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Lesson 1 Energy Flow in Technological Systems

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Course: Science 10 [5 cr] - AB Ed copy 1
Book: Lesson 1 Energy Flow in Technological Systems
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Date: Sunday, 7 September 2025, 6:44 PM

Table of contents

  Introduction


What is energy, how can it be used to our advantage, and how can we ensure usable energy is not lost?

CS1.1 Evolution of the light bulb
One of the driving forces of new technologies has always been to create a device that makes our lives easier. Humans learned early on that they can capture the energy from a natural source, such as the sun or moving water, with little effort. They also learned that burning a substance could provide even more usable energy.

In this section of Unit C, we will look at how the concept of energy developed from observations of heat and mechanical devices and how energy exists in a variety of forms. We will also learn what pieces of evidence tell us that energy is present.

  Targets


By the end of this section, you will be able to


CS1.2 A solar panel and a wind turbine

  1. explain what energy is and use examples from natural and technological systems to describe different forms of energy and evidence for the presence of energy

CS1.3 Girl lifting a pumpkin

  1. explain that work done on a system is a change in energy and force is a push or pull

CS1.4 Free fall tower thrill ride

  1. relate gravitational potential energy to work done and describe kinetic energy as energy due to motion
CS1.5 Newton’s cradle

  1. relate kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy to energy conservation in energy changes

  Introduction

Did you know that energy exists in many forms? Did you know that we have learned to use these many forms to our advantage?



C1.1 Image of Earth from space at night
By the end of this lesson, you will learn many energy forms and how they work for us. We will explore different natural and technological systems that use energy and energy conversions. It is important to understand how to detect the presence of energy, predict energy conversions, and describe different forms of energy. With all this knowledge, you can understand how things work and why!

  Targets

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

  • illustrate, by use of examples from natural and technological systems, that energy exists in a variety of forms (e.g., mechanical, chemical, thermal, nuclear, solar)
  • analyze and illustrate how the concept of energy developed from observations of heat and mechanical devices
  • describe the evidence for the presence of energy; e.g., observable physical and chemical changes and changes in motion, shape, or temperature
  • define kinetic energy as energy due to motion and define potential energy as energy due to relative position
  • describe chemical energy as a form of potential energy
  • define gravitational potential energy as the work against gravity

  Watch This

Amazing Energy Facts to Blow Your Mind © YouTube AsapSCIENCE 

This video provides you with some very interesting facts about different types of energy and the immense power of energy. This will help get you in the right mindset for your first lesson in this section.

  Forms of Energy

When asked to define energy, it is usually easier to describe what energy can do.


C1.2 Oil pumpjack and power lines in a field
Energy does not have mass and cannot be seen, yet its presence and effect can be seen everywhere. Scientists saw the evidence of energy first and started to develop technologies that used energy before they were able to define energy (the definition for energy took a while). By the 1850s, scientists started to describe energy and realized that energy can take many forms.

So, what are the common types of energy? Where are some of the common places in nature and technology that the energy types are found?

Potential Energy


Energy can be stored and held ready to be used. This is known as potential energy, and it has the ability to be converted to different forms of energy and potential do work. Potential energy is energy due to relative position or condition. Common types of potential energy that we will look at in this course are chemical, solar, nuclear, and gravitational.

C1.3 Colourful fireworks
Energy can be stored in the chemical bonds of a compound. You already learned all about chemical energy in Units A and B of this course.

Chemical energy used in . . .
Natural Systems
Technological Systems
  • The food that we eat contains chemical energy; the energy is released in the digestive process and through cellular respiration.
  • Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) contain chemical energy; the energy is released when they are burned as a fuel.
  • Wood contains chemical energy; when it is burned, energy is released.
  • Batteries contain chemical energy; the energy is released when it produces electricity.
  • Vehicle air bags contain chemical energy; the bags are activated by a chemical reaction.
  • Heating packs contain chemical energy; when the pack is cracked, chemicals mix and create heat.
C1.4 The sun
Solar energy results from a reaction between hydrogen atoms in the star we call our sun. Nuclear energy is released, and the radiant energy travels to Earth where it is used and converted to other forms of energy.

