PHYS 1511 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Conservative Force, Elastic Energy, Electric Potential Energy
Document Summary
Chapter 8 of cutnell & johnson physics, titled "potential energy and conservation of energy," delves into the concept of potential energy and how it relates to the conservation of energy. Conservative forces include gravitational forces and elastic forces, while non-conservative forces include friction and air resistance. The work done by a conservative force is path-independent, meaning the work done only depends on the starting and ending positions of the object. This allows us to de ne a scalar quantity called potential energy. The sum of an object"s potential energy and kinetic energy is equal to its total mechanical energy. This principle is known as the conservation of energy, which states that the total amount of energy in a closed system is conserved. This means that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred from one form to another: next, the chapter discusses the concept of conservative forces in more detail.
