Kinetic and Potential Energy
November, 4, 2012
Analysis:
The Potential Energy (Ug) and Kinetic Energy (K) have an inverse relationship. When K increases, Ug decreases and vice versa because energy is transferred from one type pf energy to another. The kinetic energy increases as the marble is rolling down the roller coaster, and it reaches the maximum kinetic energy at the lowest point, but as it moves up the roller coaster, the kinetic energy decreases. It has the lowest amount of kinetic energy at the highest point of the roller coaster. Unlike the kinetic energy, the potential energy decreases as the marble moves down the roller coaster because the potential energy is dependent on the height, so as the height decreases, the potential energy decreases and vice versa. The total mechanical energy (K + Ug) is supposed to be constant based on the law of conservation of energy, but it changes due to factors such as the friction acting on the marble and air resistance that we did nor take into account. The spinning of the marble also takes away some kenetic energy. Other factors such as imprecise tools also contributed to the change in the total energy. Based on the graph, the total energy decreases as the marble moves down the ramp and increases as it moves up.
The Potential Energy (Ug) and Kinetic Energy (K) have an inverse relationship. When K increases, Ug decreases and vice versa because energy is transferred from one type pf energy to another. The kinetic energy increases as the marble is rolling down the roller coaster, and it reaches the maximum kinetic energy at the lowest point, but as it moves up the roller coaster, the kinetic energy decreases. It has the lowest amount of kinetic energy at the highest point of the roller coaster. Unlike the kinetic energy, the potential energy decreases as the marble moves down the roller coaster because the potential energy is dependent on the height, so as the height decreases, the potential energy decreases and vice versa. The total mechanical energy (K + Ug) is supposed to be constant based on the law of conservation of energy, but it changes due to factors such as the friction acting on the marble and air resistance that we did nor take into account. The spinning of the marble also takes away some kenetic energy. Other factors such as imprecise tools also contributed to the change in the total energy. Based on the graph, the total energy decreases as the marble moves down the ramp and increases as it moves up.