Solar energy used in . . .
Natural Systems
Technological Systems
  • Plants use solar energy from the sun in the process of photosynthesis.
  • Heat energy from the sun, through the greenhouse effect, keeps Earth warm and habitable for life.
  • Development of solar panels has allowed humans to capture solar energy and convert it to electrical energy.
  • Solar energy can be used for cooking in solar ovens.
  • Solar energy can be used to heat homes through strategic placement of windows and solar heating tubes.

  Digging Deeper

C1.5 Summer sun
Solar energy is one of the oldest forms of energy known to be used by humans to our benefit. Some of the earliest known uses of solar energy date back to seventh century B.C. Go to the following link for more information. https://quick.adlc.ca/solar

Learn More

C1.6 Nuclear power generation station in Pickering, ON
Nuclear energy is potential energy stored within the nucleus of an atom. When atoms break apart (fission reaction) or join together (fusion reaction), tremendous amounts of energy are released.

Nuclear energy used in . . .
Natural Systems
Technological Systems
  • Fission reactions (when atoms break apart) do not normally occur in nature.
  • Fusion reactions (when atoms join together) occur in stars, such as the sun.
  • Nuclear weapons are fission bombs, also known as atomic bombs.
  • Uranium is the fuel used in nuclear power plants; fission nuclear reactions occur here.
C1.7 Wrecking ball
An object raised above Earth’s surface, whether it is an apple in a tree or a satellite orbiting Earth, has the potential to do work because of its position. Gravity wants to pull the object back down. How you can calculate the amount of gravitational potential energy an object has will be looked at further in Lesson 3, but generally, the higher and heavier the object, the more energy that is stored.

Gravitational potential energy used in . . .
Natural Systems
Technological Systems
  • A person riding down a hill does not need to pedal to stay in motion.
  • A crane releases a wrecking ball from a certain height to demolish a building.
  • Earth’s moon causes the tides of the ocean.
  • Hydropower uses water flowing downward due to gravity to spin a hydroelectric turbine and create electricity.
  • Water purifier systems use water flowing downward through filters due to gravity to purify the water.
  • Roller coasters and many amusement park rides use gravity to increase the thrill factor.

  Digging Deeper

©Wikimedia Commons
C1.9 Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton
Both Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and Sir Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation can be used to explain gravity. This is a great example of how observations of different scientists over many years can be combined to explain an observed phenomenon. Go to the following link for more information. https://quick.adlc.ca/gravity

Learn More

Kinetic Energy


Any object in motion has the ability to do work and possesses energy due to the motion. Simply, kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Common types of kinetic energy we will look at in this course are thermal and electric.

C1.10 Thermal hot spring at Cave and Basin, Banff National Park, AB
If you remember from the particle theory of matter, as a substance is heated up, its particles (molecules or atoms) begin to move faster and faster. Thermal energy is the amount of energy that a substance has as it relates to the amount of motion of the substance’s molecules or atoms. If the molecules or atoms have more motion, then the substance will have more thermal energy. Simply, as you increase or decrease the temperature of a substance, the amount of thermal energy increases or decreases.

Thermal energy used in . . .
Natural Systems
Technological Systems
  • Geothermal energy from the earth can be used directly to heat buildings or pools.
  • In the human body, the thermal energy released during cellular respiration is used to maintain a constant body temperature.
  • Decomposers in a compost pile release thermal energy during digestion, which then increases the rate of decomposition of organic matter.
  • Homes use thermal energy released from burning natural gas for heating and cooking.
  • Cogeneration power plants have been developed so that the thermal energy released in the combustion of fossil fuels is then used to generate electricity or heat buildings.
  • Thermal energy trapped in the surface water of oceans can be used in electricity generation.
C1.11 Illuminated fibre optics
Electrical energy is the work done when charges move. You studied protons (positive charges) and electrons (negative charges) in atoms of elements in Unit B. The energy produced when electrons move is electrical energy. There is a close relationship between electricity and magnetism. Electricity is a secondary energy source, which means it is usually generated from the conversion of a primary source of energy, such as fossil fuels, nuclear power, or renewable sources.

