Comments on: Two Terrific Tools for Teaching Science Successfully

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:31:52 +0000

You’re the one who introduced me to Richard Feynman! Love that guy. I love that he was always willing to admit when scientists didn’t have all the answers. Thanks for sharing that quote!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:42:19 +0000

I just heard a great quote about energy and had to share it! Richard Feynman was a Nobel-prize-winning physicist who made great contributions to quantum mechanics and even helped develop the atomic bomb. His books “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!” and “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” are interesting and entertaining, even if you don’t like physics! (Although you might end up liking it after reading them.)

Anyway, he is often quoted as saying, “It is important to realize that in physics today, we have no knowledge of what energy is.”

So there you have it! Energy is so abstract that physicists don’t even know what it is! They can describe it, explain what it does and how it works, they can quantify and label it. But they have yet to figure out what it actually is. The more we understand, the more we realize that we don’t understand.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:26:42 +0000

Thank you, Lisa! That is very helpful. I will always remember that energy is “the ability to do work”. Which means, in a way, that when we say “You kids have a lot of energy”, we’re not using it incorrectly, but the meaning isn’t completely clear.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:50:37 +0000

Hi Lynn! Actually, your current definition – “stuff that makes our stuff work” – is on the right track! Unfortunately, energy is an abstract idea that does not have a very simple definition. The most basic is this: energy is the ability to do work. This begs the question, “What is work?” There are many kinds of work, and these are the most basic ones: work means moving something, lifting something, warming something up, or lighting something. So, for example, if an object has the ability to warm something up, it has energy. (Hot water can warm up a mug, so we know that the hot water has energy.) You have the ability to lift a pencil from the floor to a table, so that means you have energy! A battery contains chemical energy, which can be used to light up a flash light.

Energy can either be stored (like in a stretched rubber band) or moving (the rubber band flying across the room). Also, energy can be transformed from one kind to another, as in the cow manure being made into methane which can make the lights in our house turn on. A more simple example might be that a light bulb gets hot when it has been on for a while – the electrical energy that was in the wire at your house was transformed into both light and heat. Lastly, energy cannot be created or destroyed – the amount of energy always stays the same in any system, it is just transformed from one kind to another to another. That is a law of the universe!

I would stay away, though, from making it seem like energy is a thing – an object – and using the word “stuff” might lead a child to that conclusion. Energy is the ability to do work, and I admit that it is strange to think of an ability as being stored or transformed, but that’s how it is with energy. I would focus on examples that are simple to begin with, such as the hot water warming up the mug. The hot water doesn’t have any special “thing” in it, it has an ability – an ability to make something else hot, too.

Check out this great website that has tons of information about energy: Energy Quest. Click on “The Story of Energy”.

I hope this helps! Thanks for the great question!

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:07:59 +0000

This is a great question! I’ve asked my sister to come by and give you an answer. I’m interested to hear what she’ll say!

By: Lynn

Lynn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:32:09 +0000

How do you explain energy? I find this very hard to do. I looked on that site and didn’t see the entry. Any hints? I’m just a parent trying to explain energy from the sun and how we can turn that into power. Or how dair cows produce milk, but the farmers are taking their manure and turning it into methane for energy for our houses. And she looks at me and asks, “What’s energy?” My answer so far: “stuff that makes our stuff work.”

LOL. I really just say, “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:53:10 +0000

Great reminder – the terminology we use is important in every area, not just science. And of course, many materials are precursors to science or science concepts.

Thanks for all your comments – they really add value to the posts.

By: PS Montessori

PS Montessori — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:34:18 +0000

Thanks for quoting me; I feel special! This post has reminded me to include “proper material language” (the pink tower is made of cubes, not blocks) into my assistant’s training. In Primary, this is more for sensorial, which has an extension into science eventually! I’m looking forward to the next installment.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:40:23 +0000

Great point, Melanie! This is definitely a series for parents (homeschooling and non) and teachers alike. We all have situations where we need to explain the physical world to kids and the more we know about using correct information, the better.

I’ve just added a science category to my blog – I can’t believe I didn’t have one before! Hopefully many people take advantage of this series especially as they plan for the next school year.

Thanks for stopping by!

By: Melanie Howard

Melanie Howard — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:32:48 +0000

Hi Lori~

I am really enjoying this series! I love science & want my children to love it as well & learn it in the proper way. I like the ideas presented in this article & even though I don’t home school my children, these are great ideas for reinforcing what they learn in school (and a great tool for checking to make sure they are learning correctly the first time!)

I just realized this week that for some reason your blog was not updating on my blog, so I have missed several months of posts…I have a lot of catching up to do!!