Renewable and Non-renewable Energy Sources

Energy Simply Explained

Energy is everywhere and in various forms. If you moved your body today, you used energy. If you watched TV or talked on a phone, you used electricity, which is another form of energy. If you want to make something light up, get hot or cold, move, or do anything, energy is needed.

What is Energy? — Elementary School

The word energy has its origin in Greek and means active force. If you want to explain energy simply for elementary school, you can imagine energy as a force that causes something. For example, we need the energy from a battery to make a flashlight shine. You can't see or touch energy, but you can perceive its effect (e.g., as light). Additionally, there are different forms of energy.

What Forms of Energy are there?

Energy can occur in the form of light, heat, motion, electric current, and as stored energy. In this overview, you can see the different forms of energy and examples of where you can find each type of energy:

Electric currents are one of the most used forms of energy and electricity in everyday life. It is common in elementary school to discuss the question,, “Where does electricity come from?” Because electricity needs energy sources, in the next section, you will learn about the different energy sources.

How can Energy be Harvested?

Energy can be harvested from fossil fuels, which originate from organisms that lived millions of years ago. This includes petroleum, natural gas, lignite, and coal. To extract energy from fossil fuels, the substances are burned in power plants. The resulting heat is used to generate steam, which drives large turbines. Turbines are machines that rotate. This movement is converted into electric energy by generators, just like how a dynamo on your bicycle work; Only through movement can the bicycle light up.

Additionally, there are power plants where energy is generated through nuclear fission. This type of energy is called nuclear energy. Uranium atoms are split in nuclear power plants. This creates a lot of heat that generates steam, which then drives turbines to make more energy. Generators also convert the movement into electric energy here.

However, it is very important to know that the energy sources coal, natural gas, petroleum, and uranium will eventually be depleted through these two forms of energy generation. That means these energy sources are limited. In addition, their extraction and use harm our environment greatly. Uranium is also very dangerous.

But there are also energy sources that are much more environmentally friendly and will not be exhausted in the near future. These are called renewable energy sources.

What are Renewable Energy Sources?

Renewable energy sources are able to renew or regrow energy faster than they use energy. The following lists out a few energy sources that are renewable and how energy is obtained from them:

• Solar energy: Have you ever seen solar collectors and solar panels? These are mounted on some roofs or large meadows and consist of black surfaces. These surfaces are dark because dark things can absorb energy and heat up faster than light ones. Collectors absorb the heat of the sun's rays and can heat up water, which is used for showering. Solar cells use sunlight and convert it into electric current. To generate a lot of electricity, many solar cells are combined into solar modules.

• Wind energy: Are you familiar with wind turbines? These look like tall fans and are used to generate electric current. The wind moves the wind turbine's blades, which drive a generator. They convert the movement into electric energy.

• Bioenergy from biomass: Biomass is made of materials such grass, manure, or energy crops like corn. In biogas plants, biomass (organic waste) is collected. In so-called fermentation tanks, very small organisms, microorganisms, break down this waste, which produces biogas. This gas is then burned in a combined heat and power plant, and the energy obtained is used for heating or generating electricity. Residues that cannot be further decomposed are used as fertilizer.

• Hydropower: Hydropower plants primarily generate electric energy using water. For this, the power plants use stored water from reservoirs or flowing water from rivers. The water then flows through turbines in the power plants, which drive generators. These convert the movement into electric energy. You can take a closer look at this in the video Water has power. This image shows what a hydropower plant can look like:

Even though more and more attention is being paid to using renewable energy sources, it is important to save energy.

Energy Saving

There are many reasons why it is important to save energy. When we save energy, we can help ensure that we can hold onto Earth's natural resources like gas, coal, and oil for longer. By saving energy, we can protect and preserve habitats, especially for plants, animals, but also for us humans. Harmful substances that contribute to climate change also enter our environment less. This is important to slow down global warming.

So when energy is discussed in elementary school science, it is also important to think about how we can all save energy. For example:

Everything you have learned can be applied when you receive worksheets on energy in elementary school. In addition, there are often exciting experiments and discoveries on the topic of electricity and energy in elementary school, such as how energy can be generated or saved.