Electrical energy used in . . .
Natural Systems
Technological Systems
  • The discharge of a lightning bolt during a storm can reach the equivalent of more than 2 million car batteries.
  • Electric fish, such as eels and catfish, emit electrical discharges that can paralyze their prey or be used in defence.
  • Solar storms occur on the surface of the sun approximately every 11 years when masses of protons and electrons are released and can disrupt Earth’s magnetic field and effect Earth’s electrical power systems.
  • Electrical energy is used everywhere to power machines and devices.
  • Electrical energy can be used extensively for human entertainment and to make our lives easier.
  • Newer electrical technologies include electric car, and energy “smart” devices that increase efficiency.

  Read This

Please read pages 165 to 169 in your Science 10 textbook. Make sure you take notes on your readings to study from later. You should focus on the different types of energy and which natural and technological systems use the types of energy. Remember, if you have any questions or do not understand something, ask your teacher!

  Practice Questions

Complete the following practice questions to check your understanding of the concept you just learned about. Make sure you write complete answers to the practice questions in your notes. After you have checked your answers, make corrections to your responses (where necessary) to study from.

  1. Describe, in your own words, what energy is.
Your answer should be a variation of the following: Energy is the ability to do work. It can take many forms and can be converted from one form to another. Many different forms of energy are found on Earth and can be used to our advantage as humans!

  1. For each type of potential and kinetic energy described in this section, identify at least one natural system and one technological system that use the energy as its primary source.
Your answer can be a variation of the following, but here is a summary chart. Examples do not have to be those provided in the content above.

Type of Energy
Natural System
Technological System
Chemical
  • The food that we eat contains chemical energy; the energy is released in the digestive process and through cellular respiration.
  • Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) contain chemical energy; the energy is released when they are burned as a fuel.
  • Wood contains chemical energy; when it is burned, energy is released.
  • Batteries contain chemical energy; the energy is released when it produces electricity.
  • Vehicle air bags contain chemical energy; the bags are activated by a chemical reaction.
  • Heating packs contain chemical energy; when the pack is cracked, chemicals mix and create heat.
Solar
  • Plants use solar energy from the sun in the process of photosynthesis.
  • Heat energy from the sun, through the greenhouse effect, keeps Earth warm and habitable for life.
  • Development of solar panels has allowed humans to capture solar energy and convert it to electrical energy.
  • Solar energy can be used for cooking in solar ovens.
  • Solar energy can be used to heat homes through strategic placement of windows and solar heating tubes.
Nuclear
  • Fusion (when atoms join together) reactions occurs in stars, such as the sun.
  • Nuclear weapons are fission bombs, also known as atomic bombs.
  • Uranium is the fuel used in nuclear power plants; fission nuclear reactions occur here.
Gravitational
  • A person riding down a hill does not need to pedal to stay in motion.
  • A crane releases a wrecking ball from a certain height to demolish a building.
  • Earth’s moon causes tides of the ocean.
  • Hydropower uses water flowing downward due to gravity to spin a hydroelectric turbine and create electricity.
  • Water purifier systems use water flowing downward through filters due to gravity to purify water.
  • Roller coasters and many amusement park rides use gravity to increase the thrill factor.
Thermal
  • Geothermal energy from the earth can be used directly to heat buildings or pools.
  • In the human body, the thermal energy released during cellular respiration is used to maintain a constant body temperature.
  • Decomposers in a compost pile release thermal energy during digestion, which then increases the rate of decomposition of organic matter.
  • Homes use thermal energy released from burning natural gas for heating and cooking.
  • Cogeneration power plants have been developed so that the thermal energy released in combustion of fossil fuels is then used to generate electricity or heat buildings.
  • Thermal energy trapped in the surface water of oceans can be used in electricity generation.
Electrical
  • The discharge of a lightning bolt during a storm can reach the equivalent of more than 2 million car batteries.
  • Electric fish, such as eels and catfish, emit electrical discharges that can paralyze their prey or be used in defence.
  • Solar storms occur on the surface of the sun approximately every 11 years when masses of protons and electrons are released and can disrupt Earth’s magnetic field and effect Earth’s electrical power systems.
  • Electrical energy is used everywhere to power machines and devices.
  • Electrical energy can be used extensively for human entertainment and to make our lives easier.
  • Newer electrical technologies include electric cars and energy “smart” devices that increase efficiency.

