Almost all the energy on the earth comes from the sun. Heat from the sun makes the
earth warm enough for life. Plants use the sun’s energy to live and grow. Plants give off a
gas called oxygen. Animals eat plants and breathe oxygen. Animals need plants in order to
live, and plants need the sun. You use plants to creat heat and energy. You can burn wood
from trees.You can burn fossil called coal, gas, and oil. Fossil fuels formed deep
underground from plants and animals that died millions of years ago.
The sun’s energy can also do harm. Too much sunlight can burn your skin, causing
sunburn. Harmful rays from the sun can also cause a disease called skin cancer. Looking
right at the sun can harm your eyes. You need to be careful of the sun. The center of the
sun is called the core, which is extremely hot. All the energy of the sun comes from the
nuclear reactions in its core. It takes a long time for the energy from the core to reach the
surface of the earth-about 170,000 years!