Embedded energy

Hey there! Do you know what energy is? It's something we need to do things like running and playing. Sometimes, we use things that have already used up energy and we can't get it back. That's called embedded energy.

Let's say you have a toy made out of plastic. The plastic had to be made by using energy. This is called embedded energy because the energy used to make the plastic is "stuck" inside the plastic toy. Even though we can play with the toy without using more energy, the energy used to create the toy is still inside it.

Another example of embedded energy is a banana. It took energy for the banana to grow and be harvested. That energy is "embedded" in the banana, and we can't reuse it. Once we eat the banana, we are using up that energy.

The things we use every day, like our clothes or our houses, all have embedded energy. The energy used to create or build them is inside them and we can't get it back.

So, embedded energy is energy that is used to create something and is "stuck" inside it. We can use that thing without using more energy, but the energy used to make it is still there!