POTENTIAL ENERGY &

ENERGY CONSERVATION
POTENTIAL ENERGY -> energy associated with position (gravitational, elastic, electric)
-> potential (possibility) of work to be done

U g  mgy gravitational potential energy

Work-Energy theorem for

gravitational potential energy

Wg  U g
 U gi  U gf
work done by gravity

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-> potential energy for an elastic object (i.e. spring, rubber band)
 
F  kx elastic force required to stretch or compress a spring a distance x

1 2
U e  kx elastic potential energy associated for a spring

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Work-Energy theorem for elastic potential energy

We  U e
 U ei  U ef work done by a spring

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 
d

 
d d

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MECHANICAL ENERGY -> total energy of a system (kinetic + potential)

E  K U
Principle of Conservation of Mechanical Energy
-> mechanical energy of the system doesn’t change
Ei  E f
Ki  U gi  U ei  K f  U gf  U ef
If there are other forces (other than gravity and elastic force) present, mechanical
energy is not conserved

K i  U gi  U ei  Wother  K f  U gf  U ef
general work-energy theorem

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-> a force that offers a two-way conversion between kinetic and potential energies
-> gravitational force, elastic force
-> doesn’t depend on the path, only on the initial and final position

PE

KE

Non-Conservative Forces -> dissipative force (causes mechanical energy to be lost)

-> frictional force

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Example 1: Height of a baseball
You throw a 0.145 kg baseball straight up in the air,
giving it an initial upward velocity of magnitude
20.0m/s. Find how high it goes, ignoring air
resistance (friction).

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Example 2: Work and energy in throwing a baseball
Suppose, in the previous example, your hand moves
up 0.50m while you are throwing the ball, w/c
leaves your hand with an upward velocity of
20.0m/s.
(a) Assuming that your hand exerts a constant
upward force on the ball, find the magnitude
of that force.
(b) Find the speed of the ball at a point 15.0m
above the point where it leaves your hand.

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Example 3: Calculating Speed Along a Vertical Circle
A physics instructor skateboards down a curved play
ground ramp. If we treat him and his skateboard as
a particle, he moves through a quarter circle w/ radi
us R=3.00m. The total mass of the instructor and his
skateboard is 25.0kg. He starts from rest and there
is no friction. Find his speed at the bottom of
the ramp.

Example 4: A vertical circle w/ friction

Suppose that the ramp is not frictionless and that his speed at the bottom is only
6.00m/s. What work was done by the frictional force acting on him?

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Example 5: An inclined plane w/ friction
We want to load a 12 kg crate into a truck by sliding it up a ramp 2.5m long, inclined at
30o. A worker, giving no thought to friction, calculates that he can get the crate up the
ramp by giving it an initial speed of 5.0 m/s at the bottom and letting it go. But friction
is not negligible; the crate slides 1.6m up the ramp, stops and slides back down.
(a) Assuming that the friction force acting
on the crate is constant, find its
magnitude.
(b) How fast is the crate moving when it
reaches the bottom of the ramp?

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Example 6: Motion w/ elastic potential energy
A block w/ mass 0.200 kg sits on a frictionless
horizontal floor, connected to a spring w/ 0.100m
spring constant k=5.00N/m. You pull the block, 0.080m

stretching the spring 0.100 m, and then release

it with no initial velocity. The block begins to
move back towards its equilibrium position(x=0). x=0
What is its velocity when x=0.080m?

Example 7: Motion w/ elastic potential energy & work done by other forces
Suppose the block is initially at rest at x=0 with the spring unstretched. You then apply
a constant force F in the +x direction with magnitude 0.610N to the block. What is the
block’s velocity when it has moved x=0.100m?

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Example 6: Motion w/ gravitational, elastic and
frictional forces
In a “worst-case” design scenario, a 2000-kg
elevator with broken cables is falling at
4.00m/s when it first contacts a cushioning
spring at the bottom of the shaft. The spring
is supposed to stop the elevator, compressing
2.00m as it does so. During the motion, a
safety clamp applies a constant 17,000N
frictional force to the elevator. As a design
consultant, you are asked to determine what
the spring constant (k) should be.

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Prob 1. A small rock w/ mass 0.20 kg is released from rest at point A,
w/c is at the top edge of a large, hemispherical bowl with radius
0.50m. Assume that the size of the rock is small, so that the rock
can be treated as a particle and assume that the rock slides rather
than rolling. The work done by friction on the rock when it moves
from point A to B at the bottom of the bowl is -0.22J. What is the
speed of the rock when it reaches point B?

Prob 2. A 1.20-kg piece of cheese is placed on a vertical spring of negligible mass and force
constant of 1800 N/m that is compressed 15.0cm. When the spring is released, how high does the
cheese rise from this initial position. (The spring and cheese are not attached)

Prob 3. A block w/ mass 0.50kg is forced against a

horizontal spring of negligible mass, compressing
the spring a distance of 0.20m. When released, the
block moves on a horizontal table top for 1.00m
before coming to rest. The spring constant is
100N/m. What is the coefficient of kinetic friction
(k) between the block and the table?

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Prob 4. A 2.00 kg package is released on a 53.1o incline 4.00m from a long,
light spring with force constant 120 N/m that is attached at
the bottom of the incline. The coefficients of friction between the
package and the incline are s =0.40 and k =0.20. (a) What is the speed of the
package just before it reaches the spring? (b) What is the maximum compression
of the spring? (c) The package rebounds back up the incline. How close does it get
to its initial position?

Prob 5. In a truck loading station at a post office, a small 0.200 kg package is released from rest
at point A on a track that is one quarter of a circle with radius 1.60m. The size of the package is
much less than 1.60m, so the package can be treated as a particle. It slides down the track and
reaches point B with a speed of 4.80 m/s. From point B, it slides on a level surface a distance of
3.00m to point C, where it comes to rest.
(a) What is the coefficient of kinetic friction on the
horizontal surface?
(b) How much work is done on the package by friction as it
slides down the circular arc from A to B?

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