  Development of the Concept of Energy

The presence of energy in various forms was observed and studied by scientists long before they could explain fully what they were observing.


©Wikimedia Commons
C1.12 Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford
Sir Benjamin Thompson was an American-born physicist and inventor who later became Count Rumford. In the early 1800s, Rumford became the minister of war in Bavaria and supervised workers that were boring brass cylinders to make cannons. “Boring” is the process of making the hole in the cannon the correct diameter and is used to achieve the best possible accuracy of the diameter.

Due to the friction created when boring the brass to make the cannons, huge amounts of heat were created. He showed that he could boil a kettle of water simply from the heat created by the friction. Rumford was the first person to realize and propose that the motion of the workers (mechanical energy) and heat were related.
C1.13 Antique cannon

©Wikimedia Commons
C1.14 James Prescott Joule
By the middle of the 1840s, an English physicist by the name of James Prescott Joule was performing experiments that investigated the relationship between potential energy and heat, as well as experiments that connected kinetic energy and heat.

Joule wanted to see how motion was converted into heat. To do this, he held a weight at a specific height, giving it potential energy, and let it drop. The weights are connected to paddles within a container of water. As the weight falls, the paddles within the container move, stirring the water and heating it. Joule made the connection that the more potential energy the weight had (the higher it was held), the more energy that was transferred to the stirring of the water.

Joule’s findings later led to the law of conservation of energy, which led to the first law of thermodynamics. The SI unit of energy, the joule, is named after James Joule.
©Wikimedia Commons
C1.15 Joule’s heat apparatus


C1.16 Inukshuk against a Canadian sunset
It is important to also look in Canada’s past to appreciate the contributions to the understanding and appreciation of the various forms of natural energy. For thousands of years, the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit have inhabited Canada and lived with the land. They have followed traditional lifestyles of hunting and fishing for as long as possible.

Almost everything produced today depends on natural resources. Petroleum products supply everything from plastics to fertilizers to tires. Buildings are heated by wood, coal, oil, or natural gas. Electrical energy comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal, or from hydroelectric generation.

Demand for more energy for new consumer goods and technological advances places a huge strain on the natural world. Also, there are rising expectations and an increasing population in Canada. There is always a search for more energy and resources, so industries look in even the most inaccessible areas. These are often the homelands of Indigenous peoples, which result in the displacement of Indigenous peoples from ancestral lands.

  Read This

Please read the sections titled “Heat and Mechanical Energy” and “Joule’s Experiments” on pages 169 to 170 in your Science 10 textbook. Make sure you take notes on your readings to study from later. You should focus on the contributions of Rumford and Joule and how the concept of energy was developed from their observations of heat and mechanical devices. Remember, if you have any questions or do not understand something, ask your teacher!

  Practice Questions

Complete the following practice questions to check your understanding of the concept you just learned about. Make sure you write complete answers to the practice questions in your notes. After you have checked your answers, make corrections to your responses (where necessary) to study from.

  1. What was the main contribution that Sir Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) made to the understanding of what energy is?
Thompson (Rumford) was the first scientist to make the connection between motion due to friction and heat being produced as a result of the mechanical energy.

  1. What was the main contribution that James Joule made to the understanding of what energy is?
Joule made the connection between the potential energy a weight had due to its position above Earth and the amount of heat energy that the potential energy could be converted to.

