Energy Explorers: A 3rd Grade Quiz on Energy Transfer and Kinetic & Potential Energy

What is energy?

• The ability to do work or cause change

• A type of food

• A color we can see

• A game we play

Which of the following is an example of kinetic energy?

• A ball sitting at the top of a hill

• A car parked in a parking lot

• A bird flying in the sky

• A book on a shelf

What is potential energy?

• Energy in motion

• Energy stored in an object because of its position or condition

• The energy of light

• The energy we get from eating food

When a roller coaster is at the top of its track, what kind of energy does it have the most of?

• Kinetic energy

• Thermal energy

• Potential energy

• Electrical energy

How does energy transfer from one object to another?

• By staying still

• By moving

• Through heat, light, or sound

• It cannot transfer; it stays in one object

What happens to a ball's potential energy as it falls to the ground?

• It increases

• It decreases

• It stays the same

• It disappears

Which type of energy do plants use to make their own food?

• Kinetic energy

• Potential energy

• Chemical energy

• Solar energy

What is the main difference between kinetic and potential energy?

• Kinetic energy is for living things, and potential energy is for non-living things

• Kinetic energy is energy of motion, and potential energy is stored energy

• There is no difference; they are the same thing

• Kinetic energy can only be found in the sun, and potential energy can only be found on Earth

If you stretch a rubber band, what type of energy are you storing in it?

• Kinetic energy

• Thermal energy

• Potential energy

• Electrical energy

When you hear a loud sound, what type of energy transfer is happening?

• Light to sound

• Sound to kinetic

• Sound to thermal

• Kinetic to sound