Makin a toy that uses energy

[amy3]

i need ideas on makin a toy that use energy? Any suggestions it is for a grade 2 project

[tdaly]

amy3,

All toys use energy. You use energy whenever you bounce a ball, jump rope, skip, sing, dance, or breath. Just being alive means that you are using energy.

I'm not sure what exactly it is you need help with. If you can provide a little more detail, we'll be able to help you better.

[davidcastagna]

Much of what toys do is conversion of energy from one form to another. Most toys will typically take energy in some stored form like:

• o) Electrical Potential Energy (a wall outlet or solar power)
  o) Chemical Potential Energy (a battery or fuel, or the food you eat)
  o) Mechanical Potential Energy (a stretched spring or a wound up string, or a stretched rubber band, or something held up high in the air - this uses gravity to help provide the energy)

And toys will produce different kinds of energy from those. For example:

• o) Electromagnetic Energy / Light Waves (flashing lights or computer screen)
  o) Acoustic Energy / Sound Waves (the sounds you hear from your toy or the sound that comes out of your television)
  o) Kinetic Energy (when your toy moves in any way that is Kinetic Energy)

Some examples of how toys use energy:

• o) A Model Rocket is a good illustration of action/reaction and conversion of Chemical Potential Energy (fuel) into LOTS of Kinetic Energy (motion).
  o) A Slinky is a good illustration of Mechanical Potential Energy energy being converted into Kinetic Energy.
  o) Muscal instruments like a piano or guitar are a good example of conversion of energy from various forms into Acoustic Energy (sound waves).
  o) Electronic toys with sounds and lights are converting Chemical Potential Energy (from batteries) into Electromagnetic Energy (light) and Acoustic Energy (sound).
  o) A typical video game does the same thing, it converts Electrical Potential Energy from the wall outlet into Acoustic Energy (sounds) and Electromagnetic Energy (light).
  o) Toys can also convert Kinetic Energy into different Kinetic Energy. For example things like Billiard Balls (Pool Table) when they smack together the balls change directions. This is conversion of Kinetic Energy (in one direction) into Kinetic Energy (in different direction).