| Term | Definition |
| Energy | The ability to do work or to cause a change. |
| Kinectic Energy | The energy an object has due to its motion. |
| Potential Energy | Stored energy; the energy an object has due to its position, molecular arrangement, or chemical. |
| Heat | The flow of energy from one object at a higher temperature to an object at a lower temperature. |
| Conduction | Process by which energy is transferred by physical contact (collision of molecules). |
| Convection | A process by which energy is transferred in fluids, occurring when a warmer, less dense area of the fluid is pushed up by a cooler, more dense area of the liquid or gas. |
| Radiation | Energy that travels in straight lines across distances in the form of electromagnetic waves. |
| Law of Conservation of Energy | A law stating that no matter how energy is transferred or transformed, it continues to exist in one form or another. Energy cannot be destroyed or created. |
| Conductor | A material that transfers energy easily. |
| Insulator | A material that does not transfer energy easily. |
| Wave | A disturbance that moves energy from one place to another. |
| Longitudinal wave | A wave, in which, displacement of the medium is parallel to the direction of the energy. |
| Transverse wave | A wave, in which, displacement of the medium is perpendicular to the direction of the energy. |
| Amplitude | The maximum amount of displacement in a medium caused by the wave. |
| Wavelength | The distance between identical points on a wave, such as crest to crest. |
| Frequency | How often a wave crosses a certain point usually measured in cycles per second or Hertz. |
