I used a lot of energy this weekend. For example, I used the oven’s thermal energy to make some delicious fudgy brownies. This is thermal energy because the brownie’s molecules are vibrating faster due to the oven’s rise in temperature. I also used gravitational energy because as I was playing basketball on my house’s hill, every time I shot the basketball into the hoop, the ball bounced on the floor and started rolling down the hill, which is now motion energy. This is gravitational and motion energy because the ball hit the floor due to gravity, and then starting using that stored energy to roll down the hill, which is now motion energy. Finally, I used elastic energy by pulling a rubber band back and then letting it fly. This is elastic energy because I pulled the rubber band back, creating stored energy when it had a strain on it, and then letting it fly.

Energy is the ability to do work. Every time your body moves, you’re creating energy. This type of energy is called kinetic energy, or the energy of moving objects. There is also potential energy, or energy that is stored. These are the two main categories of energy. Some types of energy that fall into these categories include Elastic, Thermal, Motion or Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, and Gravitational.

As I mentioned before, Kinetic Energy is the energy of moving objects. Some types of energy that I listed above that fall into this category are Thermal, Motion, and electrical. Thermal energy is energy that comes from an object whose molecules are vibrating faster because of a rise in temperature, motion energy is energy stored in moving objects, and electrical is energy cause by moving electrical charges. These types of energy are all Kinetic energy because they have vibrating or moving molecules.

Potential energy is energy that is stored. Some types of energy that fall into this category include Elastic, Motion, Chemical, and Gravitational. Elastic energy is energy stored when there is a strain on it, Motion energy is energy stored in moving objects, chemical energy is energy stored in the bonds of chemical compounds, and gravitational energy is energy associated with gravity. All these types of energy fall into the Potential energy category because these types all are storing energy, rather than using it.

In conclusion, there are many types of energy, more than you probably thought.  Each type of energy is probably included in all of our lives, whether we know it or not.