Energy Transfer for Middle School Science Teachers: Introduction

Middle School Portal

Search for

Science Publications

Table Of Contents

Energy Transfers & Transformations: Sparking Student Interest

Introduction

Background Information for Teachers

Activities

National Science Education Standards

Introduction

As we each move through our day, we are constantly witnessing and experiencing changes in energy. Most of us just don’t notice. It starts when the alarm clock goes off and continues as we power up with breakfast, do our morning workout, and drive to school. Even the leaves on plants are quietly converting solar energy into chemical energy!

It is easy to get hung up with the concept of energy. Even Nobel laureate Richard Feynman (1995, pgs. 71-72) found it an abstract topic.

It is important to realize that in physics today, we have no knowledge of what energy is. We do not have a picture that energy comes in little blobs of a definite amount. It is not that way. However, there are formulas for calculating some numerical quantity and when we add it together it gives "28"—always the same number. It is an abstract thing in that it does not tell us the mechanisms or the reasons for the various formulas.

The purpose of Energy Transfers & Transformations is to provide you with resources that help your students understand how energy moves and changes. We followed the recommendations of the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996) that middle school students experience energy moving from place to place and changing forms. Students should see how energy can cause objects to move. When we raise students’ awareness of the energy movements and conversions around them in their daily lives, energy becomes more real.

Photo courtesy of NOAA.

The terms energy transfer and energy transformation are often used interchangeably. Here we will refer to the movement of one form of energy from place to place as energy transfer and the conversion of energy from one form to another as energy transformation. If we are talking about heat being conducted from a warm to cool area, that would be energy transfer. When we refer to electrical energy being converted to light, we use the term energy transformation.

We've selected resources that give you an idea of middle school energy concepts and activities. They are not meant to meet all of your teaching needs, but will perhaps spark some ideas for you and your students to convert the abstract to the concrete.

References:
Feynman, Richard P. (1995). Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by its Most Brilliant Teacher. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.

National Research Council. (1996). National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC: Author.

by Carolee Barber and Judy Ridgway, formerly of ENC Instructional Resources

Carolee Barber was a science education resource specialist at ENC. She has taught a variety of science courses and worked for a conservation organization.

Judy Ridgway was ENC's Assistant Director of Instructional Resources. She is a veteran educator in the biological sciences.

Copyright March 2005 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.