PrintWelcome to Lesson 1!
It looks like we are ready to go for lesson 1: Energy and Society. This lesson is going to teach us about energy! What is energy, and with which units do we measure energy? We will learn about the commonly used units we use to measure energy. There are different forms of energy that we use; for example, we use electrical energy or mechanical energy, like moving a car, etc., and we need to know the units in which we measure these different forms of energy. So we will also learn about forms of energy. We will learn about the units in which we measure these forms of energy, and also we will get into a very, very important distinction between energy and power. To be clear, that is the key concept in this lesson that I want you to concentrate on – power and energy. And once we know the difference, we know that using power, we can calculate energy, or if we know the energy and time, we can calculate power.
We will also look at some of those calculations. Once we know the power, we can calculate the energy. For example, a computer consumes some power, the rate at which energy is drawn, and if we use the computer for so many hours, what is the energy consumption by this computer? We can do the same thing for a refrigerator, or we can do it for any other appliance that you use at home. These are common appliances that we are using every day in our lives. When we add up the energy consumed by a computer, by a toaster, by an oven, by a refrigerator, by lighting, etc., at your place then you get energy consumption of all your equipment for a day. So we are going to do that and calculate energy consumption for a day, and then for a month, and we can calculate also the electric bill for one whole month -- that would be our objective in this lesson.
Be careful, again, because the distinction between energy and power is a very important concept. Forms of energy and the units in which we measure energy are the concepts that we will be looking at in this wonderful lesson. All Right! Why Wait? Let’s go and start our lesson.
Good Luck!
What is Energy?
When thinking about energy the following questions may come to mind:
- What is energy?
- How do we measure it?
- Where is it coming from?
- Do we have enough?
- What is the impact of energy use?
Energy is the lifeblood of any modern society. Energy is used in every walk of life. Without it, modern life would almost come to a standstill. From the moment of waking up in the morning with an alarm clock, we use energy for almost everything we do.
Energy is a property of matter that can be converted to work, heat, or radiation. It can move things or do work, produce heat even if it does not move anything, and be converted to light (or more accurately, radiation).
Lesson 1 Objectives
Upon completing this lesson, you should be able to:
- define energy
- articulate fundamental forms of energy
- know the different units of energy
- define and distinguish differences between energy and power
- classify Energy Sources
Checklist for Lesson 1
| Step | Activity | Access / Directions |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read the online lesson | Lesson 1 - Energy Supply and Demand |
| 2 | Review | Lesson 1 - Review & Extra Resources (supplemental materials that are optional...but informative!) |
| 3 | Take | Lesson 1 - Quiz (graded) The quiz is available in Canvas. |
Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific timeframes and due dates.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please post them to the General Course Questions forum in located in the Discussions tab in Canvas. I will check that discussion forum daily to respond. While you are visiting the discussion board, feel free to post your own responses to questions posted by others - this way, you might help a classmate!