Section 6.4 Law of Conservation of Energy

Section 6.
Law of conservation of energy

• Law of conservation of energy
• Inter-conversion of PE and KE
• Inter-conversion of PE and KE
with energy loss
© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 1
6.4 Law of conservation of energy (SB p. 131)

Energy exists in many forms, e.g. :
Sound energy
Kinetic energy
Heat energy
Can we transform the

forms of energy? Yes!

KE of water
PE of water
KE of Turbines
Electrical
 energy
light, heat and other
forms of energy


— energy cannot be created / destroyed
— can be transformed from one form to another
— total amount remains unchanged
thermal
energy, E1
electrical light
energy, E energy, E2
sound
energy, E3
kinetic
E = E1 + E2 + E3 + E4 energy, E4
Class Practice 4:
1. State the energy transfer in each of the following

situations. The first one is done as an example.
(a) A boy lifts a dumbell upwards.
The chemical energy released in the muscle of the boy

changes to the potential energy of the dumbbell.
Class Practice 4 (Cont):
(b) A player hold a bat to hit a ball.

Ans
wer
The chemical energy of the player changes to the KE of

the ball, with some dissipated as heat and sound.

(c) A student throws a basketball into the net.

Ans
wer
The chemical energy of the student changes to the PE

and KE of the basketball.

(d) A windmill generates electricity from wind.

Ans
wer
The wind energy changes to the KE of the blades and

turbines, and then to the electric energy.

(e) Use a magnifying glass to light up a match.

Ans
wer
The solar energy changes to heat and light.

(f) Launch a spaceship from the ground.

Ans
wer
The chemical energy of the fuel changes to heat,

sound, PE and KE of the spaceship.

2. In the case of striking a match with a matchbox, what

causes the energy changes? Ans
wer
The work done against the frictional force during

striking causes the chemical energy of the match
to be changed to heat and light.

Inter-conversion of PE and KE
In free-falling motion CAL
PE decreases Workshop 1
Conservation
of energy
h How
How are they
they
related?
related?
KE increases
Go to Go to
Attraction from earth
© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. Activity 1 Discussion 2 12
In free-falling motion
Loss in PE = Weight × Distance

= mgs
By v2 = u2 + 2as
v2 = 0 + 2gs
1 1
( m )v2 = ( m)2gs
2 2
1
2 mv2
= mgs
Gain in kinetic energy = Loss in potential energy

In free-falling motion
Gain in kinetic energy = Loss in potential energy
• Energy loss due to air

resistance (is neglected in this
case)
PE + KE = constant
PE and KE are interchangeable
Thinking 5
Example 3:
A ball of mass 2 kg is released from rest at position A. Take PE

at the ground as zero. Find the potential energy and kinetic
energy of the ball
(a) at position A, and Solut
(b) at position B. ion
(a) PEA = mghA (b) PEB = mghB

= 2 × 10 × (6 − 1)
= 2 × 10 × 6
= 100 J
= 120 J By the law of conservation of energy,
KEA = 0 J Gain in KE at B = Loss in PE from A to B
KEB = 120 − 100
© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd.
= 20 J 15
Class Practice 5:
A ball is thrown vertically upwards at a speed of 16 m s−1.

Find the maximum height the ball can reach.
Gain in PE = Loss in KE Ans
1 2 wer
mgh = 2 mv
v2
h = 2g
162
= 2 × 10
= 12.8 m
In pendulum motion
Examples of pendulum:
bob of
swing
grandfather
clock
In pendulum motion
Expt 6A
Energy
conversion in a
simple
pendulum
A
B
weight C

In pendulum motion
CAL
Workshop 2
Conservation
of potential
and kinetic
energy
speed increases speed decreases Thinking 6
From A to B: From B to C:
loss in PE = gain in KE loss in KE = gain in PE
Example 4:
A pendulum bob is released from rest at point A as shown in

Fig. (a). Assume the air resistance is negligible. Find the
speed of the bob at the lowest point B. Solut
ion
Fig. (a)

Example 4: (Cont)
Let the speed of the bob at B be v (Fig. (b)).

Loss in PE = Gain in KE
1
mgh1 = mv22
1
m × 10 × (1 − cos30°) = 2 mv2
∴ v = 1.64 m s−1
Fig. (b)

Class Practice 6:
Refer to Example 4. If the bob is moving at a

speed of 1 m s−1 at point A, find the maximum
height that the bob can reach on the other side.
Let the bob reach the highest point C on the other side and
let the height be h2 from point B.
By the law of conservation of energy,
Ans
wer

PE at C = KE at A + PE at A
1
mgh2 = 2 mu2 + mgh1
1
m × 10 × h2 = 2 m × 12 + m × 10 × (1 − cos30°)
∴ h2 = 0.18 m

Inter-conversion of PE and KE with

energy loss
In reality, swinging pendulum’s height is
decreasing gradually.
energy loss by friction


energy loss
s
Loss in PE
f = Gain in KE + Work done
against friction


energy loss
Work done against friction
= fs (if f is constant)
m
s s
friction ( f )
m
© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. Thinking 7 26

Example 5:
Jessie of mass 30 kg sits on the top of a slide of height 3 m.

The slide board is 8 m long. She slides down and reaches the
bottom of the slide at a speed of 2.5 m s−1.

