1) how does the decrease in gravitational potential energy of a falling ball com
ID: 2158769 • Letter: 1
Question
1) how does the decrease in gravitational potential energy of a falling ball compare to its increase in kinetic energy?2) What happens to the total of the gravitational potential energy plus the kinetic energy as a ball falls?
3) What happens to the gravitational potential energy as the ball falls?
4) What does the "Total energy vs Time" graph tell you about the total energy of the ball as it falls?
5) what is one reason that some of the energy is 'lost' as the ball falls?
I am having difficulty in understanding this concept... my lab is consist of few questions... but the concept questions are always struggling for me.
I really appreciate your help! and I will rate it if I get a good responses. Thank you
Explanation / Answer
The Theoretical: As strange and "counter-intuitive" as it seems, if a ball has perfect elasticity and falls on a surface that absorbs absolutely no energy, and if there is absolutely no atmosphere to interfere with the ball's movement, and if there are no other possible ways for any of the materials involved to absorb or give up energy in any form (including heat and sound), the ball would bounce without losing height in subsequent bounces for eternity. As you will see, the question is about the conservation of energy, and not about Newton's third law. The Practical: There are no such conditions as described above. The ball loses energy at many stages, and as a result, it eventually stops. In other words, don't put much effort into using this concept to build the long-sought-after Perpetual Motion Machine. Although all the energy is accounted for, some is irretrievable to the system and no longer useful for propelling the ball. As a result, the ball cannot reach its original height, which means it has less potential energy than it had before its initial drop. The difference between the original height and the height attained by any subsequent bounces represents the net loss of energy to entropy at that point. The energy in the system continues to dissipate until the ball lacks the energy to bounce and comes to rest on the surface. No laws are violated, but a little energy (the energy given by the experimenter to the ball originally) is lost forever. 2. It started as an almost perfectly round, squishy, but not yet squished, ball of clay. Now it is squished - well, half squished. Energy conversions did it. Energy conversions do everything. Nothing can happen without them. In this case gravitational potential energy was converted to kinetic energy. Kinetic energy was converted to mechanical work (force acting through a distance - the floor pushing back against the ball). Then finally, as is predicted by the 2nd Law of Energy, all of the gravitational potential energy ended up as low-grade thermal energy. Warning: In the following discussion there are some simple Algebra formulas. If you don't know algebra, don't worry about it. I'll bet you will still get the gist. As always, the laws of energy were demonstrated to be true, faithful, and reliable as the US Coast Guard (in which the author once served).
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