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For You To Read Conservation of Energy: Activity 4 Defy Gravity

The document discusses the concept of conservation of energy through examples of jumping and pole vaulting. It explains how energy is transferred between potential and kinetic forms as objects move. Graphs and equations are provided showing the relationships between position, kinetic energy, and potential energy in different scenarios.

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Reeja Mathew
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72 views3 pages

For You To Read Conservation of Energy: Activity 4 Defy Gravity

The document discusses the concept of conservation of energy through examples of jumping and pole vaulting. It explains how energy is transferred between potential and kinetic forms as objects move. Graphs and equations are provided showing the relationships between position, kinetic energy, and potential energy in different scenarios.

Uploaded by

Reeja Mathew
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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CS_Ch1_PhysInAction

2/28/05

9:07 AM

Page 37

Activity 4 Defy Gravity

FOR YOU TO READ


Conservation of Energy
In this activity you jumped and
measured your vertical leap.You went through a
chain of energy conversions where the total
energy remained the same, in the absence of air
resistance.You began by lifting your body from
the crouched ready position to the launch
position.The work that you did was equal to
the product of the applied force and the
distance.The work done must have lifted you
from the ready position to the launch position
(an increase in potential energy) and also
provided you with the speed to continue
moving up (the kinetic energy).After you left
Energy

the ground, your bodys potential energy


continued to increase, and the kinetic energy
decreased. Finally, you reached the peak of
your jump, where all of the energy became
potential energy. On the way down, that
potential energy began to decrease and the
kinetic energy began to increase.
When you are in the ready position, you have
elastic potential energy. As you move toward
the launch position, you have exchanged your
elastic potential energy for an increase in
gravitational potential energy and an increase
in kinetic energy. As you rise in the air, you lose
the kinetic energy and gain more gravitational
potential energy.You can show this in a table.

Elastic potential
energy

Gravitational
potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy
= 1 mv2

ready position

maximum

launch position

some

maximum

peak position

maximum

Position

The energy of the three positions must be


equal. In this first table, the sum of the energies
in each row must be equal.The launch position
Energy

has both gravitational potential energy and


kinetic energy. Using the values in the activity,
the total energy at each position is 410 J.

Elastic potential
energy

Gravitational
potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy
= 1 mv2

ready position

410 J

launch position

150 J

260 J

peak position

410 J

Position

37
Coordinated Science for the 21st Century

CS_Ch1_PhysInAction

2/28/05

9:07 AM

Page 38

Physics in Action

In the ready position, all 410 J is elastic


potential energy. In the peak position, all
410 J is gravitational potential energy. In the
launch position, the total energy is still 410 J
but 150 J is gravitational potential energy and
260 J is kinetic energy.
Consider someone the same size, who can jump
much higher. Since that person can jump much
Energy

higher, the peak position is greater, and


therefore the gravitational potential energy of
the jumper is greater. In the example shown
below, the gravitational potential energy is 600 J.
Notice that this means the elastic potential
energy of the jumpers legs must be 600 J. And
when the jumper is in the launch position, the
total energy (potential plus kinetic) is also 600 J.

Elastic potential
energy

Gravitational
potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy
= 1 mv2

ready position

600 J

launch position

150 J

450 J

peak position

600 J

Position

A third person of the same size is not able to


jump as high.What numbers should be placed
in blank areas to preserve the principle of
conservation of energy?
Total energy must be conserved.Therefore, in
the launch position the kinetic energy of the
Energy

jumper must be 50 J. In the peak position, all the


energy is in potential energy and must be 200 J.
The conservation of energy is a unifying principle
in all science. It is worthwhile to practice solving
problems that will help you to see the variety of
ways in which energy conservation appears.

Elastic potential
energy

Gravitational
potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy
= 1 mv2

ready position

200 J

launch position

150 J

50 J

peak position

200 J

Position

38
Active Physics

CS_Ch1_PhysInAction

2/28/05

9:07 AM

Page 39

Activity 4 Defy Gravity

A similar example to jumping from a hard floor


into the air is jumping on a trampoline (or
your bed, when you were younger). If you were
to jump on the trampoline, the potential
energy from the height you are jumping would
provide kinetic energy when you landed on the
trampoline. As you continued down, you would
Energy

continue to gain speed because you would still


be losing gravitational potential energy.The
trampoline bends and/or the springs holding
the trampoline stretch. Either way, the
trampoline or springs gain elastic potential
energy at the expense of the kinetic energy
and the changes in potential energy.

Elastic potential
energy

Gravitational
potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy
= 1 mv2

High in the air position

2300 J

Landing on the trampoline


position

500 J

1800 J

Lowest point on the


trampoline position

2300 J

Position

A pole-vaulter runs with the pole.The pole


bends.The pole straightens and pushes the
vaulter into the air.The vaulter gets to his
highest point, goes over the bar, and then falls
back to the ground, where he lands on a soft
mattress.You can analyze the pole-vaulters
motion in terms of energy conservation.
(Ignore air resistance.)
A pole-vaulter runs with the pole. (The vaulter
has kinetic energy.) The pole bends. (The vaulter

loses kinetic energy, and the pole gains elastic


potential energy as it bends.) The pole unbends
and pushes the vaulter into the air. (The pole
loses the elastic potential energy, and the vaulter
gains kinetic energy and gravitational potential
energy.) The vaulter gets to his highest point
(the vaulter has almost all gravitational potential
energy) goes over the bar, and then falls back to
the ground (the gravitational potential energy
becomes kinetic energy), where he lands on a
soft mattress (the kinetic energy becomes the
elastic potential energy of the mattress, which then
turns to heat energy). The height the polevaulter can reach is dependent on the total
energy that he starts with.The faster he runs,
the higher he can go.
The conservation of energy is one of the great
discoveries of science.You can describe the
energies in words (elastic potential energy,
gravitational potential energy, kinetic energy,
and heat energy).There is also sound energy,

39
Coordinated Science for the 21st Century

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