PHYSICS FOR ENGINEERS

Conservation of Energy
Objectives:

 Will be able to define and differentiate work, energy and power.

 Solve problems involving work, energy and power.
 Familiarize the different units used in work, energy and power.

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY

A fundamental law of nature.

A conservation principle states that, in a system of any kinds from the rest of the
universe, a certain quantity keeps the same value it originally loads no matter what changes the
system undergoes.

As an example, the law of conservation of mass revolutionized chemistry by holding

that the total mass of the products of a chemical reaction is the same as the total mass of the
original substances. Thus the increase in mass of a piece of iron when it rusts indicates that the
iron has combined with some other material, rather than having decomposed, as early as the
chemists believed. In fact, the gas oxygen was discovered in the course of seeking this other
material.

Given one or more conservation principles that apply to a given system, we know at
once which classes of events can take place in the system and which cannot. Thus when iron
rusts, the gain in mass means that it has combined chemically with something else: In physics
we can often draw conclusions about the behavior of the particles that make up a system
without a detailed study by basing our analysis on the conservation of some particular
quantities.

The first conservation principle we will study is that of conservation of energy:

The total amount of energy in a system isolated from the rest of the universe
always remains constant, although energy transformations from one form to another may
occur within the system.

A falling ball provides a simple example of conservation of energy. As it falls, its initial
potential energy is converted into kinetic energy, so that the total energy of the stone remains

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
the same. The potential energy of a 1-kg ball 50 m above the ground is mgh 490 J, and its total
energy is 490 J until it interacts with the ground and transfers energy to it (Fig. 4.14).

Another example is the motion of a planet about the sun. Planetary orbits are elliptical, so that
at different points in its orbit the planet is at different distances from the sun. When the planet
is close to the sun, it has a low PE, just as a stone near the ground has a low PE; when the planet
is far from the sun, it has a high PE. Since the sum of the planet's PE and KE must be constant,
we conclude that the kinetic energy of the planet is at a maximum when it is nearest the sun
and at a minimum when it is farthest from the sun. The earth's orbital speed varies between 29
and 30 km/s for this reason.

Newton's laws of motion enable us-in principle-to solve all problems that involve forces
and moving objects. However, these laws are easy to use only in the simplest cases because in
order to apply them we must take into account all the various forces acting on each object at
every point in its path. This is usually a difficult and complicated procedure. The advantage of
the principle of conservation of energy is that it tells us about the relationship between the

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
initial and final states of motion of some object or system of objects without our having to
investigate what happens in between.

Example: A skier is sliding downhill at a constant speed of 8.0 m/s when she reaches an icy
patch on which her skis moves with negligible friction (Fig. 4.15). If the icy patch is 10 m high,
what is the skier's speed at its bottom?

SOLUTION: Because the path of the skier on the icy patch is complicated, to apply F=ma here
would be very difficult. Using conservation of energy, however, makes the problem quite easy.
At the top of the icy patch, the skier's initial kinetic energy

1
KE1 = 2 𝑚𝑣 2

Where v1 = 8.0 m/s2. Her potential energy relative to the bottom of the patch is

PE = mgh

where h = 10 m. At the bottom the skier’s kinetic energy is KE2 = KE1 + PE,

and so

1 1
𝑚v22 = 2 𝑚v21 + mgh
2

v22 = v21 + 2gh

v2 = √𝑣12 + 2𝑔ℎ

𝑚
v = √(8.0 𝑚/𝑠)2 + (2)(9.81 𝑠2 )(10𝑚) = 16 m/s

we did not hate to know the skier’s mass to find her final speed.

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
Center of Mass

Sometimes we must take into account the size and shape of the object whose motion
we are examining, which we have not had to do thus far. The first step is to identify the object's
center of mass (CM), which is the point at which we can consider all its mass concentrated.
Often the location of the CM is obvious; in the case of a uniform sphere, for instance, it is the
geometric center.

Example: A chain L long lying on a frictionless table starts from rest to slide over the edge of
the table, as in Fig. 4.16(a). What will the speed of the chain be as its last link passes over the
edge?

