Naming types of energy
Name and use vocabulary for types of energy and energy transfer — kinetic energy, potential energy, heat energy, light energy, sound energy, electrical energy, chemical energy, stored energy, energy transfer, energy transformation — and describe energy changes in familiar situations using these terms
Lesson
Set out your lesson
“Energy vocabulary includes kinetic energy for movement, potential or stored energy from position or shape, plus heat, light, sound, electrical, and chemical energy. Energy transfer and transformation describe where energy goes and how its form changes.”
Bring to the table
- Paper
- Pencil
- A ball
- A lamp or flashlight turned off until used
- A rubber band
Extra for the adult
Worked example. A battery-powered flashlight changes chemical energy in the battery to electrical energy and then light, with some heat energy.
Optional challenge. Trace an energy chain with three stages and identify where unwanted heat or sound energy appears.
What to notice. Save a photo of the labeled energy examples, or a short note quoting one accurate energy transformation.
Share and support
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Learning resources
Extra practice links — they do not replace Gakuva’s teaching approach.
PhET Interactive Simulations · Practice link — not the full lesson
Energy Forms and Changes
Before you open · source notes
Energy Forms and Changes supports hands-on exploration for Naming types of energy. Not every lab worksheet.
Free interactive page, no sign-in required for the tested path.
Before you openAsk the learner what they changed in the sim or page and what they observed.
Opening this link does not save learning or assess mastery.
Source, access and review notes
Public PhET Interactive Simulations page. An anonymous GET on 2026-11-12 returned HTTP 200 with no login or payment prompt for this URL. Opening the link does not save practice or assess mastery. An adult should preview and guide the learner.
PhET Interactive Simulations. “Energy Forms and Changes.” External page; Gakuva does not copy, host, embed, or redistribute materials.
Unknown — link only
Check understanding
- Name the type of energy stored in a battery, a stretched spring, and a moving ball
- Use 'energy transfer' or 'energy transformation' to describe what happens in a simple device such as a torch or a toaster
- Distinguish between 'stored energy' and 'transferred energy' with a correct example of each
“If your child stretches a rubber band and lets it go, can they name what type of energy it had when stretched — and what it changed into?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Language
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Energy
- Age range
- Ages 7–12
Standards