Energy
Whether it’s dinosaur bones or natural gas, windmills or nuclear fission, we rely on many energy sources to perform the tasks of our daily lives. Energy is created from the food that keeps our bodies moving, the sunshine that helps plants grow, the electricity that lights our homes, and the fossil fuels that power our vehicles. Explore the properties of energy through online activities and discover the importance of renewable energy sources for the continued health of our planet through the direct links on The Times’Launch Point Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/.
Level 1
Poor Richard’s Energy Almanac: Ben Franklin teaches energy conservation and tells how people used energy in the 1740s as compared with the 1990s. Play some fun energy games and print out your own copy of the Declaration of Energy Independence.
https://www.energy.ca.gov/education/ben/ben-html/benfranklin.html
Energy Quest: Nuclear power plants use uranium as a fuel; the uranium particles are split in a controlled chain reaction that generates heat. Find out about different sources of energy, try some games and puzzles that teach you about energy conservation and read about such famous energy pioneers as Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla.
https://www.energy.ca.gov/education/index.html
Exelon Energy Chasers: Volt and Watt explore different types of energy ranging from the magnetic energy of compasses to the body’s digestive system which converts food into energy.
https://www.exeloncorp.com/kids/mission/mission.htm
Level 2
An Energy Primer: What is energy and where does it come from? View an image gallery of different energy sources, try some hands-on activities to explore different principles of energy and read about scientists like Richard Feynman who made important discoveries regarding the nature of energy.
https://www.nsta.org/energy/find/primer/primer0.html
The Atoms Family: Animations and experiments let you discover for yourself important properties of energy such as doing a comparison of how much carbon dioxide is produced by different fuels and what energies contribute to global warming.
https://www.miamisci.org/af/sln/
Energy: A calorie is defined as the amount of energy it takes to raise 1 gram of water (about a thimble full) 1 degree Celsius. Online experiments show how energy is transformed from one state to another.
https://ippex.pppl.gov/ippex/module_2
Level 3
Energy Matters: The Mideast oil crisis of the 1970s brought high prices and long lines of cars at the gas station. Learn about different types and uses of energy, read a history of man’s use of energy beginning with the discovery of fire in 1 million B.C. up to the present and play a game in which you must make decisions to avoid an energy crisis in your country.
https://library.advanced.org/20331/
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network: How are buildings designed to be fuel efficient and what new technologies are being developed to create vehicles that use alternate energy sources? Learn about renewable energy resources and access an extensive collection of energy resources.
https://www.eren.doe.gov/
The Physics Classroom: Work, Energy and Power: This illustrated tutorial explains the difference between potential energy, kinetic energy and mechanical energy through real-life examples. It shows how power equals the rate that work is done and about the relationship between work and energy by comparing situations involving external forces and situations in which energy is conserved.
https://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/energy/u5l1d.html
EXPLORER’S QUEST
The answer to this Internet quiz can be found in the sites at right.
What did Swedish scientist Anders Celsius develop in the 1700s that is still in use today? CLUE: See Energy Quest
Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 100 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.
Answer to last week’s Quest: Yeast is a microbe that helps bread rise and converts fruit juice into wine?
Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This column was designed by Ellen MacLean, Melanie Schnitzer, Anika Asmerian and Anna Manring.
