Matter and Energy: What is energy?

By Encyclopaedia Britannica, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.18.17

Word Count 475
Level 350L

Wind is a source of energy. Turbines like these capture the wind's energy and turn it into another form of energy, such as
electricity. Photo from: Wikimedia Commons.

Energy is another word for power. It makes machines work. Energy allows things
to move. It helps living things grow, too.

Electricity, Heat And Light Are Forms Of Energy

Energy exists in many forms. Animals get energy from food. Some machines get
energy from electricity. Electricity is a form of energy. This energy powers objects
in our homes, like lamps and microwaves.

Heat is another form of energy. Light is, too.

Energy can change forms. For example, a battery has chemical energy. This is a
kind of stored energy. The battery transforms this energy into electrical energy. A
lightbulb has electrical energy. It turns this energy into light.

Stored And Moving Energy

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

Some energy is potential energy. It is also
called stored energy. One example is food.
Food is filled with stored energy. When
people eat, they change it. They turn the
stored energy into moving energy.

Moving energy is never still. It is always

doing something. Moving energy is also
called kinetic energy. All moving objects
have kinetic energy.

Energy Cannot Be Made Or Destroyed

There is a certain amount of energy in the

world. It cannot change. This is because
energy cannot be made. It cannot be
destroyed, either. Energy can only change
forms.

This is a fact about the world. Scientists call

it the conservation of energy. It means
energy cannot appear out of nowhere. It
also cannot just disappear.

New Ways To Make Energy

Earth gets energy from the sun. The sun makes plants grow. The plants feed
animals and people. When plants die, they break down. They become part of the
ground. After a very long time, they become fossil fuels. Fossil fuels include oil
and coal. People burn them for energy.

Burning fossil fuels makes greenhouse

gases. The gases get trapped in the air. They
store heat. This increases the world's
temperature. Scientists call this global
warming. They say it is bad for the planet.
Scientists want to fight global warming.
They want to find new ways to make energy.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

One way is to use wind. Wind can power machines called wind turbines. They
make electricity. Another way is to use the sun. People can save heat from the
sun. They can do this using solar panels. Solar panels store the sun's energy. This
energy is called solar energy.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3