Solution: The center of mass is at the chain's midpoint. When the last link of the chain has just
passed over the edge of the table, as in Fig. 4.16(b), its CM is L/2 below the edge, and the chain
as a whole has lost mgh mg(L/2) of potential energy. The lost PE has become KE, and so

1 1
mgL = 2mv²
2

v = √𝑔𝐿

Conservative and Non-Conservative Forces

Only a conservative force gives rise to potential energy.

As we have seen, we can do work on something and thereby give it kinetic or potential
energy, which in turn can reappear as work. When we throw a stone upward into the air, the
work we do appears first as kinetic energy. As the stone rises, the kinetic energy gradually
becomes potential energy. At its highest point the stone has only potential energy, which, as

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
the stone begins to fall, is converted back into kinetic energy. Finally, when the stone strikes
the ground and makes a hole in it, the kinetic energy turns to work.

Work done on object = change in object's KE + change in object's PE + work done by object

The kinetic energy of the object may either increase or decrease; the same is true of its
potential energy. It is the work done by the object that may be converted into heat.

Example: A 25-kg box is pulled up a ramp 20 m long and 3.0 m high by a constant force of
120 N (Fig. 4.17). If the box starts from rest and has a speed of 2.0 m/s at the top. What is the
force of friction between box and ramp?

Solution: According to the work-energy theorem, the total work W done by the applied force
of 120 N must equal the work W, done against friction (which becomes heat) plus the change
∆KE in the box's kinetic energy and the change ∆PE in its potential energy. Hence,

W = Wf + ∆KE + ∆PE

Wf = W - ∆KE - ∆PE

The total work done is

W = Fx = (120 N) (20 m) = 2400 J

Because the box starts from rest, its change in kinetic energy is equal to its kinetic energy at
the top of the ramp, and so

1 1
∆KE= 2 mv² = 2 (25 kg) (2.0 m/s)² = 50 J

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
The change in the box's potential energy is

∆PE = mgh = (25 kg) (9.8 m/s²) (3.0 m) = 735 J

Hence the work done against friction is

Wf = W - ∆KE - ∆PE = (2400 -50 -735) J= 1615 J

Because Wf = Ff x, the frictional force is

𝑊𝑓 1615 𝐽
Ff = = = 81 N
𝑥 20 𝑚

Clearly we can divide forces into two categories: 1. Conservative forces – include the
gravitational, magnetic and elastic forces, 2. Non-Conservative force – depends on the path
take (against force: friction) also called dissipative forces.

Important Terms

Work is a measure of the change (in a general sense) a force gives rise to when it acts on
something. When an object is displaced while a force acts on it, the work done by the force is
equal to the product of the displacement and the component of the force in the direction of the
displacement. The SI unit of work is the joule; the customary unit is the foot pound. The rate
at which work is done is called power. The SI unit of power is the watt, which is equal to 1
J/s; the customary unit is the foot pound/second. The horsepower is equal to 550 ft lb/s.

Energy is that which may be converted into work. When something has energy, it is able to
perform work or, in a general sense, to change some aspect of the physical world. The unit of
energy is also the joule.

The three broad categories of energy are kinetic energy, which is the energy something has by
virtue of its motion; potential energy, which is the energy something has by virtue of its
position: and rest energy, which is the energy something has by virtue of its mass.

The principle of conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy in a system
isolated from the rest of the universe always remains constant, although energy transformations
from one form to another may occur within the system.

Work done by a conservative force (such as gravity) is independent of the path taken; such a
force can give rise to a potential energy. Work done by a non-conservative force (such as

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
friction) varies with the path taken and is dissipated; such a force cannot give rise to a potential
energy.

Important Formulas

Work: W = Fx cos 0

W = Fx

Work in lifting object: W = wh = mgh

𝑊
Power: P = = Fv cos 0
𝑡

1
Kinetic energy: KE = 2mv²

Gravitational potential energy: PE= wh= mgh

References:

Modern technical Physics 6th Edition by Arthur Beiser, “Conservation of Energy” p.109-114

Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales
Physics 101 – Physics for Engineers Instructor: Mr. Rio Nico U. Costales