Work, Energy, and Power
Which of the following forces is a conservative force?
Friction
Air resistance
Gravity
Applied force
A block is moved from point A to point B in a gravitational field. If the work done by gravity on the block is , what is the change in potential energy, , of the block?
A force field is given by . Is this force conservative? If so, find the potential energy function U(x, y).
Yes,
Yes,
No, it is not a conservative force
Yes,
The zero point for potential energy is:
Always at ground level
Always at infinity
Arbitrary and chosen for convenience
Always at the highest point in the system
A mass is raised from a height to a height near the Earth's surface. If the zero point for gravitational potential energy is chosen to be at , what is the change in potential energy?
0
A particle is subject to a gravitational force from a much larger mass. Which location would be the most convenient to set the zero point of potential energy?
At the surface of the larger mass
At the center of the larger mass
At infinity
At the point where the force is zero
A ball falls from a height to the ground. What happens to its potential energy as it falls?
Increases
Decreases
Remains constant
First increases, then decreases

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A particle moves from point A to point B under the influence of a conservative force. The force is given by , where is a constant. What is the work done by the force in moving the particle from to ?
A force acting on a particle is given by . Find the potential energy function , assuming .
On a potential energy graph, what does a point of stable equilibrium correspond to?
A local maximum
A local minimum
A point where the potential energy is zero
A point where the slope of the potential energy curve is positive