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Electricity and Atmosphere Vocabulary

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Electricity and Atmosphere Vocabulary

Read the short science story, then complete the vocabulary and thinking activities. Use the clues in the story to explain your answers.

A windy day at the post office

Rawiri and Ari notice the wind turbines turning near their town. The atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding Earth. Uneven heating of the atmosphere can create areas of different air pressure. Air tends to move from high-pressure areas towards low-pressure areas; this moving air is wind. Wind has kinetic energy, which is the energy of movement. A turbine's blades turn in the wind, and a generator converts some of that movement energy into electrical energy. In this way, wind is harnessed—captured and controlled—for people to use. Electricity is a useful energy source in everyday life. Wind is a renewable energy source because it is naturally replenished.

Match the science words

Match each word to its meaning. Write the correct letter beside each word.

1.Match each term to its definition: 1. atmosphere 2. kinetic energy 3. generate 4. harnessed. A. captured and controlled for use B. the layer of gases around Earth C. to produce or make D. energy of movement

1. atmosphere
2. kinetic energy
3. generate
4. harnessed

A. captured and controlled for use
B. the layer of gases around Earth
D. energy of movement
C. to produce or make

Use the vocabulary

Choose words carefully. Each answer should make scientific sense.

2.Complete the sentence: A wind turbine's turning blades have energy because they are moving.

3.Complete the sentence: The turbine's generator helps electricity.

4.Choose the best meaning of electricity in the story.

A kind of energy used in many everyday devices
The layer of gases surrounding Earth
Air moving from place to place
The energy stored only in turbine blades

5.True or false? Wind is moving air, and moving air has kinetic energy.

TrueFalse

6.In the story, what does it mean to say that wind energy is harnessed?

Explain the energy journey

Think about how air movement can become useful electrical energy.

7.Put these events in the correct order by numbering them from 1 to 3: ___ The generator produces electrical energy. ___ Wind turns the turbine blades. ___ The moving blades transfer movement energy to the generator.

8.Rawiri says, “The turbine creates wind.” Is he correct? Explain what the turbine does instead.

9.The story says wind is renewable. What does renewable mean, and why does the word fit wind?

10.Ari sees a turbine turning and a nearby post office using electric lights. Explain the energy journey from the wind to the lights, using the words kinetic energy, generator and electricity.