All lessons › Challenge: Energy detectives › Lesson 1
Australian primary science · Years 5–6 (challenge) · Lesson 1 of 3
Follow the energy from the Sun
Inquiry question: How does energy from the Sun end up lighting a torch or moving your legs?
Marked no materials needed
Using a model
What students learn
Energy can be stored (potential energy) or in movement (kinetic energy). It is transferred from place to place and transformed from one form to another in a chain, and the total amount stays the same.
Success criteria
- I can sort examples into kinetic and potential energy.
- I can draw an energy transfer chain with at least four steps.
- I can explain where the ‘lost’ energy goes at each step.
Preparation and materials
Before this lesson: Students can describe how a circuit transforms electrical energy into light, heat, sound or movement (Electric circuits).
- iPads with Bottlebrush Education open (nothing else needed) — 13 (one per pair)
- Projector or big screen — 1
Teacher setup
- Open Materials & chemistry › Lab › Light the bulb on your screen to demonstrate.
- Check the iPads are charged and set to Your year › Years 5–6.
Safety and adaptations
Follow school science and equipment risk assessment procedures for the materials used.
Review your school policies and curriculum requirements before teaching.
How to investigate
The lesson sequence should leave pupils with evidence to interpret, not only an activity to finish.
- Pairs open Light the bulb and Circuit detective, and write an energy chain for the circuit.
- Sort the 10 examples in the source sheet into kinetic or potential energy, with a reason.
- Draw two energy chains from the Sun: one ending with you running, one ending with a phone screen lighting up.
- At every arrow, label ‘transfer’ or ‘transform’, and note where some energy spreads out as heat or sound.
- Compare chains with another pair and check each other’s labels.
Teacher modelling prompt
Draw a chain on the board: Sun → solar panel → battery → torch globe → light and heat. Think aloud: “The Sun’s light reaches the solar panel; the panel transforms light into electrical energy. That charges a battery, which stores it as chemical potential energy. Later the battery drives a current through the globe, which transforms it into light and heat. Does any energy vanish? No: the heat spreads into the room.” Open Light the bulb and point to where the transformation happens.
Record and explain evidence
Recording question: How does energy from the Sun end up lighting a torch or moving your legs?
| Example | Kinetic or potential? | Form (chemical, gravitational, elastic, movement, sound, heat) | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
Example recording headings; record actual observations, including inconclusive results.
Discussion prompt
Which fits the conservation of energy rule?
Check understanding
What should pupils know? What is the difference between kinetic and potential energy? Give an example of each.
Explain with evidence: A battery-powered fan gets slightly warm. Explain what this tells us about the energy chain.
Apply the idea: Write an energy chain from the Sun to a cricket ball being hit for six.
Teacher answer guidance and saved classroom work are available through the main lesson experience where supported.