Physical Science

by Lillian Duggan

Genre Comprehension Skill Text Features Science Content

Nonfiction Sequence • Captions Forms of Energy

• Charts
• Diagrams
• Glossary

Scott Foresman Science 6.17

ISBN 0-328-14018-X

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Vocabulary What did you learn?
electric circuit
Changing Energy Forms
1. What causes an electric charge to move along atoms?
electric current by between
2. What is the difference Lilliana Duggan
series circuit and a parallel
electric motor circuit?
energy 3. How can you make an electromagnet stronger?
generator
4. The law of conservation of energy states
kinetic energy that whenever energy changes from one form to another, the total
magnetic domain amount of energy does not change. Explain how this law is related
to a bouncing ball. Include details from the book to support your
potential energy answer.

5. Sequence Describe in order the energy changes that are

involved in drinking a glass of orange juice, starting with the Sun.

Illustrations: 12–15 Tony Randazzo

Photographs: Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its
attention in subsequent editions. Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott
Foresman, a division of Pearson Education. Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom
(B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).
2 ©Norbert Wu/Minden Pictures; 3 (TR) ©Rosenfeld Images Ltd./Photo Researchers, Inc., (B) ©Bruce H.
Frisch/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 5 ©Simon Fraser/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 6 (BC) ©Dr. Paul A. Zahl/Photo
Researchers, Inc.; 10 (TR, BL) ©Doug Martin/Photo Researchers, Inc.

ISBN: 0-328-14018-X

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior
to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any
form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For
information regarding permissions, write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman,
1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
 There are many forms of energy. Chemical
How can energy change? energy is stored in the bonds that hold atoms
together. Food has chemical energy that is
Forms of Energy transferred to your body when you eat it.
Gasoline has chemical energy that cars use.
Every change, from cutting an apple to
Nuclear energy is stored inside the nucleus
flipping a switch, involves energy. This is
of an atom. At nuclear power plants,
because energy is needed to do work. For
reactions take place that cause atoms
this reason, energy and work are both
to break apart, releasing this energy.
measured in the same unit, the joule.
Thermal energy is energy in the form
When you do work on an object, you
of heat. Thermal energy moves from one
transfer energy from yourself to the object.
object to another. Electrical energy powers
Energy is the ability to cause change or
televisions and lights. It comes from the
to do work. It is a property of all matter.
movement of electrons.
If an object is moving or in a position to
move, it has mechanical energy. Kinetic
The light beam from this high-powered
energy is the mechanical energy of a laser changes to thermal
moving object. All moving objects have energy. It cuts through
Some animals use
kinetic energy. Potential energy is metal by melting it.
electrical energy as a
mechanical energy due to position. A
defense mechanism.
book on your desk has potential energy. This electric catfish
If any object is above the ground, it has shocks its predators
potential energy. to keep them away.

2 3
Energy Changes Every energy form can be used
to do work. When wind or moving
Energy changes happen around you and inside
water knock down trees or move
you all the time. Drinking a glass of orange juice
rocks, they use kinetic energy as a
involves many energy changes, starting with the Sun.
force to do work. Hot underground
The Sun’s nuclear energy changes to radiant energy,
springs have geothermal energy.
which travels to Earth. On Earth the leaves of an
They can release a lot of stored
orange tree take in this energy. They change it into
energy through geysers.
chemical energy. The chemical energy is stored in the
All forms of energy can be
plant’s cells.
changed into thermal energy.
When you drink a glass of orange juice, you take in
When you rub your hands
this stored chemical energy. Some chemical energy is
together, they get warm. The
changed to thermal energy to keep you warm. Some
mechanical energy you use to
chemical energy is changed to kinetic energy when
rub your hands together changes
you move.
to thermal energy. This energy
change is caused by friction.
Geothermal energy is Thermal energy is also released
released by geysers. when an object burns. When
wood burns, some of the chemical
energy stored in the wood changes
to thermal energy.

Each of these objects

has stored energy. Can
you tell which type of
energy each object has?

4 5
Conservation of Mass and Energy Scientists used to call the idea that energy is never lost the law
of conservation of energy. They had a similar law about matter, called
When energy changes from one form to another, the amount of
the law of conservation of mass. This law was discovered in 1784 by
total energy does not change. Only the form of the energy changes.
Antoine Lavoisier. It stated that matter cannot be created
Think about what happens when you let a rubber ball drop onto
or destroyed.
a hard floor. The ball bounces lower and lower until it stops. With
Recently, scientists discovered that under rare conditions, energy
each bounce, some kinetic energy is changed into heat and sound
and matter can be changed into one another. One example of this is
energy. The kinetic energy lost by the ball is transferred to the air
nuclear energy, which is a result of matter changing into energy. Due
and the floor.
to this discovery, scientists now use the name law of conservation of
mass and energy. It states that the total amount of matter and energy
does not change.

