All Flashcards

What is the effect of increasing the compression of a spring?

Increases the elastic potential energy stored in the spring.

What happens to gravitational potential energy as an object moves closer to the Earth?

Gravitational potential energy decreases (becomes more negative).

What is the effect of friction on a system's potential energy?

Friction converts some potential energy into thermal energy, reducing the amount of potential energy available.

What happens when a spring is stretched or compressed?

Elastic potential energy is stored in the spring.

What happens when the height of an object above the ground increases?

The gravitational potential energy of the object increases.

What are the key differences between conservative and non-conservative forces?

Conservative Forces: Work done is path-independent, net work in a closed loop is zero, potential energy can be defined. Non-Conservative Forces: Work done is path-dependent, net work in a closed loop is non-zero, potential energy cannot be defined.

Compare gravitational potential energy near Earth's surface and for point masses.

Near Earth's Surface: $Delta U_{g} = mg\Delta y$ , valid for small changes in height. Point Masses: $U_{g} = -G \frac{m_{1}m_{2}}{r}$ , valid for any separation distance, uses a zero point at infinite separation.

Differentiate between stable and unstable equilibrium points on a potential energy curve.

Stable Equilibrium: Local minimum, system returns to equilibrium after a small disturbance, concave up. Unstable Equilibrium: Local maximum, system moves away from equilibrium after a small disturbance, concave down.

How do you determine the force from a potential energy graph?

The conservative force in one dimension is the negative slope of the potential energy curve: $F_{x} = -\frac{dU(x)}{dx}$

How do you calculate the total potential energy of a multiple-object system?

Sum the potential energies of all pairs of interacting objects: $U_{total} = U_{12} + U_{13} + U_{23} + ...$