Physical Science: Energy

How Energy Can be Converted from one Form to Another, With Examples

"Energy" is defined as the capacity to produce changes within a system. Within a system, energy can be changed to a different state in order to perform work in natural processes or machines (Shipman, Wilson, & Todd, 2009, pp. 88-89). Plants, animals and machines all convert energy to perform work in their processes. Through Photosynthesis, green plants use Chlorophyll, composed of miniature energy factories called Chloroplasts, to convert solar energy into storable chemical energy as a sugar called Glucose (Nave, Pigments for photosynthesis, n.d.). In the body of an animal or human, the cells' energy factories, called Mitochondria, contain Organelles, which convert chemical energy stored in food into Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy used in life processes (Nave, Mitochondria, n.d.). An internal combustion engine, such as a car's engine, converts the potential chemical...
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