Full of Energy
25th June 2022
The Year 8 class blew us away with their recent assembly on Energy. They educated us on energy stores and transfers, and explained that energy is the capacity to do work.
Luca and Fynn made a catapult and launched a tennis ball with it to demonstrate kinetic energy, as energy in action, and elastic energy, as energy in a pulled, squashed or twisted object.
With a spinning motor connected to a circuit, Billy and Dylan demonstrated electrical energy as movement of electrons in a loop known as circuit. The electrons stop moving when the circuit is disconnected.
Hector and Caine carried out a demonstration on nuclear energy. They described this as energy in the nucleus of an atom, and is released when the atom is split in a nuclear reactor. They simulated this by splitting match powder particles in a small hole in a wooden plank with a nail, causing an ‘explosion’ that everyone enjoyed.
Treza described chemical energy as energy contained in bonds between the atoms of a substance when they break and recombine differently. She demonstrated this by reacting vinegar and baking soda in a test tube causing the balloon to inflate instantly! What a sight this was!
Nerissa and Jade were tasked with demonstrating gravitational potential energy (GPE), the energy in an object at height. They created a pendulum, raised it to a height and let it hit a cone off the bench. They wowed the audience by asking a rather obvious question about what would happen if an egg is dropped from some height…and they actually dropped the eggs! What a smash! And what a mess! What a learning experience!
Frank and Jaiden concluded the demonstrations by talking about thermal energy and electrostatic energy. Frank demonstrated melting a piece of ice in a beaker with warm water, discussing how heat energy is transferred (conduction, convection and radiation). Jaiden demonstrated electrostatic energy as energy in charged particles when rubbed against another surface. He exhibited how a positively charged ruler can pick up a piece of paper (unlike charges attracting).
Thank you Year 8!
