POTENTIAL AND KINETIC ENERGY

What is Energy?

Energy comes in many forms, kinetic, potential (stored), heat, etc. Energy is always conserved. It is not created or destroyed but is just transformed from one form to another.

Kinetic and Potential Energy:

Throwing a ball into the air represents a situation in which the total energy is fixed and there is a continous transformation from kinetic energy to potential energy.

• When the ball is on the ground there and not moving there is no potential energy or kinetic energy

• when the the ball is tossed into the air it will reach a maximum height which is determined by how much kinetic energy it has (air resistance is important however)

• when the ball reaches its maximum height its velocity is 0 and all of the energy in the system is potential energy

• as the ball falls to the ground that potential energy is converted to kinetic energy

Kinetic Energy = Energy Associated with Motion

Potential Energy --> object has a position in a force field

Potential/Kinetic Energy Applet