  1. What is the main contribution that the Indigenous people of Canada made to the understanding of what energy is?
The Indigenous people of Canada noted the importance of the natural energy that is found on Earth and the importance of preserving that energy and not overusing it at the expense of the people that live on the land.

  Evidence for the Presence of Energy

It is important to be able to recognize that energy is present. How can you do this?


C1.17 Campfire
What evidence can we look for to determine if energy is around us?

We looked at the common forms of potential and kinetic energy at the start of this lesson. Some forms of energy can be seen or felt directly.

A physical change is a change to a substance that may either require energy or release energy. When a physical change occurs, the energy involved is usually in the form of thermal energy (heat). The energy changes involved in physical changes can be difficult to detect.

C1.18 Boiling water in a kettle
Melting a solid, boiling a liquid, and the evaporation of a liquid to gas are physical changes that require energy. You may feel the thermal energy from the sun that evaporates water off of a lake or the thermal heat from a stove element that is needed to boil a pot of water to cook pasta. Perhaps you see the steam coming from a kitchen kettle as you boil water for tea.

Condensing gas to a liquid and freezing a liquid to a solid are physical changes that release energy. You may feel the thermal energy in the back coils of your refridgerator that is from the cooling of the interior of the appliance or see the condensation droplets of water on the glass of a cold drink left outside in the sun.
C1.19 Condensation of water on a cold glass

A chemical change is a change to a substance that may either require energy or release energy. When a chemical change occurs, the energy involved can be in a number of different forms and there are many common indicators that a chemical change has occurred.

C1.20 Matchstick burning
Has a gas been given off? You can usually tell this by bubbles forming or vapour being produced.

A colour change may occur. Is the new substance a different colour?

Heat may be absorbed or released. Is the new substance that is produced warmer or colder?

Has light been given off? This one is an easy one to detect!

Has a solid, called a precipitate, been formed as a new substance?
©Wikimedia Commons
C1.21 Yellow solid precipitating out of solution

Changes other than chemical and physical changes are also important to recognize as evidence for the presence of energy.

Has the object changed shape? Has it expanded, contracted, or deformed?

Has the object increased or decreased in temperature?

Has the object sped up, slowed down, changed direction, started to move, or come to a stop? These questions in particular will lead us into the next lesson.
C1.22 Blurred motion of a train

  Practice Questions

Complete the following practice questions to check your understanding of the concept you just learned about. Make sure you write complete answers to the practice questions in your notes. After you have checked your answers, make corrections to your responses (where necessary) to study from.

  1. Why is it important to recognize that energy is present?
When you can identify that energy is present, you can gain a better understanding of the system you are looking at and identify whether any changes in energy are occurring.

  1. What are the ways to recognize that energy is involved due to a physical change?
Physical changes may require energy (where thermal, electrical, solar energy is provided) or may release energy (in the form of thermal energy usually). It is just a change in state of matter.

  1. What are the ways to recognize that energy is involved due to a chemical change?
Chemical changes may require energy (where thermal, electrical, solar energy is provided) or may release energy (in the form of thermal energy or light). Look for the common indicators of a chemical reaction, such as a gas being produced, a colour change, temperature increases or decreases, light given off, or a precipitate produced.

  Energy in Many Forms

Energy exists in many forms, and you have learned about some of the most common types of energy in this lesson.


C1.23 power lines and wind turbine in field
Many different natural and technological systems use energy and energy conversions. You should have an appreciation for these systems and know how to detect the presence of energy, predict energy conversions, and describe different forms of energy. In the next lesson, we will look at how changes in system energy can indicate work has been done.

  Virtual Lab

Energy Conversion in a System © Explore Learning


Work through this activity to observe the law of conservation of energy in action. The activity has you work with a device similar to Joule’s heat apparatus that was used to measure the mechanical equivalent of heat.

In the Gizmo, a suspended cylinder has gravitational potential energy. When the cylinder is released, the gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, which causes the stirrer in the water to spin.


