consists of a range of frequencies that can be perceived by the human ear.
• Wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks or troughs of a wave.

Lesson 5: Kinetic and Potential Energy

• Kinetic energy is the energy that something has because of its motion.
• Mechanical energy is the sum of an object's potential and kinetic energy.
• Chemical energy is the energy stored in compounds and released during chemical reactions.

Lesson 6: Energy and Machines

• Efficiency describes a machine's energy effectiveness.
• Mechanical advantage is a measure of the increase in force achieved by using a tool.
• A simple machine is a device that helps someone do work more easily or more efficiently. These devices are the inclined plane, lever, pulley, screw, wedge, and wheel and axle.
• A compound machine is a device that contains two or more simple machines.

Lesson 7: Conservation

• The Law of Conservation of Energy states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, although it can change form or location. The law also says that the total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant over time.
• An isolated system (also known as a closed system) permits changes in form but does not allow the escape or entrance of additional energy.

Lesson 8: Energy Sources and Sustainability

• Fossil fuel is any carbon-containing fuel formed from the decomposed remains of prehistoric plants and animals. These fuels include coal, peat, petroleum, and natural gas.
• Inexhaustible describes an energy resource that cannot be used up.
• Non-renewable energy resource is a natural resource with limited supplies; these resources cannot be replaced (also known as finite resources). Fossil fuels are a non-renewable energy resource.
• Renewable energy resource is an energy resource that is continually replenished. These include sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
• Sustainability describes whether an energy resource can be maintained without being harmful to the environment or leading to the depletion of natural resources.

Final Project: Harnessing the Wind

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