These light wands and the firefly convert

chemical energy into light energy.

6 7
 Electric Circuit Series and
How are electricity and An electric current can only Parallel Circuits
magnetism related? flow in a path that leads back to
its starting point. An electric
Circuits can be set up in series
and parallel circuits. In a series
circuit is a closed path along circuit, there is only one path for
Electric Current which current can flow. the flow of electrons. The current
A simple electric circuit is made flows through each light bulb.
Atoms have a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by a
up of several parts. First, it has a If you remove one of the light
cloud of electrons. The number of protons inside the nucleus is the
source of electrical energy, such bulbs, the current will no
same as the number of electrons surrounding it. Protons have a
as a battery. Second, it has a wire longer flow.
positive charge and electrons have a negative charge. The positive
and negative charges cancel each other out. Because of this, atoms through which the current flows. In a parallel circuit, the current
Third, a circuit has a device that can flow along more than one
do not usually have a charge.
uses the electrical energy that path. If one bulb is removed, the
The electrons in some materials can move from atom to atom. This
flows through the wire. The device current can still flow. The other
flow of electrons causes an electric charge to move along the atoms.
changes the electrical energy into bulb will continue to glow.
Because the electrons all have negative charges, they push away
from each other. The pushing keeps the electrons flowing and creates another form of energy. A light
Series circuit
an electric current. An electric current is a flow of electric charge in bulb changes it to light energy.
a material. Many electric circuits have a
A material in which electrons flow easily is a good electrical switch. When the switch is open,
conductor. Copper is a good conductor. That is why copper is used to the path of the circuit is broken.
make electrical wires. In some materials, electrons do not flow easily. Current cannot flow because the
These are called insulators. Rubber is a good insulator. circuit is no longer complete.
The energy source in the circuit
The wire makes a pushes electrons along. Some
One side of a battery path for the electrons. energy sources provide a stronger
loses electrons, and push than others. The strength of
one side attracts the push is measured in volts. Parallel circuit
electrons.

In the bulb, electrons

flow through a wire
called a filament.

8 9
Magnetic Fields Magnetic domains are like small magnets. They each have a north
pole and a south pole. If the domains in a material are pointing in
If you have ever played with magnets, you may have noticed
different directions, it is not a magnet. Some materials can be made
that every magnet has a north pole and a south pole. If you put
into magnets when placed inside a magnetic field. Their domains will
the opposite poles of two magnets together, they will attract, or pull
line up with the field. Then the materials will be magnets.
toward each other. But similar poles of magnets will repel, or push
What happens when you break a magnet in half? Do you get
away from each other when you try to bring them together. Magnets
a north-pole magnet and a south-pole magnet? No, because the
behave in this way because of their magnetic fields. A magnetic field
magnetic domains are still pointing in the same direction as the
is the area around a magnet in which it can exert force on another
original magnet. So, you get two smaller magnets that each have
magnet. This field is strongest at the poles.
their own north and south poles.
The electrons moving around the nucleus of an atom cause it to
be slightly magnetic. But not every material can be magnetic. In
most materials the magnetic fields of the atoms face in all different
directions and cancel each other out. In some materials, however, the
magnetism of the atoms is stronger.
In materials such as iron, cobalt, and
nickel, the atoms line up in groups
called domains. A magnetic domain
is a large number of atoms with their
magnetic fields pointing in the
same direction.
Magnetic field

If you break a
magnet, each piece
will have a north
and a south pole. Attract

This iron in this frying pan is Most magnetic domains

not magnetized. The magnetic in a magnet point in the
domains of its atoms point in same direction.
different directions.