Example 5: (Cont)
Find
(a) the work done against friction, and Solut
(b) the average friction acting on Jessie. ion
(a) Work done against friction = PE at the top − KE at the bottom
1 2
W = mgh − mv
2 1
= 30 × 10 × 3 − × 30 × 2.52
2
= 900 − 93.8
Solut = 806 J
(b) W =fs
ion
806 = f × 8
∴ f =
101 N
Class Practice 7:
A ball of 5 kg is released from

point A of height h from the
ground. It moves along the track
to reach the ground at point B with
a speed of 10 m s−1. Given that the
total work done against friction
between the ball and the track is
50 J. Find h.
Ans
wer

Loss in PE = Gain in KE + Work done against friction

1
mgh = mv2 + 50
2
1
5 × 10 × h = × 5 × 102 + 50
2
∴ h =6m

To section 6.5

Activity 1:
Conservation of energy
Let’s start:
1. Set up the apparatus on

a table as shown. A
weight is hung by a
thread to act as a
pendulum bob.
2. Place a block beside the

weight and mark the
position of the block.

Activity 1 (Cont):
3. Pull the weight to one side and measure its
height (h) from the table. Release the weight
and let it hit the block. Measure the distance
travelled by the block (d). Repeat the
experiment by releasing the weight from
different heights. Record the readings below.
h / cm
d / cm

Activity 1 (Cont):
State the relation

between h and d.
Explain briefly.
Ans
wer
The higher the position of the weight

to be released, the longer the distance
travelled by the block. This indicates that
more energy is transferred from the Return to
weight to the block. Text

Discussion 2:
Describe the changes in PE

and KE for the diver jumping
from the springboard to the
water as shown.
Ans
wer

Discussion 2 (Cont):
When the diver stands on the end of the
spring, elastic PE is stored in the spring.
When she jumps, elastic PE is released and
changes to KE of the diver. Then she moves
upwards and KE changes gradually to PE.
At the highest point, all KE is changed to
PE. Then she falls because of the pull of
gravity and PE changes to translational and
rotational KE again. Finally when she jumps
into the water, KE is changed into heat and
sound, and workdone against the resistance
of water (the most).
Return to

Text 36
Thinking 5:
An object falls freely at a certain height above

the ground. Sketch graphs to show the
variations of
1. KE, PE and ME with distance fallen, and
2. KE, PE and ME with time 1
1. and 2. KE + PE = ME Ans PE = mgh = mg ( 2 gt2)
1. 2. wer 1 mg2 t2
= 2
PE ∝ t2
Return to

Text
37
Thinking 6:
In Fig. 6.16, when the weight swings, work is

done on the weight by the tension in the string.
Is this correct? Explain briefly.
Ans
When the weight swings,wer T
tension on the string is
always perpendicular to
the direction of motion.
Therefore, no work is
done on the weight. Return to

Text 38
Thinking 7:
Release a basketball from a height of about 1 m.

Describe its motion and state whether there is
energy loss during each rebound of the ball.
Ans
The ball released from rest moves downwards. It wer
reaches the highest speed before colliding with the
ground and it changes it directions after the
collision. It rebounds with a decreasing speed and
rises up to a certain point. After each rebound, the
basketball rises to a smaller height than before. So
its mechanical energy decreases. The energy is lost
Return to
as heat, sound and the work done against friction.
Text
39

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Section 6.

Law of conservation of energy

Law of conservation of energy

Can we transform the

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 2

Law of conservation of energy

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 3

Law of conservation of energy

Law of conservation of energy

1. State the energy transfer in each of the following

The chemical energy released in the muscle of the boy

Class Practice 4 (Cont):

(b) A player hold a bat to hit a ball.

The chemical energy of the player changes to the KE of

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 6

Class Practice 4 (Cont):

(c) A student throws a basketball into the net.

The chemical energy of the student changes to the PE

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 7

Class Practice 4 (Cont):

(d) A windmill generates electricity from wind.

The wind energy changes to the KE of the blades and

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 8

Class Practice 4 (Cont):

(e) Use a magnifying glass to light up a match.

The solar energy changes to heat and light.

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 9

Class Practice 4 (Cont):

(f) Launch a spaceship from the ground.

The chemical energy of the fuel changes to heat,

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 10

Class Practice 4 (Cont):

2. In the case of striking a match with a matchbox, what

The work done against the frictional force during

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 11

Loss in PE = Weight × Distance

Gain in kinetic energy = Loss in potential energy

Gain in kinetic energy = Loss in potential energy

• Energy loss due to air

PE and KE are interchangeable

A ball of mass 2 kg is released from rest at position A. Take PE

(a) PEA = mghA (b) PEB = mghB

A ball is thrown vertically upwards at a speed of 16 m s−1.

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 18

speed increases speed decreases Thinking 6

A pendulum bob is released from rest at point A as shown in

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 20

Let the speed of the bob at B be v (Fig. (b)).

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 21

Refer to Example 4. If the bob is moving at a

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 22

Class Practice 6 (Cont):

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 23

Inter-conversion of PE and KE with

energy loss by friction

Inter-conversion of PE and KE with

© Manhattan Press (H.K.) Ltd. 25

Inter-conversion of PE and KE with