Identify at least one way that energy is involved in these situations:

a. An ocean wave at the beach knocks over a sand castle.

b. Your houseplant grows better when it is placed in sunlight.

c. When you eat breakfast in the morning, you have more energy for your school day.

d. When you drop a plate it breaks into pieces.

e. Your hair dryer works when you plug it into an electrical outlet.

A. The kinetic energy in the waves has enough mechanical energy to knock over the sand castle

B. Plants use potential energy from the sun in order to grow

C. You use the potential energy in your breakfast, stored as glucose, to have energy for the school day

D. Your potential energy from height transfers to mechanical energy as you drop the plate, and the energy transfer breaks the plat

E. There is potential electrical energy from the outlet that can be converted to mechanical energy to power your hair dryer

Think of energy as the ability to do work, and then just pick a energy type that fits the situation to come up with an explanation.