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In this week’s lab
we are going to examine conservation of energy. |
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1. Define briefly kinetic energy. |
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Kinetic
Energy is the energy an object has due to its motion. |
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2. What is the usual equation for kinetic
energy? |
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3. Define briefly gravitational potential
energy. |
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Potential
Energy is the energy an object has due to its position or configuration. Gravitational potential energy is therefore
the energy an object has due to its location in a gravitational field. |
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4. What is the usual equation for
gravitational potential energy? |
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5. Define briefly conservative force. |
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A conservative
force is one in which satisfy the following conditions which are in reality
different aspects of being a conservative force. I. Work done by a conservative force
depends only on the starting and ending points and not on the path between
the starting and ending points. II.
Work done by a conservative force around a closed path is zero. III. A conservative force has an associated
potential energy function. |
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6. What is mechanical energy? |
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Mechanical
energy is the sum of kinetic and any available potential energy functions. |
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7. When is mechanical
energy conserved? |
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Mechanical
energy is conserved when there are no
non-conservative forces acting on the system. |
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8. What is the mathematical expression of
mechanical energy? |
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