You know that energy can take various forms. One of the important facts you need to know about these forms is that energy can be transformed (or converted) from one form to another to do work. In this activity, you will learn more about energy transformation.

A rule in science called the law of conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created and it cannot be destroyed. That means that energy exists in various forms and that energy does not disappear when you use it. Instead, it changes from one form to another.

Think of any of the many forms of energy you use in a day. You will see some examples of these changes, or transformations, of energy.

Let's take a look at some of these transformations below.

• While you were sleeping, your body converted the food you ate to thermal energy to keep your body warm.
• At night, you may have plugged your iPhone in so that electrical energy can be converted to mechanical energy to keep the iPhone running.
• In the morning, you might be awakened by your alarm clock's beeping or the radio playing. The alarm you hear is the electrical energy being converted to sound energy.
• When you get out of bed, the energy your body has stored throughout the night is transformed into mechanical energy to get you up and moving.

Here are a few more examples:

When you transform energy, you try to make the transformation as efficient as possible, although this can be very difficult. In the lessons that follow, you will look at some of the ways to make energy transformations more efficient.