Repel

10 11
Earth as a Magnet Electromagnets
Earth is similar to a giant bar magnet. In 1820, Hans Christian Oersted, a physicist and a teacher, found
It is surrounded by a magnetic field. The that electric currents produce magnetic fields. The relationship
poles of this imaginary magnet are close between electric currents and magnetism is called electromagnetism.
to Earth’s geographic poles—the North When a wire is carrying a current, a magnetic field circles the wire.
Pole and the South Pole. The lines of Shaping the wire into a coil makes the magnetic field similar to the
magnetic force start inside Earth, push field around a bar magnet. If you add more coils to the wire or put
out from one pole, and circle around to iron into the coil, you make the magnetic field stronger. Iron in the
the other pole. Scientists think Earth’s coil is magnetized as current flows through the wire. This adds to the
magnetic field is caused by its spinning magnetic field.
and the movement of hot liquid metal A compass needle lines Electromagnets are useful because they can be turned on and off.
deep inside Earth. up with Earth’s magnetic When an electromagnet on a crane is turned on, it attracts magnetic
field. It points to Earth’s objects. When it’s turned off, it releases the objects.
magnetic north.

North
Pole

When electricity
flows through this
wire, a magnetic field
forms around it.

Equator

South
Pole
Earth acts like a giant magnet.

12 13
Electric Motor Changing Magnetism into Electricity
An electric motor is a device that changes electrical energy Oersted proved that moving electric charges could produce a
to kinetic energy. It has three parts: a permanent magnet, an magnetic field. In 1831, an English scientist named Michael Faraday
electromagnet, and a device that changes the direction of the electric proved that a magnetic field could produce an electric current.
current flowing through the electromagnet. This process is called electromagnetic induction. You can make a
When current passes through the electromagnet, each pole is changing magnetic field by moving a bar magnet through a wire
attracted to the opposite pole of the permanent magnet. This causes coil. This causes a current to flow in the wire. The current that is
the electromagnet to turn. As the opposite poles line up, the current produced gets stronger when you move the magnet faster. Most of the
reverses direction. This causes the electromagnet’s poles to switch, so electrical energy we use in our homes, schools, and other buildings is
that two like poles are now near each other. These poles push each produced by electromagnetic induction.
other away, causing the electromagnet to keep turning. The current
on the electromagnet constantly changes direction, which keeps the Generators
electromagnet spinning. A generator is a device that changes mechanical energy into
electrical energy. A generator has two main parts: a permanent
Electric Motor magnet and a wire coil. A source of mechanical energy causes the
Permanent magnet
coil to spin within the field of the magnet. The spinning produces an
electric current that changes direction again and again. This type of
current is called an alternating current.

Magnetic
Coil of field
wire

Electromagnet

Permanent
magnet

14 15
Glossary
Vocabulary What did you learn?
electric
electriccircuit
circuit a closed path along which current can flow 1. What causes an electric charge to move along atoms?
electric
electriccurrent
current a flow of electric charge in a material 2. What is the difference between a series circuit and a parallel
electric
electricmotor
motor a device that changes electrical energy to circuit?
kinetic energy
energy 3. How can you make an electromagnet stronger?
energy the ability to cause change or to do work
generator
4. The law of conservation of energy states
generator a device that changes mechanical energy
kinetic energy that whenever energy changes from one form to another, the total
into electrical energy
magnetic domain amount of energy does not change. Explain how this law is related
kinetic energy the energy of a moving object to a bouncing ball. Include details from the book to support your
potential energy answer.
magnetic domain a large number of atoms with their magnetic
fields pointing in the same direction 5. Sequence Describe in order the energy changes that are
potential energy mechanical energy due to an object’s position involved in drinking a glass of orange juice, starting with the Sun.

Illustrations: 12–15 Tony Randazzo

Photographs: Every effort has been made to secure permission and provide appropriate credit for
photographic material. The publisher deeply regrets any omission and pledges to correct errors called to its
attention in subsequent editions. Unless otherwise acknowledged, all photographs are the property of Scott
Foresman, a division of Pearson Education. Photo locators denoted as follows: Top (T), Center (C), Bottom
(B), Left (L), Right (R), Background (Bkgd).
2 ©Norbert Wu/Minden Pictures; 3 (TR) ©Rosenfeld Images Ltd./Photo Researchers, Inc., (B) ©Bruce H.
Frisch/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 5 ©Simon Fraser/Photo Researchers, Inc.; 6 (BC) ©Dr. Paul A. Zahl/Photo
Researchers, Inc.; 10 (TR, BL) ©Doug Martin/Photo Researchers, Inc.

ISBN: 0-328-14018-X

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States of America. This publication is
protected by Copyright and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior
to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any
form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. For
information regarding permissions, write to: Permissions Department, Scott Foresman,
1900 East Lake Avenue, Glenview, Illinois 60025.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 V010 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
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