Active learning ideas
Energy Stores and Transfers introduces the fundamental principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only moved between stores. Students learn to identify different stores, such as kinetic, gravitational potential, and thermal, and the pathways by which energy is transferred. The topic includes the mathematical application of formulas for kinetic and potential energy.
Activity 01
Groups drop different balls from various heights. They calculate the gravitational potential energy at the start and the kinetic energy just before impact, discussing where the 'lost' energy went.
What are the main energy stores and how is energy transferred?
Activity 02
Display several toys (wind-up car, torch, battery fan). Students work in pairs to identify the starting energy store, the transfer pathway, and the final energy stores for each item.
How do we calculate the energy associated with a moving object?
Activity 03
Students are given data for a lightbulb or engine. They must use graph paper or digital tools to draw a Sankey diagram to scale, showing useful energy versus wasted energy.
What is the principle of conservation of energy?
Templates
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A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Students often think energy is a physical substance that flows like a liquid.
Explain that energy is a property of a system, not a 'thing'. Using the analogy of money in different bank accounts (stores) can help students understand that energy is just being shifted around.
There is a common belief that energy is 'lost' when a system is inefficient.
Clarify that energy is never lost, only dissipated to the surroundings, usually as heat. Peer discussion about why a phone gets hot during use can help illustrate this concept of wasted energy.
Methods used in this brief
National and Global Energy Resources
Students evaluate the use of renewable and non-renewable energy resources for generating electricity. The environmental impact and reliability of different resources are analysed.
8 methodologies
Electrical Circuits
A practical study of series and parallel circuits, focusing on current, potential difference, and resistance. Students will investigate Ohm's law and the properties of various components.
8 methodologies