Procedure:

  1. Open the Gizmo by clicking on the link or accessing the Online Resources for Print Students section in your online course.
  2. What is the initial temperature (T) of the water (found in the upper left corner of the simulation)?

  3. Click on the play button ( ). What happens as the cylinder drops?

    The propeller in the water spins, and the temperature of the water increases.
  4. What is the final temperature of the water?

    29.69°C
  5. Why do you think the temperature of the water increased?

    The kinetic energy of the propeller was converted into heat energy.

    Activity A:
    Potential Energy and Height
    		Get the Gizmo ready:
    • Click the reset button ( ).
    C1.24 Cylinder at 800 m

      The raised cylinder in the Gizmo has gravitational potential energy (GPE) because gravity can cause the cylinder to drop. When the cylinder drops, its kinetic energy is converted into heat energy, which raises the temperature of the water.

    1. How do you think increasing the cylinder’s height will affect the final temperature of the water?

      Predict. Your answer cannot be wrong.
    2. Gather data: Make sure the water’s mass is 1.0 kg, its temp is 25°C, and the cylinder’s mass is 5 kg. Set the cylinder’s height to 100 m. (Note: The large height scale used by the Gizmo, while not practical in a real-world experiment, makes it easier to produce observable temperature changes in the water.)

      Click on the play button and record the water’s final temperature in the table below. Repeat the experiment at each cylinder height to complete the second column in the table below.

      Calculate: Subtract the water’s initial temperature from its final temperature to complete the third column of the table.

      An object’s Ep can be calculated by multiplying its height (h) by its mass (m) and acceleration due to gravity (g): Ep = mgh. On Earth, g = 9.81 m/s2. Calculate the cylinder’s Ep for each of the trials you completed and fill in the last column of the table.

      Cylinder Height (m)
      		Final Temp. (°C)
      		Change in Temp. (°C)
      		Cylinder Ep(J)
      100


      200


      500


      1 000



      Cylinder Height (m)
      		Final Temp. (°C)
      		Change in Temp. (°C)
      		Cylinder Ep(J)
      100 26.17 1.17
      		 4 900
      200 27.34 2.34 9 800
      500 30.86 5.86 24 500
      1 000 36.72 11.72 49 000
    1. How does doubling the height of the cylinder affect its Ep?

      It doubles the Ep.

      How does doubling the cylinder’s Ep affect the change in temperature experienced by the water?

      It doubles the temperature change.

      Activity B:
      Potential Energy and Mass       		Get the Gizmo ready:
      • Click the reset button. ( ).
      C1.25 Temperature and mass chart

    1. How do you think increasing the cylinder’s mass will affect the final temperature of the water? Explain your prediction.

      Predict and explain. Your answer cannot be wrong.
    1. Gather data: Make sure the water’s mass is still set to 1.0 kg and its temp is 25°C. Set the cylinder’s height to 500 m.

      Use the Gizmo to complete the second column of the table below and then calculate the change in temperature and the cylinder’s Ep for each trial.

      Cylinder Mass (kg)
      		Final Temp. (°C)
      		Change in Temp. (°C)
      		Cylinder Ep(J)
      1


      2


      5


      10



      Cylinder Mass (kg)
      		Final Temp. (°C)
      		Change in Temp. (°C)
      		Cylinder Ep(J)
      1 26.17 1.17 4 900
      2 27.34 2.34 9 800
      5 30.86 5.86 24 500
      10 36.72 11.72 49 000

    1. Describe any patterns you see and compare your results with the results you got when experimenting with the cylinder’s height in activity A.

      Just as with doubling the cylinder’s height, doubling its mass causes the cylinder’s gravitational potential energy to double. As the gravitational potential energy of the cylinder doubles, the change in temperature experienced by the water doubles.

    3.1 Assignment

    Unit 3 Section 1 Formative Assessment


    It is now time to complete 3.1 Assignment. Click on the button below to go to the assignment page.

    3.1 Assignment