Fourth Grade
Worksheets
What Is Energy?
Energy is defined as the ability to do work. Every living thing needs energy. Most of it comes from the sun. Plants are producers. They capture the sun's energy. They use it to grow and reproduce. Any energy that is not used by the plant is stored. Animals are consumers. They eat the plants to get energy for their own life processes. We need energy in order to be able to do anything.
What did you eat this morning? Did you have a bowl of cereal? A piece of toast? These foods are made from grains, which come from plants. When you eat them, you are consuming the energy the plants have stored from the sun. This energy is used by your body. It helps you to do work.
Solar energy flows through the food chain. The food chain is a diagram that shows how energy from the sun is used by producers. It also shows how this energy is transferred to consumers in an ecosystem.
