🔖 Topics

  • Elastic Potential Energy
  • Gravitational Potential Energy for an Orbit

🎯 Objectives

  • Utilize the work-kinetic energy theorem and the conversation of mechanical energy to solve a variety of problems
  • Choose between conservation of energy or Newton's laws to solve problems

📋 Sequence

  • Complete practice problems for energy

🖥️ Animations, Simulations, Activities

N/A

📝 Practice Problems

Escape Velocity: What is the escape velocity of the Earth?

Mass Hanging From a Spring: A mass M is hanging from a spring with a spring constant k. It is at rest.

  • Draw a free-body diagram of the setup
  • How much does the spring stretch?
  • How much potential energy is stored in the spring?

Mass Dropping Onto Spring: I position a mass of 10 kg above a spring with a spring constant of 4.5 N/m. I then drop the mass onto the spring and let it bounce back up. Ignore air resistance.

  • What is the total initial energy of the system (before I drop the mass)?
  • What is the total final energy of the system (when it reaches its maximum height after bouncing off the spring)?
  • What is the maximum compression of the spring?
  • How much force does the spring exert on the mass when it is fully compressed?
  • What is the final height of the mass after it bounces off the spring?
  • How would the compression change if I increased the starting height of the mass?
  • How would the compression change if I increased the spring constant?

✅ Partial Solutions

N/A

📘 Connected Resources

  • Giambattista, Alan, et al. College Physics With an Integrated Approach to Forces and Kinematics. 5th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2020.