Energy Vocab
This is the ability to do work or cause change
What is energy?
A soccer ball is sitting still on the ground. Does it have kinetic energy?
No, because it is not moving.
What is potential energy?
A ball speeds up. Does it have more or less kinetic energy?
More
A skateboarder is standing still at the top of a ramp. As the skateboarder begins moving down the ramp, this type of energy increases.
What is kinetic energy
This type of energy is the energy an object has due to its motion
What is kinetic energy?
A tennis player hits two identical tennis balls with his racket. The second ball moves across the court twice as fast as the first ball. Which ball has more kinetic energy?
The second ball, due to its greater speed.
A book sitting on a high shelf has more of this kind of energy than a book on a lower shelf
What is gravitational potential energy?
A backpack is lifted from the floor to a high shelf. Does it have more or less gravitational potential energy?
More
As a falling object gets closer to the ground, it has less and less of this kind of potential energy
What is gravitational potential energy
This is the energy an object has because of its position; or, stored energy
The second sledder, because of his/her greater mass.
What is elastic potential energy?
A sled moves down a hill. Does it have more or less gravitational potential energy at the bottom?
Less
A roller coaster starts at the top of a hill and moves downward. As it loses gravitational potential energy, it gains more _____________ energy.
What is kinetic
This type of potential energy depends on an object's height
Kinetic energy is calculated by multiplying an object's mass by this factor, squared
What is velocity/speed?
As an object is lifted higher above the ground, its gravitational potential energy (increases/decreases)
Increases
Two identical objects are moving at the same speed. Object A has twice the mass of object B. Which object has more kinetic energy?
Object A
A person lifts a backpack from 1 m above the ground to 5 m above the ground. The backpack's gravitational potential energy (increases/decreases)
What is increases
This type of potential energy is found in objects that are stretched or compressed
What is elastic potential energy?
On a morning ride, a biker weighing 100 kg travels at 5 m/s. On an evening ride, the same biker travels at 10 m/s. On which ride did the biker have more kinetic energy? (bonus: 100 extra points if you can say how much kinetic energy the biker had)
A roller coaster moves down from the top of a hill toward the bottom, and picks up speed. Name what happens to both its potential and kinetic energy.
Potential energy decreases; kinetic energy increases
An object with 20-N (a measurement of weight) is moved from 2 m to 6 m above the ground. Calculate its GPE at both heights and explain what changed.
At 2m: 40 J
At 6m: 120 J
The GPE increased because height increased.