1.1.13

Conservation of Energy

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Conservation of Energy

The principle of the conservation of energy says that energy cannot be created or destroyed. Energy can only be transformed from one store of energy into another. There are four ways that energy can be transformed:

Illustrative background for Mechanical workIllustrative background for Mechanical work ?? "content

Mechanical work

  • Energy transferred from one object to another via a force is an example of mechanical work.
    • When an object falls from a building, the weight does mechanical work to transfer energy from the gravitational potential store to the kinetic store.
    • When you push a wheelchair, energy is transferred to the kinetic store of the wheelchair.
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Electrical work

  • An electrical current transfers energy from one object to another, such as a battery powering a torch.
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Heating

  • Heating an object transfers energy to the object's internal store of energy.
  • The internal energy is the sum of the energy in the kinetic and chemical stores of an object's particles.
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Waves

  • Light and other types of waves can transfer energy from one object to another.
Illustrative background for E.g. - An object hitting an obstacle Illustrative background for E.g. - An object hitting an obstacle  ?? "content

E.g. - An object hitting an obstacle

  • The object's energy is in the kinetic store at the start because it is moving.
  • When the object collides with the obstacle, energy is converted to:
    • The kinetic store of the obstacle (making it move).
    • The thermal store of the object and the obstacle (the particles in the object and the obstacle vibrate more).
  • Some energy remains in the object's kinetic store as it moves away after the collision.

Jump to other topics

1Energy

2Electricity

3Particle Model of Matter

4Atoms & Radiation

5Forces

5.1Basics of Motion

5.2Forces

5.3Effects of Forces

5.4Pressure

6Waves

7Magnetism

8Astrophysics

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